I can’t even begin to tell you how unhealthy I feel lately. The way I have been eating is just shameful. Especially for a pregnant woman… I just have this weird aversion for vegetables when I am pregnant. My love of carbs just goes into overdrive and I tend to pig out on things like cereal and breads. Not ideal. So I have been in the market for some sneaky meals that give you some nutrition from vegetables without having to eat carrot sticks or steamed broccoli. Ugh.
I’ve always loved roasted red pepper. I ran into this recipe when I did a basic google search for “healthy lunches”. And since I also have a great love of cream cheese I thought this would be the perfect recipe for me. And it was indeed delicious!
Personally I think it should be served as a wrap rather than a sandwich since the cream cheese spread likes to ooze everywhere, but at the time I wasn’t thinking and whipped one up on bread. Regardless, I thought the sandwich was a hit. It is SO simple and takes hardly no time at all to prepare. I do have a few pointers though-
It is absolutely necessary to drain the excess moisture off the veggies. Particularly the red pepper after it has been chopped. Otherwise the cream cheese spread will be VERY soupy. As it is, if you leave the spread in the refrigerator more than 24 hours it will start to liquify. This really is best served right as it’s made. Cucumbers are trouble makers when it comes to anything you do NOT want watered down… there is just so much liquid in them that when the salt hits them, it’s game over.
- ½ cup finely chopped seeded cucumber
- 1 (7-ounce) bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and finely chopped
- ¾ cup (6 ounces) ⅓-less-fat cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ cup (about 3 ounces) block-style fat-free cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons minced red onion
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 8 (1½-ounce) slices whole-grain bread
- 8 romaine lettuce leaves
- Spread cucumber and bell peppers onto several layers of heavy-duty paper towels; let stand 5 minutes to drain excess moisture. Scrape into a medium bowl using a rubber spatula. Add the cheeses, onion, salt, and garlic; stir with a fork until well blended. Spread about ½ cup cheese mixture over 4 bread slices; top each serving with 2 lettuce leaves and 1 bread slice.
adapted from myrecipes.com
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I guess you just can’t go against your body and sometimes have to ‘cheat’ to eat the right things
And this sandwich looks really great!