Let's face it, there really are no healthy fast food restaurants (although some of them are getting a little better, and removing some of the junk in their foods), so I continue to try and find more easy, healthy fast foods for make-at-home meals. Not long ago, we had just finished dinner and Kent knew he saw that look in my eye. No, not that look, lol. I told him, “I feel another post coming on…”
Dinner was SO fast and easy!
It literally took me 15 minutes to pull together these reuben sandwiches from start to finish, and only that long because there's six of us. If you have a smaller family, you could do it in 5 or 10 minutes! The only issue is that you'll need to think ahead to be sure you have what you need. I don't normally keep these ingredients on hand unless we're making Reubens.
Here's what we had: Reuben Sandwiches
- Reuben sandwiches:
- We had my brother Doug's YUMMY homemade sauerkraut (a healthy fermented food! Kent's brother Kip makes an awesome kraut too!) The kids had theirs without sauerkraut, but at least they tried it…and then made a face. I didn't like it when I was little either though! If you don't make it yourself or know someone who does, you'll probably have to go to the health food store to find the good stuff. (Uncooked, raw, fermented.)
- Turkey or corned beef from my favorite butcher–he only buys from farms with pastured meats and then he can slice it however we want it.
- Kent likes his with mustard and I like homemade Thousand Island.
- Swiss cheese of course.
- I always spread butter on the outside of the rye bread and grilled on each side for extra crisp and to get the cheese all melty and dreamy–it's very tasty! (The tricky part is finding decent rye bread without crappy ingredients like soybean oil and/or preservatives.)
That night we also had…
- “Ketchup Soup” that Sonia had sent over, heated up in a saucepan while I grilled the sandwiches. (This is easy to make, too, though, if you don't happened to have soup from a friend on hand!)
- Leftover broccoli slaw from last night. I bought the organic bagged kind, and then added some dried cranberries and this dressing: mayo, fermented soy sauce/Tamari, a little organic sugar & raw apple cider vinegar. (Sorry I didn't keep track of amounts, I just threw some in until it tasted right.)
- Applesauce from the freezer – it was a lot of work to finish last fall, but WOW, it is sure tasting good these days.
That's it, I loooove easy dinners that everyone actually eats! What is your favorite “fast food” meal?
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Cherie Bissett-Bouma says
My favorite sandwich!
Jill-David Boman says
Oh, how I love a good Reuben!
Michael-Michelle Plamondon says
homemade sauerkraut! good for you.
Gregory Linda Chase says
I just made one for lunch today.
Martha Baldwin says
I love Reubens!
Anna says
Oh, the mere thought of a reuben made my mouth water. I favor reuben made with spicy brown mustard and roast beef, but I haven’t had one made with bread in a long time. Hmmmm, a pile of sauerkraut on a plate, piled high with shaved home-roasted beef or bison and sliced Swiss, slightly warmed until the cheese melts a bit, then topped with a creamy brown mustard sauce. That would work for me…
Vicky says
I just found your site, after finishing both Michael Pollan’s books and Nina Planck’s Real Food.
Just wanted to say, there is one reasonably healthy fast food place and I wish it would spread to more areas of the country. It is based here in Maine:
https://www.onaturals.com/
Kelly says
Hey, what a great idea, seems like I always make too much soup. Thanks!
MAS says
Soup. I make my own various soups: chicken veggie, beef veggie, borscht, chili, etc., with bone broths and other goodies. The difference is that I then can it in quart jars. It’s my favorite fast food. Just open a jar.
I can most of the stuff in the evening after supper for days when I don’t have time. It’s very therapeutic. Once you develop your own rhythm and method, it’s meditative to do.
Kelly says
Loooove these ideas, thanks everyone! Jeanne, I’m trying AGAIN to get some fish right, I have tilapia in the freezer, I’ll try cooking it like you did…I’ll let you know!
Amy says
favorite fast food – raw goat cheese casadillas on millet/flax tortillas. Just add salsa for dipping! Sometimes we’ll add organic pepperoni (from Creswick Farms) to the casadillas. For a compliment, I serve curry carrot soup – super easy to make. Everyone except the youngest likes the soup.
For dessert – homemade organice nut bars with a cold glass of raw milk – DEEElicious!
Amy
jeanne says
Vehementflames’ comment reminded me; I keep already made salmon and crabcakes in the freezer so that I can just pull them out and then saute them in the pan while I prepare the side dishes. I just dip them in flour while they are still frozen and then saute them in olive oil. It only takes a few minutes (4-5) on each side.
Lastnight I was making breaded tilapia that I pan fried. I just dip the fillets in egg, then coated them in cornmeal and flour. Then I cooked them in a pan with olive oil three minutes on each side. (we ate this with a big salad and homemade tartersauce). I went ahead and made enough for two meals. The extra I flash froze on a baking sheet and then put into a freezer bag. Next time we have this I will only have to bake them in the oven.
Sarah says
Yum! My favorite deli sandwich (from a real, Jewish deli that I used to frequent that makes their own pickles, etc.) is a pastrami dip – to which I added all the lovely things on a reuben (sauerkraut and spicy mustard, in my opinion!) This reminds me of it – and I appreciate the info about Boarshead!
Best,
Sarah
vehementflame says
Kelly- Love ruebens! Love em! I was looking for some turkey pastrami oo- hubby can’t do beef. Yay! My favrite fast food meal is salmon cakes and steamed veggies. or pancakes!
vehementflame