I was lucky to meet a couple of people from Nasoya when I was at the vegan bloggers conference in May. I was given a friendly challenge of making a couple of recipes using their products. Challenge accepted!

Two jars arrived in the mail a few days after I said I’d try my hand at some cooking: Nayonaise and Nayo Whipped. They’re both healthy, vegan alternatives to mayo and are a great source of B12 and omega 3s.

For this first challenge, I tried a recipe from their site called Tu-Na Salad. I have to say, it’s was quick and easy to make. Like five minutes quick. That’s my kind of prep time!

True to my rebellious nature, I altered the recipe a bit. But only because I have fresh chives growing in my garden. So I used those instead of the green onion the original recipe called for.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. Nayo Whipped
• 1 (19 ounce) can of chickpeas, drained
• Fresh dill
• Celery, chopped
• Green onion, chopped (chives, in my case)
• Sea salt, to taste

Preparation:

Use a food processor or potato masher to break up the chickpeas until they are crumbled. Do NOT over process.

I mashed the chickpeas (AKA garbanzo beans) until the mixture was flaky. Just enough to break up each pea, not so much that it created a purée. I toasted some hearty bread (Dave’s Killer Bread–my fav!), spread some Nayo on it for good measure, and piled on the tu-na.

Wow! Was it ever delicious! The Nayo Whipped is tangy and lemony and added a great flavor to the topping. I’m going to use this recipe regularly from now on. I haven’t had actual tuna in a lo-ong time, but I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t fool someone in a blind taste test. It does, however, hold its own as a great tuna substitute. True test: hubby. He loved it too–and had seconds!

Next time I’ll stuff this blend in a pita or roll it in a wrap and add tomatoes and lettuce. Mmm.

This recipe makes enough for four sandwiches. Let me know if you try it. And come back soon for a little Nasoya giveaway I’m planning!