If you had told me a couple of months ago that one of the cookbooks I would be most impressed with this year was a sandwich book, I probably would have laughed at you. Laughed, and then begrudgingly dragged myself over to the food court next to my office to select from the slim, overpriced vegan pickings on offer.

Chadwiko has always been a firm believer that the sandwich is the perfect food, while I’ve disagreed. It’s caused more than one argument in our house. Well, I think I need to admit defeat because Celine and Tami‘s new book, Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day, has well and truly proved me wrong. I never thought I needed recipes for sandwiches- how hard can it be, right? I admit it, I was naive, and uninitiated in the ways of the dinner-appropriate sandwich. But no more!

While there are a ton of seriously creative recipes in here, for the most part so far I’ve stuck to some of the easily-transportable basics. These have kept us in work lunches for the last couple of weeks- and as an added bonus, I’ve saved a nice amount of pocket change that would have otherwise been spent on unsatisfying, $7 salads. I’m looking forward to tackling some of the crazier recipes (and don’t worry, Vegan Sandwiches week in the cookbook challenge isn’t far away!), but in the meantime here are some of the recipes we’ve tried and loved so far.

I dived straight into the bread section, with the green monster bread- baked into rolls and bagels. This bright green bread looks a little crazy, but the garlic and spinach blended in there makes for some super flavourful sandwiches. I used these to make the incredible green sandwiches, with guacamole, baby spinach and sprouts, for work lunches. It’s like every vegan cliche in a fresh, green sandwich… and I love it.

These super-filling meatball subs were another one of the first recipes we tried, at Chadwiko’s request of course. These are no lunchtime sandwich- I couldn’t finish one for dinner. These have been Chadwiko’s favourites so far, and he’s been requesting them incessantly ever since.

These mediterranean tempeh salad sandwiches are a great make ahead lunch, and delicious on toasted crusty bread (thanks to World Vegan Feast, of course!).

Tomato and basil mountain bread was the perfect vehicle for these protein-packed wraps, with sun dried tomato tapenade, quinoa, cannellini beans and fresh veggies. So filling, but light enough to keep you from feeling sluggish after lunch, too!

We love shawarmas, and these chickpea ones were no exception! The chickpeas are baked in a delicious spiced marinade, and end up moist, tender and packed full of flavour. Perfect for dinner in fresh, homemade pita bread.

And last but certainly not least, the almighty BLT! And they call it that for a reason. I made these to be toasted for lunch at work, but I think they’re more of a dinner sandwich- I had the (very content) food coma thing going on at my desk all afternoon after tackling one of these. Not that I’m complaining! A super creative spread using hearts of palm and sun dried tomatoes takes the place of regular mayo here, and along with the added avocado, this really sets this sandwich apart from a regular tempeh-based vegan BLT. You can preview the recipe for this one here.

A sandwich cookbook doesn’t seem like such a silly idea now, does it? This book has completely changed the way I think about sandwiches (I admit it, they’re a proper meal!)- and I’ve barely scratched the surface. With a full belly and a heavier wallet come lunchtimes, I think sandwiches and I are now better friends than we ever have been before.

Tagged: sandwich, vegan sandwiches save the day