Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

This week's feature was inspired by something called "Take and Bake" bread I found in the bakery at Whole Foods. I picked up a loaf of ciabatta, baked it for seven minutes at home, and assembled grilled veggie sandwiches (recipe below).

If you are a CooksAid subscriber, you know that we feature one vegetarian recipe a week, along with a seafood recipe, a chicken recipe, and a couple of other recipes featuring beef, pork, and/or other meats. This goes along with our idea of a well-balanced diet.

If you don't usually eat at least one meatless dinner per week, you may want to give it a try. Adding a vegetarian dinner to your week can increase your intake of plant-based foods, which has a number of health benefits such as helping you maintain a healthy weight; lowering your blood pressure; improving your cholesterol levels; and reducing your risk of heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer.

Here's this week's recipe - you won't even miss the meat!

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

Servings: 2

¼ cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
1 + 1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
½ teaspoon dried thyme
Cooking spray
½ zucchini squash, sliced at an angle into ¼-inch slices
½ summer squash, sliced at an angle into ¼-inch slices
¼ yellow onion, sliced into ¼-inch strips
½ red bell pepper, sliced into ¼-inch strips
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small loaf Ciabatta bread (about 5 ounces), sliced in half down the middle, then lengthwise to make 4 slices

1. In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, horseradish, and thyme. Set aside.
2. Coat a grill pan with cooking spray, or use nonstick foil on an outdoor grill. Heat grill pan or grill over medium-high. Spread out vegetables on pan or foil, season with salt and pepper, and cook about five minutes, turning once.
3. In a medium bowl, toss vegetables with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and oil.
4. Toast bread in a toaster or on the grill for about 45 seconds. Spread mayonnaise mixture on bread, top with vegetables, and serve.

Nutrition Information
(For ½ recipe) 340 calories; 45 g carbohydrate; 8 g protein; 15 g fat (2 g saturated); 4 g fiber; 920 mg sodium. Exchanges: 2.5 starches; 2.5 fats; 1.5 vegetables.

Side suggestions. Fruit salad.

--posted by Krisha--