3 healthy snacks packed with vegetables

Sandwiches are a “must” of street food. One of the most sought-after options for young people who go out with friends, food offered by bars and taverns, what we take on excursions, to the beach or what we find in the children’s backpacks at snack time. They are loved by all, but they have a very bad reputation for being unhealthy. In addition, most contain animal protein or, at least, eggs, and finding vegetable options is not too easy.

But with a little imagination we can do healthy snacks besides vegetables and delicious!

How to make healthy snacks

To prepare balanced snacks, we should use only natural ingredients, “real food”, and include some vegetables and vegetable protein.

Let’s see it, but let’s go step by step, or layer by layer.

choose a good bread

Let’s start with the most important thing: the bread. These are some of the keys to choosing a good bread for your sandwiches:

Better with whole wheat bread. The best choices for bread are a whole wheat or spelt baguette or loaf or a gluten-free version.Sandwiches with sourdough bread? Even healthier would be to use a bread prepared with mother yeast, although it must be taken into account that, in this case, our healthy sandwich it will have a thicker consistency and stronger flavor, with which it may be that the flavor of the filling is eaten and that we find it too forceful. To avoid this, we can prepare an open bocadillo or sandwich, which means not using the upper part, or opt for a 100% whole wheat bread prepared with baker’s yeast that is lighter.In the variety is the spice. Apart from the typical bread, ciabattas or baguettes, we can prepare healthy sandwiches with pita bread, wraps, arepas or, why not, bao rolls or bagels.Low carb alternatives. To make healthy low-carbohydrate sandwiches, we can prepare a keto-type bread with almond flour or seed flours or use the filling of the sandwich in lettuce leaves or portobello mushrooms. To use the mushrooms instead of bread, we only remove the feet, grease the heads with a little oil and cook on the griddle or for about 10 minutes in the oven at 220 degrees. Then we can use them as if it were a bread and fill to taste.

The filling: vegetable protein and lots of vegetables

What makes the sandwiches unbalanced, aside from poor-quality bread, is a filling loaded with saturated fat or additives. Here are some keys to prepare healthy fillings.

Banish the sausage and opt for vegetable proteins. When filling the sandwiches, we can opt for any vegetable protein, such as tofu, tempeh or seitan. Proteins can be marinated and then prepared on the grill, in the oven, in batter… If we want legumes to be our protein, we can also prepare all kinds of hamburgers, meatballs… or bake them in the oven and mix with some sauce. We can also use spreads and creams to prepare with legumes and accompany them with baked vegetables. We can even prepare our own vegetable tuna.The vegetable that is not missing, whether raw or cooked. For the sandwich to be really healthy, it is convenient to use vegetable stop stuffing. We can use the vegetables raw, for example tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce or grated carrot. In that case, so that it does not contain as much water and does not wet the bread, we can macerate it before. We can also use any roasted or grilled vegetable, such as aubergine, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms.Turn to vegetable pates. Another option when it comes to including vegetables in our healthy sandwiches is to prepare spreads for the fillings, such as a pepper or aubergine cream.Vegetable integrated into the protein. We can also add vegetables to the protein filling, for example making pumpkin burgers or a tofu scramble with mushrooms.

a full meal

If we follow all these rules to make a healthy sandwich, using good quality wholemeal bread and filling with natural ingredients that include vegetable protein and vegetables, we can serve the sandwich at any meal. The sandwich is no longer a simple snack, but can Serve us food at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

In fact, for snack we can prepare the same fillings but serve less amount of bread. The only thing we have to keep in mind, if we are going to take them in a tupperware container, is that the sandwiches are transportable and can be eaten cold.

In addition, for breakfasts or snacks we can even opt for sweet fillings such as peanut butter with berry jam, homemade chocolate hazelnut cream with banana, or a homemade cream or ricotta cheese made with tofu, cashews or almonds and accompanied by a little maple syrup and apple or pear compote. oven.

3 healthy snack recipes

Here you have three original recipes for healthy sandwiches suitable for vegetarians and vegans. They all include vegetables, vegetable proteins and healthy sauces that make them very juicy.

Gratin sandwiches with spinach and vegan cheese

Preparation: 10 minutes – Cooking: 25 minutes

Delicious vegetable sandwiches. To make them, we can prepare a cheese sauce ready in 10 minutes or use a grated vegetable cheese.

Ingredients (2 sandwiches):

4 slices of spelled bread200 g of smoked tofu1 tablespoon of soy sauce50 g of fresh spinach1/4 of a spring onion1 clove of garlic1 tablespoon of olive oil2 piquillo peppers

For the cheese sauce:

120 ml canned coconut milk 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1.5 tablespoons tapioca starch a pinch of onion powder a pinch of garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon saluna pinch of turmeric (for color) black pepper

Preparation:

Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Wash and chop the spinach. Cut the 2 thinly sliced ​​tofu and spread with soy sauce.For the cheese sauce, In a small saucepan, mix all the ingredients for the sauce. Take to the fire and, when it starts to boil, lower the heat. Cook over low heat, stirring for about 5 minutes. Booking.In a frying pan, Heat a little oil and cook the smoked tofu on both sides until it starts to brown. Remove from the pan and save.In the same frying pan Sauté the onion and garlic for about 10 minutes. Add the spinach, a pinch of salt and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the cheese sauce minus 4 tablespoons, mix and turn off the heat.Prepare the sandwiches. Spread 2 slices with the reserved cheese sauce, add the tofu, bell pepper and finally the spinach. Close with another slice of bread. Heat a non-stick frying pan with a little oil and once heated, place the sandwiches on top. Cook until they begin to brown, pushing on top with the spatula. Flip it over and cook on the other side.

Sandwich with hoisin tofu and coleslaw

Preparation: 20 minutes – Cooking: 10 minutes

A different sandwich with a asian touch. Instead of a normal bread or a baguette as proposed here, you can use the steamed bao breadwhich can be found in specialized stores in frozen format.

Ingredients (2 large sandwiches):

2 cereal baguettes250 g of firm tofu1 tablespoon of oil2 tablespoons of vegan mayonnaisefresh coriandersalt

For the coleslaw:

1/3 of the green part of 2 spring onions 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar 4 tablespoons of vegan mayonnaise (ideally homemade from cashew nuts) or coconut yogurt 1 teaspoon of chili salt sauce

For the hoisin sauce:

4 tablespoons soy sauce 1.5 tablespoons peanut butter 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 1.5 tablespoons sesame oil 2 cloves of garlic a dash of five-spice blend cayenne 1 teaspoon maple syrup

Preparation:

Open the package of tofu, pour out the liquid, wrap the tofu in a paper towel or kitchen towel, put a weight on top and let dry about 10 minutes. Cut the tofu in half making 2 fillets, and each fillet into 2 pieces.First prepare the hoisin sauce. In a food processor, puree all the ingredients until you get a smooth sauce. Guard.To marinate the cabbage, Cut the cabbage into julienne strips with the help of a mandolin or a very sharp knife. Put the green part of the chives. Add salt, rice vinegar, chili sauce, half of the hoisin sauce, and vegan mayonnaise or coconut yogurt and mix well.In a hot skillet, with a tablespoon of oil, add the tofu and a little salt and cook on both sides until cooked, 1-2 minutes on each side. Add half of the saved hoisin sauce and cook the tofu in the sauce until it thickens. Guard.open the baguettes in half and toast them. Spread with a little mayonnaise, add the coleslaw and tofu, garnish with fresh cilantro and serve.

Rolls with “pulled” mushrooms and quick cucumber pickles

Preparation: 15 minutes – Cooking: 15 minutes

Some real vegetable sandwiches. as filler we will use only mushroomswhich have a texture very similar to meat, and in this version we will make them in the style of pulled porkwhich will give it a very juicy touch.

If we want a more complete sandwich, we can add slices of seitan or tempeh passed through the plate

In the recipe a homemade barbecue sauce is prepared, but if we are in a hurry we can substitute it for a purchased sauce. Most likely, it will be left over, so that we can use it in another recipe.

Ingredients (2 large sandwiches):

2 multigrain bread rolls 10 oyster mushrooms 1 tablespoon of oil

To marinate the mushrooms:

2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon saluna pinch of cayenne 2 garlic cloves

For the barbecue sauce:

250 ml crushed tomato 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons maple or rice syrup or cane syrup half a teaspoon of salt half a teaspoon of garlic powder half a teaspoon of onion powder a pinch of cayenne black pepper

For the Cucumber Pickle Salad:

1 cucumber ½ teaspoon of salt 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon of rice syrup ½ teaspoon of coriander seeds ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds 1 tablespoon of dill

Preparation:

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees.In a bowl, mix all the ingredients to marinate the mushrooms: oil, paprika, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt.clean the mushrooms with a damp cloth. With the help of a fork, break the mushrooms into pieces. Mix with the macerated, place on a baking tray and bake 20 minutes.While the mushrooms are cooking, put them in a pot all the ingredients for the barbecue sauce and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until the sauce thickens. Prepare the cucumber pickles. Wash the cucumber well and cut it into thin slices. Chop the dill. Season with salt, mix and leave for about 10 minutes in a strainer. Then push gently to remove the rest of the water and dry well with a cloth or kitchen paper.In a bowl, Mix the vinegar, syrup and spices, add the cucumber and mix well.To finish the mushrooms, In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the mushrooms and 4 tablespoons of the barbecue sauce and cook for about 5 minutes. Prepare the sandwiches. Open the bread in half the rolls and toast. Fill with the mushrooms, the cucumber and serve.