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People work from home more than ever thanks to Al Gore and his wonderful invention – the Internet. Working from home has many advantages, and one of those is avoiding the eating out for lunch club. Workers in offices use lunchtime to bond and spread gossip about how evil the boss is. However, it comes with a huge price in terms of health when you factor in high calorically dense foods served at most establishments. Eating out is also expensive, it is very expensive when you factor in eating lunches 5 times a week. If you average $9.50 per meal, that equates to $190 a month. While this won’t break many people, you can get a reasonably priced car for this. The following meal is much easier on the wallet and very easy to make.

This meal was designed for those that work at home and want a gourmet meal quickly and affordably. This meal only takes 20 minutes to make if you have ingredients on hand.

Meal Prep and Cooking time: 20 minutes.

Tuna Burger on Sprouted Grain Bun with Asparagus Salsa Health benefits by ingredient:

Tuna / Tuna fish are truly a nutrient-dense food. An excellent source of high quality protein, tuna are rich in a variety of important nutrients including the minerals selenium, magnesium, and potassium; the B vitamins niacin, B1 and B6; and perhaps most important, the beneficial omega-3 essential fatty acids.

Garlic / Cardiovascular, Anti-Inflammatory, Antibacterial, Antiviral Activity, Cancer prevention.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil / It turns out that people who use olive oil regularly, especially in place of other fats, have much lower rates of heart disease, atherosclerosis, diabetes, colon cancer, and asthma.

Tomato (cooked) / contains Lycopene – antioxidant and cancer-preventing properties.

Spinach / We all know that Popeye made himself super strong by eating spinach, but you may be surprised to learn that he may also have been protecting himself against osteoporosis, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis, and other diseases at the same time.

Asparagus / Asparagus is a very good source of potassium (288 mg per cup) and quite low in sodium (19.8 mg per cup. Its mineral profile, combined with an active amino acid in asparagus, asparagine, gives asparagus a diuretic effect.

STEP 1: Gather and prepare your ingredients and materials. The following makes enough for 1 adult.

- 1 6-8 oz. tuna steak
- 1 Sprouted Grain Burger Bun (Ezekiel brand)
- handful Spinach
- 2 sliced plum tomatoes
- 1 bunch asparagus (about 15-20 spears)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
- Pepper
- Olive Oil cooking spray
- OPTIONAL: Spicy Mustard

- Baking Tray
- Cookie Cooling Tray (to stack inside of the baking tray)
- Small Mixing Bowl
- BBQ brush

Step 2:Pre-heat your oven broiler. Depending on how far your baking tray will sit from the heat determines the temperature. I sit my roughly 6 inches from the broiler and set my heat on 300 degrees.

Step 3:Coat cookie cooling tray with olive oil cooking spray and place on top of baking tray. This setup will allow the heat to circulate under the tuna and asparagus. It will also allow the Tuna to drip below on to the baking tray.

Step 4:Trim your asparagus and place on the cookie cooling tray placed inside of the baking tray. Place your bun with the inside of the buns facing up. Place tuna on to cookie tray.

Step 5:Pour extra virgin olive oil, pepper, and garlic in to the small mixing bowl. Mix together well. Brush buns, asparagus, and both sides of tuna with olive oil, garlic, and pepper mixture.

Step 6: Place in to the broiler and cook for 4-5 minutes. You will need to watch the bun to ensure it does not burn. If you see it browning, remove the bun and leave the tuna and asparagus.

Step 6: Build your sandwich and place the spinach, tomato, and a sauce of your choice. Spicy mustards go really well with tuna burgers. Place the asparagus on your plate and enjoy.

I hope you enjoy this healthy and delicious meal. I recommend you eat this after your daily workout so you can replenish your body with quality carbs and proteins. As you can read above, every single ingredient has massive health benefits you can enjoy.

Christian Henning, NASM-CPT
GetFitOKC.com