Healthy Diet Meal (Menu) Plans

A Panini is basically a grilled sandwich. Although there are fancy Panini presses, I used the George Foreman Grill and it works quite fine for me or you can put it on a skillet and press down on top of the sandwich with a heavy pot (I haven't tried that method yet though). This Cubano Panini uses deli roast pork & ham plus Jarlsberg light cheese - ask for it at the deli counter.

Recipe for Cubano Panini (Adapted from The Diabetes DTOUR Diet Cookbook). INGREDIENTS
• Whole grain Bread (2 slices - try Pepperidge Farms Natural Honey Flax Bread)
• Dill Pickles (2 slices - I used Vlasic Stackers Kosher Dill)
• Deli Roast Pork (1 ounce)
• Deli Ham (1 ounce - lower sodium if you can get it)
• Jarlesberg Light Cheese (1 slice - 1/2 ounce)
• Yellow Mustard or mojo criollo marinade (1 tablespoon)
PREPARATION
• On one slice of bread, place 2 pickle slices followed by pork, ham & cheese.
• Spread the remaining bread slice with the mustard or marinade - I actually used Athenos Roasted Red Pepper Hummus.
• Place the marinade side down on the cheese to close the sandwich. Coat the tops of the sandwich with cooking spray and place coated side down on the grill pan or skillet.
• Coat the remaining top slice of bread with cooking spray and place a heavy pan over the top of the sandwiches if using a skillet - or just close the lid of the press if that's what you're using.
• Cook for 2 minutes, flip & repeat above step.
• Enjoy!

NOTES
I highly recommend The Diabetes DTOUR Diet Cookbook - and not only if you have diabetes. It is a fantastic blueprint for simple meals with good nutrition. Here's my review + sample 5 Day Menu Plan.