Food fight the first: veggie bread replacements
I can wholly blame neogabi for this one, but it did start me thinking.
Veggies as "sandwich" bread.
What's recommended: Buy a large zucchini. Set your oven on broil. Line a pan with foil or parchment paper. Slice the zucchini with a mandolin, or, if you don't have one, slice it between 1/8" and 1/4" wide. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, and place on the foil or paper. Slide the pan into the oven for a few minutes, or until the zucchini 'chip' rounds are dry and crispy.
You want to keep the toppings light, though--sprouts of all kinds, thinly sliced tomato, thin-shaved meats with just a dab of hummus or mashed avocado.
This next one I actually knew about before now. It's pretty simple: take a leaf of some tasty green, wrap it around your chosen filling. Seriously, that's it. Think of it as a green tortilla. Meat, cheese, veggies, spreads, taco fixin's, whatever--anything that can be wrapped in a tortilla or flatbread or even folded up in a slice of bread can go in a piece of romaine, kale, spinach or just plain lettuce. And the darker the green, the more vitameatavegamins it has in it.
So, when last I made cucumber sandwiches, they were inside the carefully sliced bread, but apparently in this tip, you just use the cucumber slices themselves. To make them--well, sort of--function like bread...ish...you cant to get a largeish cucumber again, and slice it into 1/4" thick slices. Carefully pat them dry with paper towels. Then, using Neufchatel cheese or other low-fat spreadable cheese (including tofu "cream" cheese, hummus or avocado spread again), cover one side of two slices with your chosen spread (to hold the sammich together, natch), then top with bits of deli meat, grape tomatoes, or greens/fresh herbs. Eat them open-faced.
These next two I think are kind of odd for traditional "sandwiches", per se, but I'll go with it: fruit. In particular, apples and pears.
Apples
Think of apples as nut spread fodder--instead of making peanut butter and jelly, say, spread nut butter on the apple slices; no need for jelly. Or top with shaved chicken and thin strips of celery.
Pears
I don't get why people think pears are so upscale. All the 'recipe' tips I found recommended spreading Brie or using fresh mozzarella slices topped with dried cranberries or currants, and fresh mint sprigs for a 'gourmet', hand-held salad. Just keep in mind you can use whatever goes well on apples, or really, with anything above, on pears, too.
Now that I'm thinking about it, there's more options, if I'm willing to expand 'sandwich' in some less traditional directions. Celery stalks, washed and dried, filled with hummus or nut butter. Jicama slices, topped with turkey, chicken, or your meatless spread of choice.
I can see I'm going to have to get creative.
Veggies as "sandwich" bread.
What's recommended: Buy a large zucchini. Set your oven on broil. Line a pan with foil or parchment paper. Slice the zucchini with a mandolin, or, if you don't have one, slice it between 1/8" and 1/4" wide. Drizzle lightly with olive oil, and place on the foil or paper. Slide the pan into the oven for a few minutes, or until the zucchini 'chip' rounds are dry and crispy.
You want to keep the toppings light, though--sprouts of all kinds, thinly sliced tomato, thin-shaved meats with just a dab of hummus or mashed avocado.
This next one I actually knew about before now. It's pretty simple: take a leaf of some tasty green, wrap it around your chosen filling. Seriously, that's it. Think of it as a green tortilla. Meat, cheese, veggies, spreads, taco fixin's, whatever--anything that can be wrapped in a tortilla or flatbread or even folded up in a slice of bread can go in a piece of romaine, kale, spinach or just plain lettuce. And the darker the green, the more vitameatavegamins it has in it.
So, when last I made cucumber sandwiches, they were inside the carefully sliced bread, but apparently in this tip, you just use the cucumber slices themselves. To make them--well, sort of--function like bread...ish...you cant to get a largeish cucumber again, and slice it into 1/4" thick slices. Carefully pat them dry with paper towels. Then, using Neufchatel cheese or other low-fat spreadable cheese (including tofu "cream" cheese, hummus or avocado spread again), cover one side of two slices with your chosen spread (to hold the sammich together, natch), then top with bits of deli meat, grape tomatoes, or greens/fresh herbs. Eat them open-faced.
These next two I think are kind of odd for traditional "sandwiches", per se, but I'll go with it: fruit. In particular, apples and pears.
Apples
Think of apples as nut spread fodder--instead of making peanut butter and jelly, say, spread nut butter on the apple slices; no need for jelly. Or top with shaved chicken and thin strips of celery.
Pears
I don't get why people think pears are so upscale. All the 'recipe' tips I found recommended spreading Brie or using fresh mozzarella slices topped with dried cranberries or currants, and fresh mint sprigs for a 'gourmet', hand-held salad. Just keep in mind you can use whatever goes well on apples, or really, with anything above, on pears, too.
Now that I'm thinking about it, there's more options, if I'm willing to expand 'sandwich' in some less traditional directions. Celery stalks, washed and dried, filled with hummus or nut butter. Jicama slices, topped with turkey, chicken, or your meatless spread of choice.
I can see I'm going to have to get creative.