Filet-NO-Fish Sandwich

Hey everybody! Today's lunchbox contains something that I've been meaning to try for quite some time now, and I finally got around to making it. It's another idea that's floated around in my head, probably since I first became vegan, and I've always wondered what it would taste like. But when veganluv mentioned it in the comments section of one of my old blog posts, and confirmed that it was indeed yummy, then I knew that I needed to try it soon. I like to call this a Filet-NO-Fish Sandwich as a play on words with the name of a fish sandwich at a certain fast food restaurant. I used to eat those alot when I was a kid (HEY! I didn't know any better) and really liked them. Of course, what kid wouldn't like all that grease? I know I didn't make that name up because I swear I've seen it before, but when I did a Yahoo! search last night, I couldn't find a mention of it anywhere. Anyway, I don't think I made this name up, but I just like it. I think it's kinda' cool. A vegan fish sandwich... Who'da thunk it?

First of all, it's not really a fish sandwich (of course), but I mean it's not even a vegan fish sandwich really. It's just a Boca Chik'n Patty on a Light Hamburger Bun with half of a slice of Tofutti American Cheese (vegan, of course). What makes it taste like a fish sandwich is the addition of a bunch of Vegan Tartar Sauce, which I packed in its own little blue container to keep it from making my sandwich all soggy before lunch. I searched the internet for recipes for Tartar Sauce and there were all kinds of them, all with different ingredients. So, I finally just decided to wing it and throw together whatever ingredients I had on hand and see what I came up with. I just took a small bowl and plopped in a couple of Tbsp. of Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise. Then I stirred in just a tiny little squirt of Yellow Mustard. I squeezed in a few drops of fresh Lemon Juice and then added some Sweet Pickle Relish and Capers until it looked like the right amount of "stuff" swimming around in my Tartar Sauce. I tasted it. YUMMY! I made Tartar Sauce!

I took it one step further then. Just to make SURE that this was gonna' taste like a fish sandwich, I rehydrated a little Hijiki in some hot water and then drained it and stirred it into my homemade Tartar Sauce. So really, the "fishy" taste comes from the sauce and not the patty. WHO CARES!?!?! This is delicious and tastes very similar to what I remember a fish sandwich tasting like. I don't know that I'll eat it that often while I'm still trying to lose some more weight because of the fat in the Tofutti cheese and in the Tartar Sauce. But it's definitely a vegan treat that I'll add to my list to enjoy from time to time.

To go along with my fish sandwich I brought some Lay's Light Potato Chips (the fat-free kind fried in Olestra), some Sweet Yellow Corn and for dessert, just a few Raisins, since that sandwich is a little bit high in calories for someone trying to cut back.

I'm also happy to report that I did finally break down and work in my yard last night and it was HARD WORK. I was probably out there at least a couple of hours sweating up a storm. Combined with my lunchtime walk yesterday though, that gave me a good amount of exercise yesterday. I got my walk in during lunch today too, so the exercise thing is going really good this week. Hopefully I'll be rewarded when I weigh in this weekend.

So there you have it, another tasty vegan clone of one of my (unhealthy) childhood favorites. On a side note, have you seen their commercials where they are actually putting TWO deep fried fish patties on those fast food sandwiches now?!?! That is just INSANE!

Well, thanks for coming by the blog today and I'll see everybody on Friday!