A heavyweight contender

Weeknight sandwiches are always something I look forward to. They make meal prep seamless and flavor layering is easily distinguishable. Handheld foods always add a breath of freedom to the week as making plates optional untethers you from societies rules for a moment (or a meal).

My sandwich meal-prep obsession started when I began shaving tofu thin and marinating it to make cheesesteaks. It was one of those moments where plant-based cooking broke through the health to comfort food paradox I wasn’t aware I’d been perpetuating. Somewhere along the line, people decided that eating plants meant every bite had to taste like something you’d find in a rabbit’s dens, and I was being duped. Plant-based food can be bold, smoky, messy, satisfying, something you actually look forward to. Even though Bugs Bunny made carrots look like fine dining, I have a feeling even he’d set those down to add this BBQ sandwich to his quiver.

Using a lower calorie spicy Japanese BBQ sauce, you can easily transform soy shreds into a flavor bomb. Building texture: crunchy - I add a quick slaw with red cabbage, red onion, vinegar, and lime juice. I ‘ve always referred to this as a ‘sweating’ the cabbage - adding salt and massaging the cabbage forces the water to splice through it’s cellulose walls softening it in the process. Topping this off with an avocado mash on toasted sourdough bread adds depth in crispiness and creaminess. Give this one a shot the next time you’re in a pinch for a weeknight meal and use code “IRONHEART” to save 10% on say grace shreds while you’re at it.