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Old-Timey Goodness

Our weather has been rather cold and dreary lately and if that’s not soup-and-grilled-cheese weather, I don’t know what is! Before Thanksgiving, I posted some tips for improving our favorite recipes so let’s see what we can do with my beloved grilled cheese sandwich…

The sandwich I grew up with was made with 2 pieces of  white bread buttered and golden-toasty on the outsides with processed American cheese all warm and gooey in the center. It was beautiful. A work of art! I loved every bite.

The good news is: I love my new and improved version even more! I love the taste better but I also love that it’s nutritionally valuable unlike my old favorite.

1) Replace the 2 pieces of white bread with ONE piece of 100% organic whole wheat bread. Compare the size of the breads and you’ll see that whole grain is almost always larger. Our favorite is Nature’s Own and it’s clearly larger. In addition, whole grains are heavier and leave you feeling fuller than over-processed white bread.

2) Replace the processed cheese (the sodium is horrendous) with real cheese and ALWAYS organic dairy. Nobody wants extra hormones and antibiotics they don’t need floating around in their bodies.

3) Replace the butter or margarine with healthy olive oil. (We like to sprinkle a touch of garlic powder over the oil while it’s heating, stir, shove 1/2 the oil over to one side of the pan and plop the bread onto the other half. When ready to flip, spread the other half of the oil out and plop the un-toasted side on top.)

According to Calorie Count Recipe Analysis, here is the nutritional breakdown for each. Note that there does appear to be a few more calories in the 2nd sandwich. However, note the improvement in saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, sugars and protein! The improvement in the quality of the sandwich is certainly worth the 15 extra calories! In this instance, each calorie is simply carries more bang for the buck! If the 15 calories bothers you, use less olive oil. (I was only guessing at the amount anyway!)

Nature's Own Organic 100% Whole Wheat with organic Monteray Jack

And one more thing… notice the weight of each sandwich. 70g and 74g. See how close the serving sizes are? Proof that only 1 piece of whole wheat bread is sufficient! Voila! Your cost of a loaf 100% organic whole wheat bread just dropped by 50%.

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