My unplanned last full week at work, a new Jimmy John's about a mile from one of our offices brought us free samples of their subs. Jennifer, our front desk queen, remembered that I was a vegetarian and selected a sample for me. When I was done with patients, I trekked on back to our kitchenette, and despite the depressing looks of the sandwich, pregnancy had me hungry enough to taste it anyway.

This is an absolutely ingenious way of doing two things. Firstly, I traditionally do not like having more bread than sandwich, which is why I often don't purchase whole wheat buns because they are actually larger than hamburgers and sliced veggie-meat. Size here is perfect. Secondly, I love opportunities to reuse items. This round bread recycles cans.

Exactly a week ago, we attended a wedding at the Omni Resort in Champions Gate, Florida. We loved the wedding and are so happy for Sarah and John, but more importantly, we enjoyed this (see photo) particular menu item so much that the efforts of a duplication will likely be part of our menu this week.

I have fallen off the wagon of my menu plan to eliminate unnecessary stress in my life the last couple of weeks due to friends and family visiting, which throws off my schedule a bit. (I'm a creature of habit.) But, I'm back on this week!

This is a small, hole-in-the-wall restaurant with a Mediterranean food store attached. It has a Greek menu and has been voted Orlando's Best for a few years, with framed advertisements above the cash register. However, when you look at the plastic table covers with pictures of different kinds of pasta and the "silk" leaves and plastic grape clusters hanging from the ceiling, you might get slightly confused. Paul had a falafel sandwich in a great thick bread wrap. I had the hummus and tabouleh sandwich. Both had lettuce and tomato added with a creamy cucumber dressing coating every bite.

This restaurant is consistently good. It has a menu rotation for every season and has a nice selection of teas. It was a tad warm this fall day; so only Gerald selected a warm tea. But everything was good. Paul and I absolutely loved our sandwiches. IF I could only make them like that at home! Surely it can't be that hard!

For an all-girls mini party, I needed a simple mid-afternoon snack to be more of the main dish for a small group. I already had some crackers made of a variety of seeds--flax, poppy, sesame,etc. The crackers have a great and unique flavor. I simply wanted something to add to them. I then selected a plain, but well seasoned hummus and a medium salsa as dips.

Don't let anyone ever tell you sandwiches are only for lunch and are not elegant. Sprouts and avocados can be quite elegant because they are "adult tastes". Sprouts are stringy and often odd to kids. Kids may eat guacamole, but without all the additional flavors, avocados can taste rough. When at peak season, with red tomatoes and fancy bread, such a meal can be very good. And let's face it, counselors on weight loss and proper digestion would recommend lighter compared to heavier dinners because people often get home late and generally have larger entree meals for lunch.