I often feed my kiddos leftovers for lunch… but when I plan ahead, we actually have a great sandwich! Sandwiches seem to be the typical lunch for most families in America… but most deli meats are full of preservatives, fillers and do not begin with healthy, humanely-raised meat. A friend of mine suggested roasting my own turkey breast, and I’ve found it’s SO much more delicious than the typically slimy store-bought deli turkey.
We have a small store that we purchase local meat from – they sell some delicious, well-raised whole turkey breasts for $5.90/lb. Check here for local meat in your area.
There are lots of ways you can prepare the meat. You can marinate it with your favorite marinade (teriyaki, garlic & herb). I have been super quick with mine and they’ve turned out great. You can use chicken breast in the same way.
I sprinkled the meat generously with salt and a spice mix that is peppery with some dried herbs. I threw in a couple of slices of fresh garlic and about a 1/2 inch of liquid to keep it moist (If I owned a crock pot, I might use it for this), and put it in a covered pot. You can grill or roast it as well. I wanted to have mine cooked for the next day’s lunch, so I put it in the oven at 175 and let it slow cook overnight.
This was the result:
The meat turned out delicious and moist!
Each turkey breast I purchase are a bit different in size/weight – but most of them are around 1.5 lbs.
We love sauerkraut on our sandwiches (read here how to make your own), some garden greens, a little dijon and some home made milk mayonnaise (an AMAZING alternative to store-bought mayo). Sourdough is our bread of choice, because the flour has been fermented overnight with the starter and allows for easier digestion.
It’s great to get outside the box of typical deli meat sandwiches and mix it up a bit. How about pre-cooking some chicken sausages and slice those on sandwiches? Or hard-boiled eggs smashed on your bread with some mayo and mustard (a quicker version of egg-salad)? If you have some frozen or fresh basil pesto – add that to any chicken or egg sandwich for a quick flavor boost!
Enjoy!
