Open Faced Turkey Bacon Egg Salad Sandwich

An Egg-cellent Alternative to the Boring Turkey Sandwich!

I don’t know about you, but I often get stuck in a rut, eating the same thing for lunch every day. I’ll admit I just don’t have a lot of energy, creativity, or patience by the time the mid-day meal rolls around. Usually there are two tired and hungry toddlers hanging off my leg demanding food, water, and everything else under the sun.  And by the time I get them fed, cleaned up, and planted in front of the tube for a little downtime I’m too beat to manage more than a sandwich.

Problem is, I’m SOOOO sick of deli turkey I might die. Okay, maybe not really but I’m seriously over lunchmeat right now. That’s why this recipe caught my eye. It’s easy to make, full of fresh, good-for-you ingredients, and best of all—it’s not a freaking turkey sandwich!

I really didn’t stray much from the original recipe. I just used grape tomatoes (because I had them in the fridge) and turkey bacon (because it’s less fatty). I also decided to make this an open-faced sandwich but you can cut the carbs by omitting the bread if you’re so inclined. Here’s what I came up with.

Open Faced Turkey Bacon Egg Salad Sandwich
Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and diced
1 avocado, diced
15-20 cherry or grape tomatoes
4 slices turkey bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pepper (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
2 slices sprouted grain bread, toasted

Directions:
Place eggs, avocado, tomatoes, cooked turkey bacon (I used the microwave!), and lemon juice in a small bowl and stir well to combine. Add a little salt and pepper to taste. Spoon egg salad mixture onto the slices of toasted sprouted grain bread and enjoy immediately.

Cooking Tip:
Hard-boiled eggs are awesome to have on hand for meals and snacks. They are so easy to make. Just place raw eggs in a single layer in the bottom of a medium saucepan. Fill the pan with enough cold water so that the eggs are covered with about an inch or so of water. Turn the burner on high and heat uncovered until water starts to boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let the eggs “cook” in the water for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, you need to cool the eggs quickly. You can use a slotted spoon to remove the eggs from the pan and transfer them into cold (even iced) water or you can drain the water from the pot and add ice water to that. Whichever method is easiest for you. As soon as the eggs are cooled, they are ready to eat. You can also store unused eggs in an air-tight container for 3-5 days.

Results:
This recipe is SOOOOOOOO good! I’m not kidding…I ate some variation of this egg salad three days in a row after I first tested it. In fact, I’m going to boil some more eggs this afternoon so the hubs can try it for lunch this weekend. Yum!

If you’re sick and tired of turkey sandwiches (or whatever boring fallback lunch item you revert to), give this simple and tasty egg salad a shot. Do you have other easy lunchtime recipes you’d like to share? Send them to me at ryanngroseclose@gmail.com or post them in the comments section below.

Until next time,
Ryann

Low-Sugar Banana Oatmeal Muffins



Low sugar, no flour, no oil, no butter = NO guilt!

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m no baker. I get baking powder and baking soda confused (which one freshens the fridge again?!) and I’ve never dared to attempt any recipe that calls for yeast for fear that whatever was supposed to rise wouldn’t.  But when I saw this yummy muffin recipe on Pinterest it piqued my interest. No flour, no oil, no butter…it sounded promising. Plus I already had all the ingredients in the cupboard so I was good to go.

I stuck to the original recipe pretty closely. But I wanted to cut back on the sugar—my children turn evil the second sugar hits their bloodstreams—so I used a little natural sweetener (stevia) instead. I also used quick oats (because I had them on hand).

The best part about these little low-sugar wonders is that you just toss everything in a food processor or blender, stick them in the oven for a bit, and in minutes you have a healthy, delicious, not-too-sweet treat. Here’s the modified recipe I came up with.

Low-Sugar Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Makes about 20 mini muffins or 10 regular muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups quick oats
1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
2 eggs
¼ cup sugar
2 packets (2 grams) stevia powder (I used Stevia in the Raw)
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½  teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 ripe bananas

All the ingredients ready to go!

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place all ingredients in a blender or large food processor and blend until batter is smooth.

Line a muffin or mini muffin tin with paper or foil liners. Fill cups about ¾ of the way full.

Bake muffins at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

Results:
My kids LOVED these. And my big kid (a.k.a. the hubs) and I really enjoyed them too. They had a great consistency—you’d never know I didn’t use flour—and even though they weren’t full of oil and sugar they tasted every bit as delicious as a traditional banana muffin.

I made mini muffins, which were perfect for snacking, lunches, etc., but regular sized ones would be great for breakfast on the go or brunch as well. Next time I make these, I’m going to try folding some fresh blueberries into the batter just prior to baking. I think they would make an awesome addition.

If you’ve been looking for low sugar, good-for-you muffins, you’ve come to the right place. Give this recipe a try and, as always, let me know what you think.

Until next time,
Ryann