There are numerous benefits to eating healthy but the ones that come to the top of my head are, makes me feel good, keeps me in shape, gives me energy and saves money on health costs. I have been a health enthusiast for many years but over the last few years I have really refined my diet to eating healthy, clean meals consisting of whole foods. My meals consist mostly of lean proteins, lots and lots of vegetables and healthy fats 5 times a day, 6 days a week. The 7th day is my cheat day* so I get to eat tastier meals. Many fitness gurus say you shouldn’t take a whole day off from your diet but I do it for a couple of reasons.
- I am not a professional bodybuilder or a professional athlete, but I do play sports at a high level and I would like to enjoy them without having to sacrifice too much of a normal lifestyle.
- I believe food is the spice of life and if I completely cut out unhealthy meals I get bored and I find it affects me emotionally.
- When that “cheat” day comes it keeps my body guessing and it gets me mentally and physically ready for another 6 days of healthy eating.
- I believe the body is highly adaptive and if you eat nothing but healthy food your body gets used to it and the moment you eat
something unhealthy or greasy to be exact it upsets your stomach and you feel sluggish. - My cheat days* are technically not cheat days, but rather cheat meals combined with “healthy cheat meals”. On my cheat day I have only 1 or 2 actual unhealthy meals and it’s usually when I go out to eat. The other meals consists mostly of meals that are typically unhealthy but I’ve modified them so they are healthy but still have a lot of flavor.
Healthy Turkey Sandwich
One of my favorite “healthy cheat” meals is a hearty turkey sandwich. This sandwich tastes so good and is so loaded with healthy ingredients you almost want to eat it every day. I know your probably thinking isn’t all turkey sandwiches healthy? Actually, they are not. If you look at Corner Bakery’s Uptown Turkey sandwich it has 660 calories as compared to my turkey sandwich which has less than 450 calories and tastes much better. Also my turkey sandwich has a fraction of the sodium, fat and artificial ingredients. The only reason why I eat this on my cheat day is because of my strict macro nutrient diet and it does not allow me to eat bread on a daily basis.
Healthy Turkey Sandwich
Bread
Alpine Valley Multi Grain is all organic and only contains ingredients you can pronounce. That is a plus in my book!
Turkey is the star of this production, but the bread is definitely the co-star and is just as important. I like to use Alpine Valley Organic Multi Grain with Omega 3. This bread is soft, tastes amazing and is high in fiber (3g) , low sugar (2g), low sodium (120mg), is high in protein(3g), only 81 calories per slice and it has only 13 ingredients and you can pronounce every one of them.
Lower calorie alternative: Sara Lee’s 45 Calories & Delightful 100% whole wheat. It has 3 g of protein, 2g or fiber, 160 mg sodium, 1 g of sugar, .5g total fat and only 45 calories per slice. It doesn’t taste as good as Alpine Valley and is not as nutritious but if you are looking for a lower calorie alternative this is one of the best.
Turkey
Costco's Kirkland Signature's Pre Cooked Turkey Breast is very low in sodium and has no preservatives. It's a great alternative if you don't have the time or an oven to cook your own turkey breast.
Turkey is the star and as with most things, there is nothing more satisfying than a home-grown star. I like go to Trader Joe’s and buy 3lb uncooked boneless turkey breast and marinade it in olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, pepper , herbs and spices. It’s very easy to cook, just bake it in the oven and it comes out tasting great, is very low in sodium and does not have all the preservatives that are in traditional cold cuts.
If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s you can go to Costco and get their Kirkland brand Pre cooked turkey breast, it’s low in sodium and has only 2 ingredients, turkey and less than 2% broth.
If you don’t have either a Trader Joe’s or Costco you can go to any store and get Columbus brand or Boars Head low sodium turkey breast as they use real turkey instead of processed turkey rolls loaded with preservatives.
Lower Calorie Alternative: Take portabella mushrooms and slice them into ½ inch slices and apply the same marinade as the turkey breast. Bake it in the oven and substitute that as your meat. Portabella mushrooms are very low in calories, loaded with nutrients including protein and have a very meaty flavor and texture.
Condiments
Sabra Pine Nut Hummus has a delicious creamy nutty flavor that goes perfectly as a mayo substitute in sandwiches.
I don’t like my sandwiches dry so Instead of mayo I use hummus. Hummus adds great flavor, is healthier than mayo and has less calories than mayo. I like to use Pine nut hummus as it is mild yet has a delicious nutty flavor. You can use any flavor you like from plain to garlic to roasted bell pepper, but you just have to watch out as some of flavored hummus may be very strong.
For additional flavoring, I use yellow mustard. Yellow mustard has no sugar, no fat, no carbohydrates, low sodium, and contains vinegar and turmeric which are very healthy for you.
Produce
As for the vegetables I put as many as my sandwich will hold. I like to load it up with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, cucumbers, avocados, and red bell peppers if I have them and sometimes even raw mushrooms.
Note: Iceberg lettuce is ok but I like to get more nutrients out of my greens so I usually go for the darker greens loaded with antioxidants like Romaine and Spinach or if you’re feeling daring you can try Kale which is one of the most nutritious greens you can eat but it is a little bitter, with a peppery after taste but after putting on everything else you will barely even taste it.
You can put any combination of vegetables on your sandwich and it makes it taste like a completely different sandwich.
Whats Wrong With Cheese
I love cheese. It gives everything it’s on a nice creamy, smoky, salty flavor, but with that being said; I don’t put cheese on my sandwich. Cheese is 90% fat and one slice will instantly add about 80 calories to your sandwich depending on the type of cheese you add. Also I don’t even really miss the cheese when I add the pine nut hummus as the hummus itself has a salty, nutty flavor very similar to some cheeses, so why add the calories. If you absolutely must have cheese, go for the low-fat cheeses which will only put on an extra 60 calories. If you don’t like low-fat cheeses you can sprinkle on Feta Cheese which has great flavor and is healthier than its counterpart from cow’s milk.
Conclusion
This sandwich tastes amazing, is under 450 calories (depends on cheese or no cheese) and is perfect for your healthy cheat meal. If you’re not on a strict macro nutrient diet like I am then this is a perfect daily meal. It tastes like a decadent turkey sandwich but is loaded with nutrition. It’s has everything your body needs to run properly and efficiently from lean protein for building muscle, healthy carbohydrates for steady energy, fiber for slower digestion and weight reduction, and heart healthy fats from the hummus, olive oil and avocados.
