To be honest, I am not a huge lunch meat person so it was very easy for me to stop buying it on a regular basis. The main reason is because (especially after watching Food, Inc.) we made a decision to focus on eating locally raised meats. And have you ever seen someone slicing off pieces of deli meat at your local farmers’ market?
One benefit of this decision is reducing our overall meat consumption, which is better for our health and environment anyway. So this is the reason I now only buy sandwich meat on a rare occasion – once every month or two – and it’s organic when we I do!
With that being said, this change opened up a whole new window of opportunity when it came to sandwiches. But with anything, I can sometimes get in a rut.
So I recently asked my wonderful facebook community to share their most favorite sandwich combinations, which helped inspire this fresh list of sandwich ideas below. Please also feel free to leave your ideas in the comments at the bottom!
Cold Sandwiches / Wraps
- Hummus with cheese, avocado and veggies (like carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, bell peppers or tomatoes)
- Egg salad (variations include: curry or chopped green olives)
- Egg salad BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato)
Hot / Grilled Sandwiches
- Caprese (pictured above – great on bread or a pita)
- Pimento cheese (yes…it is amazing served hot!)
- Roasted veggies, pesto, and cheese
- Grilled cheese with or without tomatoes (trick: sprinkle a tad bit of grated Parmesan just before the bread gets fully browned!)
- Grilled swiss cheese and avocado
- Grilled egg, cheese and tomato
- Melted brie with thin sliced apple
- Grilled veggie sandwich with garlic mayonnaise and feta
- Mushroom, roasted bell pepper, goat cheese, and pesto panini
Understanding grains (corn, wheat, multi-grain, etc.)
What is the best clean gluten free bread to buy??? Don’t really want to make it unless I have too! Thanks!!
One of our favorites is a toasted bagel open faced with cream cheese and apple slices on top. Occasionally we will add crispy bacon to this and it is such a delicious treat!
Does anyone know if the Applegate lunch meat sliced at Target’s deli is the same as in the packages?
Thanks!
Not certain but I would imagine, yes. Did you ask the deli?
Egg salad BLT (bacon, lettuce, and tomato)? Isn’t bacon ‘processed’ pork? which is not so healthy?
Lisa occasionally uses Applegate bacon in recipes.
Some creative sandwich ideas. But it seems many of these are either too high in fat or too expensive.
The egg salad are pretty basic. I make once a week. I also make tuna melts. Wild caught tuna in the foil packet, but I suppose that isn’t on the approved list.
My favorite chicken salad recipe is a staple in Venezuelan cuisine. It has boiled chicken breast (shredded), chopped avocado, chopped cilantro, mayo, lime juice, salt and pepper. It can be used in sandwich, or corn tortillas for a “cold” taco. It is great as an appetizer with tortilla chips as well.
Here is my favorite I buy from whole foods.
Sonoma Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
5 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Salad
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup pecan pieces, toasted
2 cups red seedless grapes
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
Method:
In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, vinegar, honey, poppy seeds, salt and pepper.
Refrigerate until ready to dress the salad. This can be prepared up to 2 days
ahead.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the chicken breasts in one layer in a baking
dish with 1/2 cup water. Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes until completely
cooked through. Remove cooked chicken breasts from pan, cool at room temperature
for 10 minutes, then cover and refrigerate.
When the chicken is cold, dice into bite-size chunks and transfer to a large
bowl. Stir in pecans, grapes, celery and dressing.
Serves 6
What is your homemade chicken salad recipe?
Hi Marsela. We don’t have a chicken salad recipe that we’ve perfected enough to share. Jill
Hello Marsela, My husbands fav is one that I make. I use organic chicken breast (boil them with a little salt or use chicken broth) when done let cool, shred, add sour cream , grapes, pecans. Its really good.
Wow, you guys use a ton of cheese and eggs. I’m conscious of it because I’m allergic to both those things :( I make a lot of similar sandwiches but without any cheese! I love subbing hummus and/or avocado for the creamy fattiness, or pickles and olives for something salty. One of my favorites is making “grilled avocado,” which is really just like a grilled cheese but with soft avocado between the bread slices (I like tomatoes in there too).
All yummy ideas! I also love nutbutter and honey!
I love shredded chicken with pesto and grated parmesan cheese. Mix it all together, and it’s great in a pita, on bread or in a wrap!
One of my favorites is a “vegetarian reuben” inspired by one I had at a vegetarian restaurant in Green Bay, WI. (name escapes me, sorry) Saute some sliced mushrooms and onion until the mushroooms are brown and onions soft, add some sauerkraut and heat through. Pile onto some toasted pumpernickel or rye, add shredded enmental or swiss cheese and homemade sauce (mayo w/ketchup and a drop of tabasco). Yum!