Ranch Egg Salad Sandwich

I started making these sandwiches at lunchtime. They fill me up and are good for me. 

 I don't like mayonnaise or salad dressing much (anymore-Andy doesn't like them and I just stopped buying them when we got married and did without), so I use ranch dressing instead. I love ranch (and yes, I know that ranch has most of the same ingredients as mayo and salad dressing.)

Here's the finished product.  

Egg Salad on whole wheat toasted bread with a Kraft Singles American Cheese and carrots.

Start with a boiled egg.  I usually use large eggs, but this one was a medium and was plenty for my sandwich.

After peeling (obviously), I just use a fork to make it into crumbles.  I'm sure I could buy a fancy egg dicer tool, but I'd rather just stick with the fork I already have.

See?  Beautiful egg crumbles.

I add about a Tablespoon of Ranch dressing and some ground black pepper (salt isn't needed for me) and then stir it up.

Toast the bread, add some cheese, and then spread the egg salad on top before topping with the second piece of cheese.

You have to cut it diagonally, right?  My almost eight year old can make this herself.

Easy, filling, and good-for-you lunch. 

I think it'd be great with a slice of tomato, lettuce, bacon, or turkey on top too.  

Maybe all of them, like a fancy BLT.

Microwave Sweet Potato (or Yam)

This is one of my favorite lunches these days.  I was buying sweet potatoes, but they are currently more expensive than yams in the stores I go to, so I bought a few yams to try.  Just as good to me and good for me!

I like to microwave it while I eat a salad or get lunch ready for my two who are at home at lunchtime.

Start with a sweet potato (or yam).  Wash it (I eat the skin....yummy!)

Cut off the ends and cut it in half.  Wrap each half in a paper towel. 

Put it in a really cool microwave potato bag (that I make and sell for just $6).  I heat up tortillas in it to make enchiladas too.)

Close up the potato bag that is made of 100% cotton and it wicks away the moisture so you have a perfectly cooked potato.  Put it in the microwave for five minutes on high.  I usually check to see if it's soft then or let it sit in the microwave for another five to ten minutes resting while it finishes cooking (or cook it for two more minutes).  One other cool thing about these bags is that they keep the food in them hot, so if the kids spill some water or someone calls, I can just let it sit and it will still be great 15 minutes later.

I just slice each half in half again, add a little bit of margarine and salt and pepper and eat it.  

Sometimes I don't even use a fork.  I just tear the halves apart and eat it like a taco.  

As a bonus, they are less than 250 calories, WITH margarine and they fill me up.

What do you eat for a quick lunch? 

Egg, Pepper, and Cheese Omelet

This is one of my favorite things to eat for either breakfast or lunch (and sometimes dinner if it's leftover night and my family eats all of them or if I've eaten too many calories during the day.)  

I break TWO large eggs directly into a nonstick pan and then use a little fork to scramble them up.  Then I toss in some sweet pepper strips (about a cup of them) and keep the temperature on medium heat.  Also add a little salt and pepper at this point.  

These are the sweet peppers I use.  They are about $2 for a bag and the bag lasts for at least three omelets and I don't have to buy each pepper individually when they are out of season or cut them up.

I use a large spatula to flip my omelet because I don't like any runniness in my omelet. Wait to flip until the edges are all set which usually takes between five and eight minutes.

 When you flip it, the cooked side looks like this.  The second side only takes a minute or two to cook, so don't leave it!

I add a quarter cup of shredded cheddar cheese and fold it in half.  Doesn't that look delicious?  

It's so tasty and good for me with just 283 calories!

2 Large Eggs 140 calories
1 cup C&W Pepper Strips 33 calories
1/4 cup Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese 110 calories
Let me know if you try this or if there's something you like to add to omelets that maybe I haven't thought of.