Open Wide.

Now, I have mentioned before that I have never been one for taking initiative and making myself a sandwich. My mom never packed me peanut butter and jam sandwiches growing up. While going on trips, I never packed myself hearty meat sandwiches. I remember trying my first sub in grade two. I took a bite of my friends turkey sub, with Swiss cheese, ranch sauce, lettuce and tomato. Years later I then began to order those for myself, but those were practically the only sandwiches I ever really ate, unless it was packed with hot salami and cheese.

However, since I am now making my own bread, and loving the healthy breads, I need to find more ways to eat the bread other than simply having it as toast. This has not only allowed me to get more creative in the kitchen, but it has allowed my palette to experiences combination of fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts that it may not of had before. I'm going to keep this post simple, saying only a few words for each, but there will be a delectable sandwiches, because I am getting hooked.

The reason I am making a post solely on sandwiches is because it can get dull eating the same sandwich day in and day out, and sometimes it is difficult with all the possibilities out there to come up with something creative. So by seeing pictures of multiple sandwiches it can help inspire some fresh ideas!

I have to admit one of the things I miss about not eating chicken are the boneless chicken wings. I used to be a huge, I mean huge fan of chicken wings. Hot, barbecue, peppercorn ranch, Parmesan dill, oh man I loved them. They were just so full of flavour. I used to not only order the small size of wings, nope I went for the large, did I also mention I was a big eater? Ugh... yeah, gross. Nonetheless, I have missed the flavour combination's and have simply missed the whole "event". People just always seem so happy while eating their wings, especially with their crispy fries with the dill dressing, yum!

Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread

Recipe adapted from here

Before I post the sandwiches, I want to post the bread I used in all of these sandwiches (but the banana scramble which was enjoyed with my ciabatta bread). Other than that, I had made a bread Honey Banana Whole Wheat Bread with various seeds. I loved this bread. It was so scrumptious, and not only that it had a lot of additional nutrients added, from the banana, chia seeds, and caraway seeds. Usually when you make bread for sandwiches, it's your standard white or whole wheat bread, but I didn't want that, therefore decided to added some extra health benefits to the bread. I loved it, and ate it every single day, as you will see from this post. When I first started making it, I was doing it in the bread machine, but really didn't like how it was looking. I've never used a bread machine before and was quite skeptical but my mom's boyfriend kept insisting that it was really good... I think it's because he's never made bread without the machine. I mean, yes, it is a handy tool, especially when you aren't always in the kitchen but I like making breads by hand and in the oven. I decided to take out the loaf from the machine, shape it into a loaf, and plop it into the oven at 350 degrees F for approximately 40 minutes; it worked like a charm and gave me a delicious loaf!

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup warm water
• 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 cup multi-grain bread flour
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp caraway seeds
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp dry yeast

Barbecue Vegan "Chicken" Tofu Wings

One of my favourite blogs (never home)maker (man I feel like all I've been doing is posting recipes from their blog lately... this is why it's one of my favourites, no matter what I'm craving I can usually find inspiration from their blog). I had seen many moons ago Vegan Tofu Wings, well needless to say I bookmarked that page right away! Today I was really craving a sandwich, but I knew I was making the vegan tofu wings today so I decided why not change the recipe up a bit and make a "boneless "chicken" wing sandwich", that is what I did.

The sandwich was so freakin' good. I had a piece of tofu by itself before putting it into my sandwich. How did it taste? Exactly like a piece of chicken. I'm not saying this to "sell" the sandwich. No, it had the perfect spice, consistency, flavour and even gave you the smokey residue you sometimes get from barbecued sandwich. When I cut the sandwich in half, for a split second I forgot it was tofu and not chicken. It actually looked like white meat chicken. It was a perfect sandwich, and it made such a beautiful lunch. I will definitely be making this over again, or simply make it with the intentions of having it as wings and serving it with fries, delicious!

I took their recipe for Vegan Tofu Wings, and adapted it slightly. This is what I did:

Ingredients:

• 1/4 block extra firm tofu
• 1/2 tbsp canola oil
  
• 1/4-1/2 cup of your favourite barbecue sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy butter
  

Directions:

Heat oil over medium-high heat.

Drain tofu and cut into large strips (you may wish to press the strips with a paper towel to get excess moisture out). When oil is very hot, stir in tofu and fry until both sides are a deep golden brown. Melt soy butter and mix it in with the barbecue sauce. Pour mixture into a large, shallow dish. Put fried tofu into the dish and stir. Let sit for five to ten minutes. Then, heat in microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute (this gives it a good, wing-y texture).

Serve with vegan sour cream, blue cheese dressing, or ranch... whatever you like!

Barbecue "Chicken" Sandwich

2 pieces of honey poppy seed bread
2 rainbow chard leaves
5 pieces of your barbecue "chicken" wings
Broccoli sprouts
Cucumber

Directions:

Toast your bread to desired done-ness. Put your lettuce, cucumber, broccoli sprouts, barbecue "chicken" wings, and take the leftover sauce from the "chicken" wings and spread it on your bread. Cut in half, enjoy.

Serve either warm or cold!

Turkey Date and Walnut Panini

Recipe adapted from here

This is by far one of the most amazing sandwiches I have ever had in my life. I love dates. I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. When I saw this recipe I knew it was made for me. It was glorious. It was sophisticated. It was classy. It was flavourful. It was healthy. It had a touch of alcohol. It had sweetness. It had nuttiness. It had perfection. I will be making this again, and again, and again I can guarantee you that. Oh, if there is one sandwich you need to make or try before you die, it is this one. Yes, that is such a strong thing to say but it is that good.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup pitted dates
• 1 heaping tbsp walnuts
• 1/2 tbsp white wine
• 5 slices of tofurky "turkey"
• 2 pieces whole grain bread

Directions:

Put dates, walnuts pieces, and white wine in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it becomes a smooth, thick paste. Preheat your panini pan or press. Spread a generous portion of the date spread on one (spread on the dry side). Top with turkey and then the second piece of bread. Place in your panini press or pan and cook until golden brown. Cut in half and serve immediately.

I didn't use butter, as mine is non-stick and I've never had a problem with it sticking before.

Banana Scrambles

Recipe taken from here

I am seeing these pop up on many, many vegan, vegetarian blogs. It was about time I had made one for myself. An amazing sandwich, served either for breakfast, lunch, a snack or even dinner. It is filling, wonderfully exotic tasting and simple to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 large banana
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
• 3 tbsp vanilla fortified soy milk
  
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• Homemade peanut butter or store bought
  
• Ciabatta bun or store bought English muffins/bread loaves

Directions:

Toast the Ciabatta bun's/bread. Then in the bowl of an electric mixer (or you can certainly do this by hand), combing/mash together the banana, coconut, soy milk, and maple syrup. Combine until egg-y, if that makes sense. You want only a few lumps.

Then in a small pan over medium heat, pour the banana mixture in and scramble until ever-so lightly browned.

Divide into two equal portions. Spoon onto English muffins and spread the other side with peanut butter (to your liking). I found it helpful to lay out a piece of tin foil for mine -- because I quickly transported it to work with me.

Pear and Goat Cheese Sandwich with Toasted Walnuts

Recipe taken from here

What a unique combination of flavours. I never think to put fruit in my sandwich, I just feel as though fruit is more of a salad topper. I was incredibly wrong though. This lent such a wonderful sweetness to the sandwich and created such a unique taste with the goat cheese and walnuts. This was such a refreshing sandwich and is certainly aimed to please. It is a reminder of the summer on a cold winter's day. Very satisfying.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of sea salt
• Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup mixed salad greens
• 1 ounce goat cheese
• 2 slices whole grain bread
• 1 slice onion, separated into rings
• 5 thin pear slices
• 1/2 tsp chopped toasted walnuts

Directions:
Whisk together first 4 ingredients in a small bowl. Add salad greens, tossing to coat. Spread cheese on 1 slice of bread. Top with greens, onion, pear, walnuts and remaining slice of bread.

Turkey Sandwich Extraordinaire

Last but certainly not the last sandwich that will hit this blog. This was something I quickly whipped up after a run. I was craving something incredibly filling as you could probably tell. It was huge, delicious, healthy, and oh so tasty. I loved this.

Ingredients:

• 1 tomato
• 4-6 cucumber slices
• Broccoli sprouts
• 2 large red chard leaves
• 5 tofurkey slices
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 slices of honey poppy seed bread
• Wasabi-lime mustard

Directions:

Whip up your sandwich in desired layers. Devour.

Have a great day, and open up wide, as there is lots to choose from :)