Sandwich of the Month - Turkey with cranberry sauce and "cream cheese"

There’s this little bakery that’s a few miles from where I grew up that makes the most unbelievable sandwiches. It’s called A Sweet Affair. These sandwiches first made an impression on me in that moment of youth when I was just starting to hold on to permanent memories. So looking back I’m thinking, was that a dream? Did I invent the sweet, tempting aroma and giant loaves of oversize sandwich bread? But three years ago I moved back to my hometown and no, it turns out these lofty creations with inch and a half thick fresh baked breads are real and still available to me any time my car steers it’s way over there. Number of drive-bys so far: 3. Times I actually got out of the car to go in: 0. I was in the neighborhood, okay! Geez. 

I did however go way out of my way to re-create the nostalgia that comes from one recipe of their’s that I will never forget. This is the thanksgiving leftover sandwich, or whatever day of the year sandwich. The last time I went to Disneyland with my brother and sister in law (which is usually a multiple times per year occurrence, they live in Pasadena) I decided to pack a lunch. Now a bag lunch at a place like Disneyland is kinda like a punishment. When every darn kid and their mother is walking around with a churro, the last thing anyone really wants is a bag lunch. Remember those kids who’s mom always brought food to the state fair or whatever? Nobody wants to be that kid, even when you grow up and realize that those parents were really the ones with the most sense, budget savvy, and kids’ best interest in mind.

So making this lunch exciting for everyone is pretty much my number one priority at this point, since I’m not going to bring food just for me and I’m certainly not going to doll out health food like a death sentence to Mickey Mouse at lunch time. And I thought hey, my brother’s nostalgia for A Sweet Affair sandwiches is equal to mine! So I got to recreating, remixing, and swapping ingredients until I had a delicious creation with minimal calorie damage. Churros and burgers were on no one’s mind as our bag lunch was ripped open with glee.

Here it is!

Turkey and Cranberry Affair

2 slices reduced calorie whole wheat bread (ex: Sara Lee Delightful or Oroweat Light)

2 Tbsp. canned cranberry sauce

1 wedge Laughing Cow light swiss cheese

4 oz. cooked and sliced turkey breast or chicken breast

3/4 cup sprouts

3 large lettuce leaves

Calories: 360

Fat: 7 g

Total Carbs: 30 g

Fiber: 7 g

Protein: 43 g

My first successful plants from seeds!

This is a picture of one of my baby acorn squash plants that are getting transplanted into the garden later this week. I grew them from seeds! Previously everything I have planted in my garden came to me as a small plant either from my dad, the store, or from my friends Evan and Jane who manage an organic farm in Healdsburg called Home Farm. Without their excellent advice these little guys would never have had life. I can't wait for them to grow! Home grown acorn squash is one of the most delicious things I've ever had from my garden, second only to Paul Robeson variety heirloom tomatoes. Yummy.

Here's a pic of my spring harvest of garlic and red onions from babies provided by Evan and Jane. They grew greenery all winter long and then bam, as soon as the warm weather came around their bulbs grew almost overnight. I'm going to make sauteed kale with garlic, onions, and a little bacon.

What's on the menu?

As scary as it might be I'll be tracking everything I eat and drink over at my public food diary on myfitnesspal.com. I'll never be perfect but I promise to be honest! Friday nights will be the most telling, that's usually when I need a drink or two. ; ) I better post this quickly before I back out!

Sometimes I really don’t understand you anymore.

I’m trying to pull myself out a a spiraling vortex of logic and emotion that seem to always lead to just eating the darn grilled cheese sandwich. Or cookie. Or ice cream. Oooh, do we have any ice cream? Not now, focus. This conversation is what’s happening in my brain. It’s fragmented and pulls me in at least two directions at any given moment, and I can’t remember a time in my life when the prevailing topic of debate was anything but food. Always food.

As much as I love food, I frequently wish that I could just quit. How clean and simple would that be? Like an alcoholic giving up the sauce forever, one hour sober and counting. Not easy, but straightforward, a clear path. Alas, food doesn’t work that way. Those of us who identify as food addicts have to find “balance” between not eating and eating too much. Although I think that word is a drastic misrepresentation of the multiple personality power struggle between my self who loves eating full tubes of cookie dough and the one who enjoys veggies out of my garden. Some days I don’t really understand either of them.

If I know one thing for sure it’s that I can literally kill myself with food. But there’s no way I’m letting the fact that I live in a land of plenty be my downfall. I have too much respect for people who battle against ridiculous odds in situations they have no control over to continue to allow myself to be a victim of something that is 100% within my control. My brother has multiple sclerosis, and facing something like that, being able to go out for a walk is a gift, not a chore. The gift of autonomy freaks me out sometimes: I have control, I have choices, I have no limits. Now let’s start acting like it. 

Sure there are bound to be roadblocks, I could get hurt or lose my job, or a giant marshmallow man could rampage my town forcing me to EAT HIM. (How many calories are in a giant marshmallow man?) But above all else, I have made a commitment to never give up on myself. As simple as that. I’ll never give up. That’s my permanent decision, my final answer, the one thing I don’t have to question anymore. I’m never going back to that place where guilt was my default emotion, I don’t have a life or a self there anymore.

Welcome to my battle with my drug of choice. I’m currently winning. Stay tuned...