In Praise Of Good Sandwiches

 We're still working form home . Kids are still learning from home. That means quick lunches with ingredients thrown together. Yet we all deserve a decent sandwich.It's not hard.  it's just two slices of bread with a good filling inside. That's it.Anyone, even the littlest home chef can create a tasty one,

The base of any sandwich is the bread. The best kind is a thick slab of  an artisanal one. Think rye or sourdough. The inventor, John Motnagu, the fourth earl of Sandwich set the example. He wanted his  roast served between two hearty slices so he could have one hand free to play his beloved cards. Think a one inch slice with a couple of slices of meat in between. Leftovers are perfect for this. Sliced chicken or turkey is perfect for this as is leftover London Broil. Make sure that these are sliced thickly too (thinner for the little ones so it's more manageable). Cold cuts are also tasty but just make sure they're of the best quality. Many groceries are still slicing  while others have the meats already sliced and packaged for purchasing. What makes for the best sandwich filling? That's up to you however the brand you choose will make a world of taste difference. Boar's Head is about the best flavorwise .It tastes like fresh from the deli. Their ham is perfect, especially since it's sliced wafer thin. Italian cold cuts are also a treat, especially on sliced Italian or French breads. Try them together for a true burst of flavor. Prosciutto and mortadella are sheer heaven together. Prosciutto and salami are also a great combo, especially on chewy Italian bread.

 You can also create a delicious filling if you're on a creative bent. Chicken or tuna salad is a nice change of pace and you  can have fun varying the recipes.Add some chopped tarragon to the chicken while tuna can get some freshly ground peppercorns for bite. Ham and roast beef can also be turned into salads thanks to chopping them in a food processor and then mixing with mayo. Ham salad can be spiked with mustard or celery seeds while a roast beef salad can benefit from a little crushed garlic and onion powder.  All these salads can be served on toast but also artesenal bread would work well. For real luxury try lobster or shrimp salad. You can also create a crab salad which would be good on buttery brioche. Leave out any seasonings on the seafood. Just enjoy their rich briny flavor and maybe a little chopped celery added in. Vegans and vegetarians can also have tasty fillings. There's a variety of different soy cold cuts that taste like smoked turkey and bologna. These can be slathered with Nayonnaise, the eggless mayonnaise which tastes exactly like the real thing. Of course nothing beats a tomato and Nayonnaise sandwich, You can add Morningstar Farm's soy bacon along with some arugula for a lush BLT too.Sliced tomatoes also work with sliced cucumber and red lettuce too. Sliced avocados on toast are another good lunch idea, especially when they're with onions and sliced Roma tomatoes.

Creating a good sandwich is easy. It just takes, bread, a filling and some creativity. It makes for a satisfying and filling lunch .

Your Own Favorite Restaurant

People are even getting paranoid and understandably so about eating out. Yet, for many it's the highlight of the week or month. The food is tasty and fun. However you don't have to eat out. There are recipes for some of our favorite restaurant and fast food dishes. Why go out when you can bring the eatery to you.

Fast food is always a hit. Who doesn't love a burger with the works or a filled burrito? Yet you can easily make these at home. It's so easy to recreate the special sauce. It's just mayo with a dab of French dressing along with white vinegar and granulated sugar.This can be made healthier with using the vegan Nayonnaise and dark wildflower honey. Add sliced tomatoes , pickles and lettuce on a bun for the full effect. As for fries and onion rings use your air fryer.  You could get the bagged , frozen kinds but you can also buy already freshly cut crinkle potato and sweet potato fries.. Liven it up with some ground garlic and rosemary. Homemade onion rings are another easy make, thanks to panko bread crumbs and an egg wash. Love Taco Bell? Their bean burritos are so easy to whip up - as I know. It's easy to cook up kidney beans and chopped onions in a mix of vegetable and olive oil.Red wine vinegar gives it tang while chili pepper and cumin add flavor. Serve it on steamed tortillas. Have a side of melted nacho cheese  - basically a jalapeno cheese sauce. It's creating a roux of milk and flour and then adding chopped cheddar and butter. Diced jalapenos are then stirred in for fire.

Pizza and pizza sticks are always easy to recreate.The dough is a simple recipe of flour, water and yeast, along with olive oil, a touch of sugar or honey and salt for flavor. Top with already made pizza sauce also used for dipping with the pizza sticks  and a variety of veggies and meats. It's a fun way to teach the kids how to bake as well as create breads. Making a pizza can also be a great method of teaching nutrition and which is the best and healthiest to eat. Kids can learn about using vegan mozzarella and what veggies are the most nutritious and the tastiest for finishing a pizza. Another Italian classic that's always a take out is the hero. Yet these are so much fun to make at home.Take a good Italian or French bread, cut in half, and add slices of your favorite meats , cheeses and veggies.What really makes any hero sing is the dressing.it's just a mix of olive oil and red wine vinegar with a dash of oregano. So many chain restaurants have loaded potato skins.It's baking Russet potatoes and then scooping out the flesh so that there's a quarter of potato left inside. Then you can fill  them with anything you want, from bacon to pulled pork or shredded roasted chicken with taco spicing. You could also try topping them with  pizza sauce and mozzarella for a different spin.

Eat in if you have qualms about eating out. It's easy to recreate favorite recipes at home. You might even improve on them.

Diet Fun

Can a diet be fun? Surprisingly yes, if you're creative and know what to mix and blend you can.It's just a matter of being open and experimenting. It'll make a new lifestyle change exciting.

This has been my mantra now that I'm on the cirrhosis diet. I have to admit it was more than daunting at first. Let's face it , giving up sugar and salt  is life changing.It's giving up cookies and the occasional cupcake. The salt is even worse. I have to give up my beloved pretzels and bacon along with the occasional bag of chips. Salad dressings, thanks to their high sodium content are also off the table. The one that kills me is the veggie broth, my always go to  when I feel sick or just want a very light meal. Luckily one of my favorite soups, Well Yes comes in  lower sodium and thankfully tastes the same. Other soups aren't so forgiving so it's up to me to get creative about them. I found a recipe for homemade veggie stock that sounds delicious , I can see adding whole wheat fusilli and chickpeas for a much healthier version of pasta e fagiole. I could also add Beyond Meat crumbles for a heartier chowder like soup. As for the salad dressings, I can use vegan Nayonnaise which tastes like the real thing. It's a low sodium sauce that can be blended with turmeric or cumin, both liver building spices. I also plan on cooking with those spices. I live them already and am looking forward to using it to flavor lentils and chickpeas.

As for the sweets, I was more than ecstatic to discover that very dark chocolate actually helps in slowing down cirrhosis. I went out and bought the seventy-five percent bars. These have a slightly sweet flavor but tastes more like baking chocolate - which I love. I decided to cut and then grate it into a cup of almond butter. It's the perfect sweet snack - and almost decadent in its' flavor.I plan on mixing it with plain Greek yogurt which I can also have. The Slushie cup I used for my Pepsi slushies can be used for making a kind of ice cream with these ingredients. I can't have the regular kind due to all the sugar but I can have this. I also plant on chopping and pureeing different fruits and mixing it with the yogurt for different iced treats. (Greek yogurt can also be used for dips for veggies too). As for candy' even the sugar free is out of bounds. Yet there are grapes and blueberries to enjoy and snack on. I can melt the  dark chocolate and dip strawberries and other fruits in it.  As for cakes, I'm looking into whole wheat ones sweetened with honey. This will be the rare treat, made on birthdays and holidays. There is an oatmeal cookie made with blackstrap molasses - again this last is acceptable, that I'm looking into too.

This diet won't kill me. Thanks to being creative , it will save me. There's so many ingredients I can play with to create delicious meals and treats. I'm looking forward to all these changes.