Top 5 sammiches to spice up the work week

Don’t get stuck in a rut with PB&J or ham and cheese. And for God’s sake, stop stinking up the whole office with your canned tuna every day — you know who you are. Try these sammich alternatives that are just as creative and mouth-watering as they are nutritious. Brown-bagging it this fall doesn’t have to be boring. (Nor does it need brown bags. Use a lunchbox and save a tree!) We’ve got you covered for every day of the week.

MONDAY: Meatless Monday masterpiece
Grilled Portobello mushrooms and goat cheese sandwich with green-olive/pine-nut pesto

We admit; this isn’t a HellaWella original. We couldn’t help but borrow this one from FineCooking.com. The photo had us drooling.

The Portobello and pesto require a little preparation. We suggest grilling the Portobello mushrooms and preparing the pesto the night before. You can make enough Portobello mushrooms to save for tomorrow’s dinner or another sandwich later in the week. And pesto is extremely versatile — don’t restrict it to sandwiches. Make enough that you can use some later in the week to make pizza or pasta salad, or use it as a marinade on chicken or fish.

Ingredients
For sandwich (1 serving):

• 1 medium Portobello mushroom, grilled
• 4 ounces of goat cheese
• Bread of your choice (We recommend multigrain focaccia.)

 

For pesto (4 servings):

• 1 cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
• ½ cup pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 1 small clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

 

Directions
The night before:

1. Put the basil, olives, nuts and garlic in a food processor and process until finely chopped. With the motor running, add 6 tablespoons of the olive oil in a slow, steady stream, and continue to process until thick and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

In the morning:

1. Spread the pesto onto the bottom piece of bread, add the mushroom and top with goat cheese.

 

This sandwich is perfection when it’s pressed into a panino, but unless you work in the Google office, we doubt you have a George Forman grill at your desk. If you’re craving that panino crunch, toast the bread when making the sandwich in the morning. If not, the sans-toasted version should still make your coworkers jealous.

 

TUESDAY: Turkey Choke
Turkey, artichokes, sun-dried tomato, mozzarella, red pepper mayo

We’re not going to give you specific measurements the non-mayo ingredients of this scrumptious sammich. Use as much turkey, artichokes, sun-dried tomato and mozzarella as you desire; just remember to maintain a healthy portion size. The roasted red pepper mayo will last a while, so make enough to use for future sandwiches.

Ingredients

• Bread of your choice (We suggest multigrain focaccia.)
• Low-sodium turkey
• Artichokes (canned are just fine)
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Buffalo mozzarella, sliced

 

For the red pepper mayo (12 servings):

• 2/3 cup of roasted red peppers, preserved in water, drained well and patted dry
• 1/3 cup of LIGHT mayonnaise (The world has yet to create a non-fat mayo that doesn’t taste like glue, but there honestly isn’t much of a taste different between light and regular, so stick with light.)

 

Directions
The night before:

1. Roast the red peppers. Make sure to remove the skin.
2. Blend the roasted red peppers and mayo in a food processor until smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Cover and refrigerate.

 

The next morning:

1. Create your sandwich and get to work already!

 

WEDNESDAY: Brie Happy
Grilled chicken, Brie and Granny Smith apple, Balsamic vinaigrette

Ingredients (Proportions are up to you)

• 1 small to medium chicken breast (or half of a large chicken breast)
• Brie
• Granny Smith apple, sliced
• Balsamic vinaigrette
• Bread of your choice

 

Directions

1. Grill the chicken the night before. Save some for a quick dinner later in the week.
2. Do we really need to tell you how to put these things on bread?

 

THURSDAY: Veggie Delight
Hummus, avocado and cucumber sandwich, little bit of salt and olive oil

One thing the Brits have figured out that we haven’t: Cucumbers are damn good on sandwiches!

Ingredients (Proportions are up to you)

• Hummus (If you really want to raise the sandwich bar, make your own. If you’re like us and running out the door in the morning, try Sabra hummus … it comes in on-the-go packets.)
• Avocado, sliced
• Cucumber, sliced
• Salt and olive oil, to taste
• Bread of your choice (We recommend a whole wheat pita or multigrain bread.)

 

Directions

1. Stop dipping those cucumbers in the hummus! This is sandwich-making time! No real directions for you; it’s an easy one.

 

FRIDAY: The Athenian
Greek salad, sandwich-ified

You can make any salad a sandwich! (The Cobb salad sandwich is one of our faves.) For a Greek salad sandwich, stay true to its roots with a pita (whole wheat, of course). Make the salad a night before, and save it for another pita later in the week or leave it as a salad for another meal.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup diced tomatoes (cherry tomatoes add a lot of flavor)
• ¼ cup diced cucumbers
• ¼ cup chopped green bell pepper
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/8 cup parsley
• ¾ tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ tablespoon of red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 whole wheat pita

 

Directions

1. Whisk together the olive oil and red wine vinegar, and add some salt and pepper.
2. Mix together with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Stuff into the pita.