3 Healthy, Easy Sandwich Recipes
"One of the easiest ways to get healthy vegetables, protein and whole grains in one meal," asserts Shira Bocar in the video above, is the humble sandwich.
But let’s be straight here: Though most everyone loves sandwiches, they don’t always love you back. Store-bought sammies are often gloopy in texture or overloaded with fat and processed ingredients. The temptation at home is to load on more and more delightful elements (cheese! bacon! mayo!) as you build.
Here, however, Bocar details three light sandwich recipes that are pretty much perfect for a workday lunch or breakfast.
First up: a creamy, vegetarian twist on beans on toast, with mashed pintos and avocado finding their ideal foil in crunchy slices of bread. Thanks to the protein in those beans, “this sandwich is going to keep you energized,” Bocar says.
Next up, a happily healthful rendition of a lunchbox standby. Chicken salad is often "laden with unnecessary fat," says Bocar, so she calls for the filling to be laced with nonfat yogurt, juicy grapes, and bright chives instead.
Finally, a classic killer combo sandwich: turkey, aged cheddar, creamy hummus, and green apples. (What’s not to love?)
Once you’ve watched the above video, give the recipes below a whirl.
Photos: Marthastewart.com
Chipotle-Avocado Sandwich
Serves 4
One 15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained
1 chipotle in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoon sauce
8 slices whole-grain bread, toasted
1 avocado, sliced
4 radishes, sliced
4 leaves escarole
1 cup sprouted beans
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mash beans, chipotle, and sauce until combined. Spread on bread. Top with avocado, radishes, escarole, and sprouts. Season with salt and pepper.
Healthy Chicken Salad
Serves 6
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound (2 small whole breasts) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives
1 tablespoon freshly chopped tarragon
1 Granny Smith apple
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup finely diced fennel
1/2 cup finely diced celery
2 cups red seedless grapes, cut in half
6 slices pumpernickel bread
1 bunch watercress, tough stems removed
Olive-oil cooking spray
Combine salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle chicken with some of the salt mixture; place in saute pan. Reduce heat to medium; cover. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes (flip halfway through cooking time). Remove from pan; set aside.
In a bowl, combine yogurt, mustard, chives, tarragon, and remaining salt mixture. Core the apple, and cut into 1/4-inch dice. Place in a medium bowl with lemon juice, and toss to combine. Add fennel, celery, and grapes. Cut reserved chicken into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to salad with yogurt dressing; stir to combine. Serve on pumpernickel bread, open-faced, with watercress.
Turkey, Cheddar, and Green-Apple Sandwich
Serves 1
2 teaspoons grainy mustard
2 slices whole-grain bread, toasted
2 teaspoons mayonnaise (or hummus)
4 thin slices cooked white-meat turkey
1 ounce thinly sliced extra-sharp cheddar cheese
4 thin slices green apple
2 pieces red-leaf lettuce
Spread mustard on 1 slice of bread and mayonnaise (or hummus) on the other slice. Layer the remaining ingredients on mustard, and top with second slice of bread. Cut in half, and serve immediately.
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Where you’re from according to what you call a sub sandwich
What’s your go-to sandwich? Tell us below!
