An ode to lunch.

Happpyyyyyyyyy Friiiiiiiiiiiiiday!!!!!!!!

Let us dive right in.  Let there be food.

Behold, my lunch:

Midday, I made a pit stop at Panera for a loaf of their Multigrain Miche.  Bread is a score at Panera- only $3.29 for this loaf!- and they even slice it for you.  If you aren't near a Panera, try a local bakery or even the grocery store's bakery department for baked artisan breads sliced on the spot.  I've rolled with some fresh grocery store options, but right now, the Multigrain Miche is my favorite.  Ok, maybe I just like to say MICHE.  What of it?

Panera sack.

The loaf!  In all its doughy, crunchy glory.

Tenderly caressing my sweet miche.

I rounded out the bread with 2 veggie burgers, some spicy chickpea crisps, vanilla almonds & raisins and a banaynay.  In the words of Coworker A, "I love that you don't stop at 2 burgers."

It was a glorious bounty.

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While nibbling my open-faced veggie burgers, I got to thinking about creative sammiches.  I get bored with the garden-variety two pieces of bread plus a proteiney middle, so I switch things up a lot.  Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy my "sandwiches" at lunch:

• Vegetarian Double Down: two veggie burgers with a piece of bread in the middle.
• Open-faced!  Pictured above.
• Swapping out bread in a sandwich for flatbread crisps or crackers.  A deconstructed sammich, if you will.
• Nakey fillings!  A.K.A. a Picky Plate.  Sandwich fillings laid out, no bread.
• If all else fails, I have to AT LEAST slice my sandwich on the diagonal.  Quarters are even tastier.

I know it sounds nerdy, but I gotta keep it real with my lunches.  I eat lunch at the office way more than at home, and sandwiches are a fast and portable choice- the secret to not getting bored about bread and fixins is just to keep 'em interesting.

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Talking of lunches, my internet shopping friends at OpenSky are hosting a really cool fundraiser.  They've partnered up with new project The Lunch Box to help bring delicious, healthy foods to hungry little folks at schools all over the country!  Culinary cutie (yes, I hate myself, too) Jamie Oliver described The Lunch Box's mission on their site:

"Chef Ann [the force behind The Lunch Box] is one of our Food Revolution heroes. She’s proved that you can produce a freshly cooked meal for the same amount of money many schools are spending on processed, re-heat foods. Her new fantastic website has loads of recipes and tools to help you do the same and give kids in your school REAL food.”

- Jamie Oliver

Starting Monday, when you buy any of the below three products, OpenSky will donate $1 from each sale to The Lunch Box project.  That means you get to try some tasty new lunch treats while supporting a charity- talk about a sweet deal.

1. The GoodOnYaBar, which comes in delicious flavors like Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate.  This is a healthful and portable dessert for your bag.  It would be good for emergencies, like a broken-down train or, uh, the munchies.
2. Artisana Almond Butter.  AB is a staple in my pantry- I put it on everything, from carrot sticks to toast.  I haven't tried Artisana's variety yet, but if it's anything like their Coconut Butter, it's downright habit-forming.
3. Wee-Bee Honey.  I love that the top recommended serving suggestion for this is "off a spoon".  That's just one of the reasons why I'm carrying it in my shop!  Other reasons include: cute packaging, versatile, crazy delicious and a bee that can't harm me.

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Speaking of lunches: in case you missed it, check out my guest post on Maria's blog, Chasing the Now, in which I reveal all of my super juicy lunch-packing tips.

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Question of the Day: Got some great lunchbox tips or recipes?  If so, dish!  Err, Tupperware.