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Back to School Sandwich Inspiration (gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free)

August 30, 2017 By Jessica

It’s back to school time! Are yours back in school yet? I remember starting school after Labor Day in New York. My three boys’ started the school year last Thursday. Where did the ease of summer go? Summer weather is still very much here in Los Angeles suburbia yet morning rush, forms to sign and lunch packing has officially begun. Specifically sandwiches. Huge, awesome, stacked sandwiches — not that you really need to go to school to make a hearty sandwich — which had me thinking about how far allergy friendly bread has come. 

Thinking back for a minute, to when sandwich bread was a far cry from what it claimed to be, I remember the crumbling sandwiches that fell apart after two bites and stick to the roof of our mouths. Not very sandwich-making friendly but we didn’t have a choice. Gosh, it was hard. Especially for my children (ages 15, 7, 4, 4 at the time) to embrace this new allergen-free journey in late 2007 when our options were terrible. Really terrible. Bread was usually sold frozen and when defrosted became gummy. You couldn’t spontaneously open up a loaf of bread to eat. If you were a sandwich lover back then you were screwed. At least, that’s how we felt. Oh, how we missed a good lunch sandwich. And bagels for breakfast. And cinnamon raisin bread for any time. The selection was slim picking and desperate my friends. Making sandwiches for them now has me smiling knowing they are SO gonna love it!

Gone are the days of gummy, crumbly, chewy and BIG HOLEY bread. Ugh, anyone remembers pulling out slices of bread from the bag only to find big holes through the middle?! During morning rush getting kids’ to school on time?! During a big fat sandwich craving?!  Ooh that made me so mad. 

Seriously, good bread is a big deal!

Thankfully bread has come a long way. The taste and texture of Canyon Bakehouse bread (a dedicated gluten free facility by the way) are what bread should be, leaving out the GMO’s, corn syrup, bleach, and other crazy stuff other brands have no problem using. Because we’re worth it, right? Of course, we are. 

What inspired me to create this back-to-school turkey and fig back-to-school sammie were the sweet figs I found at the farmers’ market so I worked flavors around that. Sliced turkey is a favorite here and figs happily go with turkey, and with broccoli sprouts, butter lettuce, and a shmear of manuka honey on their new Heritage Style Whole Grain bread it made for one heck of a delicious nutritional powerhouse of a sandwich (actually four, since I had one for lunch myself.) that my boys loved — I even got lots of kisses after school. #thebestfeeling

A little sandwich ingredient talk for the nutrition geeks out there like me :):

*Raw 16+ enzyme Manuka honey — bees that pollinate on the Manuka bush resulting in the highest level of anti microbial, viral, and bacterial medicinal properties. of all honey. Brand should be a UMF company. It’s the 16+ enzymes that make this honey superior in its properties. Although cheaper, anything lower than 10+ will not have medicinal qualities. I give a spoonful the minute there is a sore throat lurking – a little goes a long way.
*Broccoli sprouts — higher in Vitamin C and antioxidants than mature broccoli heads, 10-100 times in chemoprotective compounds and contain sulforaphane, which helps slow tumor growth and normalizes DNA methylation. Plus, helps detox environmental pollutants.
*Butter lettuce – okay not really nutritional in anything other than some fiber but it sure tastes buttery and most tender of all lettuces
*Organic gfcf turkey breast packaged or homemade – great source of lean protein without fillers or added nitrates, cancer causing toxin (when organic)
*Fresh black mission figs – full of fiber, high in iron, and a good source of B6, potassium, manganese and Vitamin K. Any mulberry fruit lovers? Figs come from the same family (Ficus carica).

We’ve always loved their smaller sliced bread but the new Heritage Bread has taken over in the sandwich category at our house. If you have never tasted their breads or baked goods you need to get some ASAP. Locate a store on their website and grab a coupon while you’re at it to see what all the fuss is about https://canyonglutenfree.com/. If you can’t find it at a store near you, ask them to carry it and likely they will. Also, don’t miss out on their Sammie Smackdown, happening right now on their site! Vote for your favorite sandwich by one of four bloggers and their favorite charity and you could win a YEAR SUPPLY of products – how cool is that?!

Disclaimer: The kind folks at Canyon Bakehouse sponsored this post. As always, all opinions are my own and I think all their breads and baked goods are absolutely awesome.

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Filed Under: breads Tagged With: breads, dairy-free, gluten free recipes, gluten-free, light and easy recipes, soy-free

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Comments

  1. Brooke says

    August 30, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    I'm with you, I love Canyon bread and always looking for sandwich ideas. Nice use of figs and sandwich looks delicous!
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      August 30, 2017 at 10:10 pm

      It was, thanks! Hope you give it a try!
      Reply
  2. Amy says

    August 30, 2017 at 12:32 pm

    Love turkey in my sandwich and yes I remember the awful breads that tasted like cardboard. Thank you for the nutritional insight. Where can I find Manuka honey? Any brand you recommend? Honey instead of mayo sounds really good and I like that it's healthier too. Nice to get a new post today!
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      August 30, 2017 at 10:16 pm

      Whole Foods is where I buy it. Not sure where you're located but you can usually find it at a health food store. I personally like Wedderspoon because it's organic, but any brand will do so long as it's UMF grade with a minimum of 16+ enzymes to get the medicinal benefits. It's not cheap but not meant to be eaten by the spoonfuls. :)
      Reply
  3. Mari says

    August 30, 2017 at 1:18 pm

    We love Canyon here too. My freezer is stuffed with the Heritage bread and the bagels! Canyon just had a sale earlier this month to showcase the new blueberry and cinnamon raisin bagels. Yes of course I bought cases of them, and my family is thourughly enjoying them. The bread is always amazing and it’s nice not to eat a tiny sandwich. I have to admit that I can only eat one piece of that bread, but the guys love it. It’s so nice to have real bread again. I have been gluten free for decades, and it wasn’t until the last few years that there have been any edible choices. The fig and turkey sandwiches look so good. I’m going to see if my Whole Foods has any in stock.
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      August 30, 2017 at 10:20 pm

      I did too, their new blueberry bagel is so good! Thanks Mari, hope you try this sandwich combination before fig season over and let me know what you think. :)
      Reply
  4. Leslie Rogers says

    August 30, 2017 at 4:46 pm

    My children are all grown but betcha they would devour such a lovely sandwich. I haven't tasted this bread before and it sure looks like real bread, will be looking for it at my grocer. Thank you.
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      August 30, 2017 at 10:21 pm

      Hope you love it as much as we do Leslie!
      Reply
  5. Mindy says

    August 30, 2017 at 6:40 pm

    Wow this looks incredibly easy and fulfilling! It's funny this morning I was speaking with another Momma about allergies and how difficult life used to be for our little ones several years ago when gf / cf breads were as good as rocks and how few restaurants knew of (or cared) of allergies and sensitivities and now you post this and remind us how incredibly fulfilling and creative your recipes are!!! and ez!!! Thanks for sharing this and also quite a transition into fall and school starting this week. And long nights of homework checking!! (which is what ice cream is for) :DD
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      August 30, 2017 at 10:27 pm

      Ah, yes, it seems like there is more allergy talk these days. Thanks so much Mindy, for your kind words. Hope school is off to a great start for yours!
      Reply
  6. Tanya says

    August 30, 2017 at 7:19 pm

    This looks great!!
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      August 30, 2017 at 10:28 pm

      Thanks Tanya, hope you give it a try and let me know what you think!
      Reply
  7. Camille says

    August 31, 2017 at 6:47 am

    Sschool starts September 6th in Bloomfield and my daughter is dreading it. Good news is that she loves figs and think a hearty sandwich like this with side of cookies may be a happy surprise. Thanks for the inspiration! P.S.- love manuka honey and think it's clever how you used it as a spread!
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      September 11, 2017 at 1:40 pm

      Thanks so much, hope back to school was a hit!
      Reply
  8. Helen Birnbaum says

    August 31, 2017 at 10:08 pm

    I've been making turkey sandwiches for my kids for school lunch for years. My version is the tiny gluten free bread with mayo and lettuce. Usually, I make one and a half sandwiches each so they have enough to eat. Not only have you made a turkey sandwich on "steroids" but you use a sandwich size bread that I didn't know existed. I wish I could watch my boy's faces when they open this amazing looking sandwich. By the way, I'm going to make this sandwich for myself as well!
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      September 11, 2017 at 1:41 pm

      Yes, it does, and it's so good. Check out their website - they will ship to you directly!
      Reply
  9. Susan says

    September 9, 2017 at 10:59 am

    I was looking for sandwich ideas and came across your website and just had to say that I think you have some wonderful recipes that I am looking forward to trying and the sandwich looks incredible! We are gluten-free and dairy free so to find your website completely like this makes me so happy! Which recipes do you recommend that are kid friendly to start with? Thanks!
    Reply
    • Jessica says

      September 11, 2017 at 1:37 pm

      Thank you for stopping by Susan, and the kind words - that made my day. :) The ones that my guys love are: mac n cheese is no. 1, easy quinoa salad is also a favorite (swap cherries for peaches or figs this time of year), caesar salad is a regular, short rib ragu, any of the cookies ... oh and also the pot de creme. Lots to choose from depending on your kids' tastes - these are regulars in our house. Hope you give the recipes a try and let me know what you all think!
      Reply

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Welcome!

Hi! I'm Jessica, welcome to my blog! I'm a wife and mother of four (all boys, including twins. Did not see that coming!) who loves to eat. Discovering food intolerances in my family and myself had me think about cooking differently with an emphasis on nutrition, but not any less deliciously. No, won't settle for that, neither will my kids! Here you will find simple, healthy, seasonal recipes we love that are gluten, dairy, and soy free. Many are also egg free, nut free, plant-based and/or grain free, given our evolving dietary lifestyle. Even though we live a life of dietary restrictions, my passion for food keeps me on a constant quest to create tasty recipes or adapt our favorite recipes from my stack of cookbooks to bring back the joy of eating again, without sacrificing flavor. Hope you find some inspiration and recipes to enjoy ... thanks for stopping by!

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