Healthy After Thanksgiving Turkey Sandwiches

When I was growing up, my family who are Canadian, always had turkey with all the fixings for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Although I always loved those big family dinners, my favorite part of those holidays was using the leftover turkey for sandwiches the next day. Now when I was young, eating healthy was not a big priority, and I loved my turkey sandwiches for lunch on white bread with lots of butter and full fat mayonnaise. To this day, it is a tradition for me to have an “after holiday turkey sandwich” the next day for lunch, but now I am more concerned with making my sandwich healthy while still retaining flavor.

This year, I put together this great sandwich using whole grain bread which I spread one slice with my Sweet Potato Hummus, and the other slice with Christy’s Cranberry Chutney. I added a nice thick slice of turkey breast, topped the turkey with some peppery arugula, and ended up with an improved version of my childhood favorite. The sweet potato hummus added “holiday flavor”, and provided the creaminess of the butter and mayonnaise I eliminated. The chutney added a nice zesty flavor and texture to the sandwich turning it from ordinary to EXTRAordinary. I’ll never miss my old childhood favorite again!

• What makes the chutney healthy is the addition of pomegranate juice and seeds. Pomegranates are high in vitamin C and multiple B vitamins and they also contain potassium. The seeds also add fiber. The antioxidant content is why pomegranates are very popular today as antioxidants are believed to fight the free radicals that might contribute to chronic diseases such as cancer.
• Cannellini beans rock as they are packed with fiber, protein, folate & hard-working phytonutrients.
• Sweet potatoes contain a wealth of orange-hued carotenoid pigments and phytonutrients.