A Sandwich With Some of My Favorite Ingredients

Green Goddess grilled cheese sandwich. (Photo from tastespotting).

Recently I ran across a recipe for a sandwich that includes some of my favorite ingredients: cheese, avocado, spinach, and pesto.  I finally got around to making it for supper last night.  The recipe is from the blog Tastespotting.  I didn't make my own pesto and I substituted yogurt cheese for the mozzarella, but boy was this a good sandwich.

Adding pesto to bread.

Spread pesto on two slices of whole grain bread.

Add cheese.

Add a slice of cheese to one slice of the bread.

Add avocado.

Add spinach.

Add the avocado and the spinach to one side of the sandwich.

Add remaining slice of cheese.

Add the remaining slice of cheese.  Top with the other slice of bread.  And grill in a bit of olive oil until brown on each side.

Grill until browned.

After toasting, cut in half.  Dan and I each had half of the sandwich with a bowl of soup for a delicious supper.

Enjoy!

For the recipe go to the tastespotting blog.  Also check out her great photos of this sandwich.  I'm going to follow her blog.  She has amazing suggestions for healthy sandwiches.

Munch Madness

Maple-glazed walnuts and pecans.

Here are some suggestions for healthy munchies while watching tonight's basketball championship game.

Maple Glazed Walnuts/Pecans
2 cups walnut or pecan halves or mixture of both
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions:  Place 1/8 teaspoon salt in a dry skillet and heat over medium-high heat.  Add the walnuts and syrup.  Cook, stirring often, until the syrup is absorbed and caramelized and nuts are toasted.  3 to 5 minutes.  (Recipe modified from one by Ellie Krieger of the Food Network)  These are good as munchies, but are also good in salads.

Another really healthy snack is cheese stuffed apricots.  Use the large dried apricots and be sure they are soft and supple and not hardened.  You can make a half moon slit entering the knife in the opening where the pit was removed.  Place about 1/2 teaspoon of cheese into the pocket and top with an almond.

Cheese stuffed apricots:
Dried apricots (large ones--the ones from Trader Joe's are very good) And as someone said if you don't have a Trader Joe's, then you need to move.
Softened cheese (Brie, Blue Cheese, or Mascarpone) I used Brie for these.
Almonds (I used Marcona almonds from Trader Joe's)

This is a healthy snack. Almonds are high in protein and fiber and rich in vitamin E.
Dried apricots are rich in carotenes and a number of minerals as well as vitamin C.

Dried apricots stuffed with Brie and topped with Marcona almonds.

We'll be snacking on these tonight as we watch the game.  Go Kentucky!