What does your sandwich say about you?

It is a creative expression of taste and nutrition that makes your co-workers jealous, or are you stuck in a meat and cheese rut that makes you wish you had gone out for lunch?  Ok, maybe that’s taking things too far.  It’s just lunch, right?

Sandwiches tend to be the staple of my brown bag lunches at work.  It’s all to easy to throw some meat and cheese between two pieces of bread and call it lunch.  But after a while, I get quite bored, and I’ll do pretty crazy things to break up the monotony.  (A summer squash sandwich on homemade honey oat bread… why not!)

As a tribute to Food Network’s Brown Bag challenge and Family Fresh Cooking’s Project Lunch Box, I’ve put together some of my favorite ways to shake up my sandwich routine.

#1.  Add veggies to your sandwich.  Even tomatoes and lettuce make a sandwich feel so much fuller.  But try other veggies too: bell pepper, red onions, pickles, you name it!  For a sandwich that doesn’t get soggy with veggies, put your tomatoes and other wetter veggies in a separate baggie and add them to your sandwich just before you eat it.

#2.  Think outside the box with your spreads, without having to have a fridge full of condiments.  Add paprika and cayenne pepper to your mayo for chipotle mayo.  Add honey to your yellow mustard for a quick honey mustard. BBQ sauce, salsa, hummus and pesto all make great sandwich spreads to change things up.

#3.  Go for a makeshift melt.  Pop your bread topped with meat and cheese in the microwave at work for a quick hot sandwich.

#4.  Change up your bread. Hoagie rolls and kaiser buns (like my Carrot Wheat Kaiser Buns) aren’t just for burgers.  They make a great base for a tasty sandwich.  Take an artisan baguette, divide it into sections, and you’ve got a sub.  Get some tortillas and fill with whatever you have in your fridge to make a yummy wrap (like my garden vegetable and hummus wrap pictured above).  If it doesn’t fit in a Tupperware or baggie, wrap it in cling wrap to keep it fresh.

#5.  Leftover meats can be transformed into great sandwich fillings.  This Curry Turkey Salad was a great use of my Thanksgiving turkey last year.

I’d love to hear about your favorite way to break the sandwich routine! Leave a comment below!

 

 

I’m teaming up with fellow food bloggers for a Brown-Bag Challenge, a month-long initiative to eat consciously and save money by packing a lunch instead of eating out. Join us and share what you’re eating.

I’m adding this post to Family Fresh Cooking’s Project LunchBox. Head over to familyfreshcooking.com to see what others are packing for lunch.