Ingredients:
· 1 whole low-carb pita (I use Joseph’s Flax, Oat Bran & Whole Wheat Pita Bread—only 8g total carb per whole pita. And only 4g net carbs when you subtract the fiber.)
· 2 tablespoons low-fat cream cheese (I use Philadelphia® brand)
· 3 large tomato slices
· 2 whole basil leaves, or to taste (I like more)
· Pinch sea salt, optional
· Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
· Pinch garlic powder, or to taste
Directions (if necessary…):
1. Lay pita flat and spread with cream cheese.
2. Place tomato slices down one half of the flat pita. Top tomatoes with basil leaves, salt, pepper and garlic.
3. Fold pita bread over taco-style and ENJOY!
Numbers you need to know:
Southern Tomato Sandwich Revamped makes 1 serving/sandwich. Each serving contains: 138 Calories; 7g Fat; 10g Protein; 13g* total Carbohydrate; 5g* Dietary Fiber; 16mg Cholesterol; 503mg Sodium. (*Special note: only 8g net carbs per sandwich when you subtract the fiber.)
Nita’s notes:
Well, it just wouldn’t be summertime in south Georgia without that family mealtime staple—tomato sandwiches. Or, as we lovingly call ‘em down home—‘mater san’wiches. They are easy, fresh and delicious.
I grew up on mayonnaise-y, tomato sandwiches on two slices of white bread per sandwich. They tasted splendid but were not so splendid for me. One sandwich (made the old way) had about 245 calories, 14g Fat and 28g of carbohydrate. (Wow!) AND, it had only 2g Dietary Fiber and 5g Protein.
That’s skewed a bit out of the diabetic-friendly zone. So I decided to adapt the old standard. Give the sandwich a makeover with more oomph and lower bad numbers. (Let me know what you think.)
I have yet to find a ‘lite’ mayonnaise that I like. (I would welcome suggestions.) This is one reason I chose to nix the mayo altogether and opt for low-fat cream cheese. And, boy-howdy, am I glad I did.
If you’ve never had a tomato sandwich with cream cheese, you are in for a very pleasant surprise. It really brings out the tomato-basil flavor. There just isn’t anything better with tomatoes than basil. They pair beautifully.
Another reason to go the cream cheese rather than mayo route is that the cream cheese helps to double the protein per sandwich. (The whole-grain pita ups the protein stats and doubles the dietary fiber, as well.)
And this pita bread is LOVELY—soft and delicious! Joseph’s pita bread is really good. I may be a bit biased because it’s the only low-carb ‘store-bought’ bread I’ve tried. (I’d love to hear from you about any brands you like. I’m always looking to expand my pantry inventory.)
I do wish the bread companies would come out with a low-carb plus low-sodium line. I didn’t feel exactly happy with the 503mg of sodium my ‘healthy’ sandwich has. That’s not all from the pita, the cream cheese also is sodium-laden. The sodium count is the only area where the ‘old’ sandwich (353mg Sodium) came out better than the ‘new’ sandwich (503mg Sodium).
I hope you enjoy this simple touch of south Georgia summer WITHOUT the heat. Oh, good grief, it’s HOT here. Hope you stay cool this summer!
And, as always, make healthy choices for a happier life!
Anita Whittle Peacock
Lifelong Type 1 Diabetic
Diabetes bag designer
Post brought to you by MyDiabeticBag.com
Credits:
· Josephs products are registered/trademarked/copyrighted property of Josephs Bakery. Find low-carb bread options at http://www.josephsbakery.com/
· Philadelphia Cream Cheese is a registered trademark of Kraft Brands: http://www.kraftbrands.com/philly/Pages/default.aspx?utm_source=SEM_MSN&utm_campaign=Philly_Brick_Non-Brand_Broad&utm_medium=cream_cheese_brand
