Brown-bagging it for lunch

Anxious to try some new, exotic dish that involved cooking with brown bags, imagine my disappointment when we were taken to a delicatessen to select the sandwiches of our choice to be packed in brown bags to eat for lunch at the conference table because our schedule did not allow time for us to eat in a restaurant.

Today, those striving to stick to a food budget should consider “brown bagging it” every day. In fact for the last ten years of his life my husband preferred to take a flask of soup and sandwiches for lunch instead of going to a restaurant because it saved time as well as money – and meant he wasn’t likely to nod off at work in the afternoon after a full meal at lunch.

Sometimes I’d make hot soup for him, sometimes cold, and I liked to vary his sandwich fillings as often as possible. So, for readers who like to eat healthy while brown bagging it to save money, let’s begin with the basics, a loaf of wholewheat bread, butter (if you can afford it) or margarine.

Now for the healthy fillings. A leaf or two of lettuce goes without saying. For the rest try ringing the changes of cheese and tomato, cheese and ham, tomato and salami – whatever with the following fillings that take a little time to prepare but are well worth the effort. And if you’re growing rocket (arugula) in a pot in the backyard, a leaf or three will really spice up your sandwich fillings.

We’ve only space for three sandwich filling suggestions this week, a curried tuna filling, a salmon and cucumber filling and my personal favourite, a cous-cous and mint sandwich filling.

To make enough Curried Tuna Filling for two sandwiches you need:

1 small tomato, sliced

4 slices of bread, preferably wholewheat or, even better, rye

1/2 can of regular small (128 gms about 7 ounces) tuna in brine, drained and flaked, or tuna in oil if you have no problem with cholesterol.

? stick preferably imported celery

? teaspoon curry powder (or more, to your taste)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (it’s bursting with vitamins!)

1 tablespoon Lite dressing or mayonnaise, if you’re not watching your cholesterol

Method

Mix together the tuna, celery, curry powder and parsley in a bowl, stir in the dressing (or mayonnaise) and mix well.

Divide half the tomato and half the filling between two slices of bread, do the same with the other two slices of bread.

Use the other two slices of bread on top of the filling to make a sandwich, cut diagonally into triangles.

Note: No need for butter or margarine on the bread for this recipe

For the Salmon and Cucumber Filling you need:

1 small (105 gms) can of pink salmon

1 tablespoon of low fat cottage cheese

1 small cucumber, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons of chopped chives, or blades of sive, finely chopped

4 slices wholemeal bread

Method

Mix together all the filling ingredients in a bowl, spread half between two slices of bread, do the same with the rest.

And what should you do with the rest of the cottage cheese left over from this last recipe? You could make cottage cheese pasta with tomatoes, basil garlic and Parmesan, or a bean and zaboca cottage cheese salad, or a tuna and cottage cheese pasta. The possibilities are endless.

Couscous and Mint sandwich filling

1 1/2 tablespoons cous-cous

1/4 cup boiling water

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1 small tomato, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon chopped mint

Method

Put couscous into a bowl, add the boiling water, stir, then let stand for about 20 minutes until all the water is absorbed, cool.

Add the parsley, tomato, onion, juice and mint and mix all together.

Use to spread on bread with butter, or mashed zaboca.