Tzatziki

I continue to try to make and bring healthy lunches everyday to work in order to avoid the temptation of going out to eat with my co-workers or going through the drive-thru while I'm running errands during my lunch hour. My sister suggested using tzatziki as a sandwich dressing or dip as a substitute for higher calorie and fat choices such as mayonnaise or ranch dressing. Tzatziki is a cold Greek sauce made from yogurt and cucumber. It is creamy, tangy and refreshing. I already had a big container of this yummy Stoneyfield yogurt so I decided to try to make my own. It was pretty successful and I will probably play around with the ingredients next time to perfect the flavors. I used these Nature's Own Multigrain sandwich rounds which I'm really loving and they are extra healthy.

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cup drained* plain yogurt
1 cup peeled, shredded cucumber
1 TB lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill
salt and pepper

Add the herbs and spices to the cucumber. Gently fold into the drained* yogurt. Add about half the cucumber mixture to start and increase to taste. Also, add as much of the juice from the cucumber as you like, to create the texture of sauce that you like. Let sit in refrigerator for several hours or overnight to let the flavors combine.

*I read a few recipes online that all suggested the yogurt be drained first. I did and I definitely see why. If you fail to drain it, the sauce would be WAY too runny, even if you drained all the cucumber juice. Using a colander to drain the yogurt (like many sites suggested) did not make sense to me. Maybe my mesh colander is not fine enough, but I am sure if I had ladled yogurt into it, all the yogurt would have strained through, not just the liquid. So I innovated. I suspended a coffee filter in a small plastic-ware bowl. I secured it with a rubber band around the outside. I spooned in the yogurt and placed the lid on top. It worked perfectly and a lot of liquid drained out. I left it overnight and the result is a much thicker, sour cream like yogurt that made a perfect dip.

My yogurt draining in its coffee filter strainer.

Vibrant grated cucumber! I used a large hole cheese grater

to quickly shred up one whole cuke.

Sandwiches:

I pounded flat some chicken breasts and marinated them in balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing. I then grilled them on my George Foreman grill and sliced it up. I made my first sandwich on the Multigrain round with baby spinach and the tzatziki sauce. This was a mistake. While delicious, by lunchtime, the bread was majorly soggy. I should have seen that one coming.

The next day my sandwiches were much more successful. I made open face sandwiches and included the sauce on the side for dipping. I hate them more like a wrap (think gyro sandwich style). I also added carrots for more crunch!

I think simply toasting the sandwich round and dipping in the sauce would be nice too. Other ideas I would consider include using it on top of any grilled meat, baked potatoes, or salad greens. I also believe that if you reduce the proportion of yogurt to cucumber, it would make a nice dish all on it's own. There are lots of possibilities and it is incredibly healthy compared to many alternatives. If you use the same kind of yogurt I did, in 1 cup there is only 120 calories and 2 grams of fat! And the amount I made was more than enough for 3-4 sandwiches.

The first sandwich I made with soggy bread.

I also had a bowl of homemade chicken soup. Yum!

Successful open face chicken, spinach and carrot sandwiches with tzatziki dipping sauce on the side.

(Also great for dipping carrots and celery!)

 Thanks for the idea, Cari!