May Day Sandwiches

Ok technically it was May 2nd but May Day has a nice ring to it. I woke up at 7:45am on Sunday to the sound of my alarm clock going off. Waking up early is not unusual for me. I have this terrible disease called the not-being-able-to-sleep-in bug. I think its genetic because no matter how hard I've tried to fight it, I still haven't been able to rid myself of it. Sunday morning, feeling extremely lazy, I groggily poured myself a cup of tea and headed out to my 8:30 yoga class. The determined chirpy demeanor of my yoga instructor along with numerous downward dog poses and sun salutations soon woke me up. After yoga, I decided to stop at the nearby farmer's market to pick up some freshly baked ciabatta bread before heading home.

Since I was still feeling kind of yoga-ish from the morning workout (and had just picked up some fresh bread) I thought it might be fun to pack a picnic and head down to the meditation gardens in Encinatas. The Self Realization Fellowship Retreat and Hermitage was founded by an Indian Yogi who came to San Diego in the 1930s and gained quite a following.

Once we arrived, we headed straight to the stunning meditation gardens which were dotted with exotic flowers, plants, and trees . After following a series of ponds connected by small waterfalls, we find ourselves face to face with the glistening Pacific Ocean. There was nothing left to do but marvel at its beauty.

I unpacked our picnic of sandwiches and devoured them while absorbing the spectacular view. I love avocados and had a few at home so I made an avocado sauce to mix in with some leftover grilled chicken and topped it with roasted red peppers. They were perfect for that beautiful spring day. Here's the recipe for my "May Day Sandwiches." Highly recommended if you have a penchant for avocados!

May Day Sandwich Recipe

Makes 3 sandwiches

Ingredients for avocado sauce

1 avocado

1/4 cup non-fat sour cream

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp chopped onions

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp of fresh lemon juice

salt

pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

Other Ingredients

3 boneless chicken breasts

2 tbsp mayonnaise

salt

pepper

roasted red peppers

ciabatta (or any other) bread

Directions:

Use leftover roast or grilled chicken. If you are making it from scratch bake the chicken for 30-40 mins in the oven. Break it up into little pieces and add the mayonnaise, salt, and pepper, like you would for ordinary chicken sandwiches. Mix together well.

For the avocado sauce put the avocado, sour cream, water, cumin,lemon juice, onions. salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes in a blender and pulse until it has a smooth consistency. Add 1/2 the avocado mixture to the chicken and mix it in well.

Spread the remaining avocado mixture on the inside of the bread, add the avocado chicken mixture, and then top it with roasted red peppers.