Rainy Day Slimmed-Down Grilled Cheese

Rainy Day Satisfaction

We have been getting some much needed rain recently. I am the minority who loves rainy overcast days because it gives me an excuse to do as little as possible and not feel very guilty about it. I also love the way rain smells. It gives me a sense of balance when nature is washed clean. Okay, enough hippy talk for now. Onto the goodies...

On rainy days I also love to eat and eat and...eat. And the chances that I make it to the gym are cut in half since I think I hear the rain telling me I look good in sweat pants and an over sized shirt, eating crap. One of the warm, comforting meals that I crave is tomato soup and grilled cheese. I managed to bypass the soup since I have not tried to make my own soup yet and the sodium in the cans makes me bloat for two days (Side note: Please, please do yourself a favor and look at the sodium counts on both canned and frozen foods before you buy and ingest them. I know they are convenient, but I swear you will feel 15 pounds lighter if you go for fresh versions, where you control the amount of salt that is included). I could not resist the grilled cheese, however. I always associate grilled cheese with the tag of "extremely unhealthy," but I realized something recently. I pack myself sandwiches or wraps almost every day and the only difference between those and the grilled cheese version is that it is warmed and the cheese is melted. The trick is to limit the butter and cheese, and not have more than one. I know, I know, those are all the good things. I promise you, this creation will leave you satisfied.

The Weather channel says that it should start to get nice out tomorrow, so either eat this is the warm sunshine or save it for a rainy day.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

- Whole Wheat or Gluten Free Bread
- 1 Roma tomato, sliced
- Yellow Onion, sliced
- 1/4 Avocado, sliced
- Earth Balance Spread
- 2 slices Organic Cheddar Cheese
- Salt

1. Grab two slices of whole wheat or gluten free bread (white flour is simply no good for you) and spread the Earth Balance evenly on one side of each piece. Earth Balance is dairy and gluten free but I swear it tastes as decadent as butter. Put the bread aside.
2. Slice the tomato, onion and avocado.
3. Warm the frying pan on medium heat while you prepare the rest of the sandwich.
4. Place a piece of cheese on each piece of bread and load the sandwich up with the tomato, onion and avocado. Season with salt to taste, since avocados and tomatoes really burst with a little bit of sodium.
5. Place sandwich in pan and warm each side evenly. Cut in half and serve!

All of this should not take more than 10 minutes, of course unless you burn it, which I have done a few times with grilled cheese. This is a filling meal with a lot of different tastes that does not overload you with fat from butter and cheese. As always, let me know how it goes if you try it!