Claire Robinson says “Panini it!”
Claire Robinson, of the series 5 Ingredient Fix, has partnered with Arnold Sandwich Thins (or Oroweat, depending on where you live) to create some healthy twists on old favorites and some very interesting uses for sandwich thins.
Arnold Sandwich Thins are awesome. What else is there to say about them? I have been buying them since they first came out and my friend Lauren called to ask if I had heard about this new “weird-looking” sandwich bread. PhillyBoy and I love them because most of the time we want a sandwich for the goods on the inside, not for the bread. If I am going to eat a traditional French baguette or fancy roll, I want to eat it alone and enjoy every little taste. With a sandwich however, I want the bread to just be part of the supporting team. Diet bread doesn’t cut it for me. It tastes like cardboard and disintegrates in my mouth. Ew. We like this bread because it is really low in calories but still tastes and feels like a nice piece of bread.
In my recent interview with Claire Robinson I learned the secrets to making healthy yet flavorful sandwiches and more using Arnold Sandwich thins. I also got some great advice on entertaining, which I will share with you now and with the audience at my presentation at the Healthy Living Summit– be sure to come and learn all of the healthy entertaining tips I have gained over the years!
10 Healthy Lifestyle & Entertaining Tips from Claire Robinson…
1. Since food is 1/2 visual, 1/2 taste, be sure to make your food look delicious! With sandwiches, it is important to have a lot of textures and flavors for the visual aspect as well as to satisfy you. Claire suggests having a melty/creamy component, a crunchy one, and a meaty one. I agree!
2. Some of her favorite sandwich supplies (and home pantry supplies in general) are the vegetables of the season, egg whites, hummus as a spread, leftover veggies, and obviously Arnold Sandwich thins. Favorite breakfast? An egg white frittata full of veggies in a sandwich thin, taken on the road. This is also her favorite post workout meal.
3, Keep ingredients in your home that you can use to quickly throw together meals. Some favorites include good olive oil, balsamic vinegar, greek yogurt, sandwich thins, agave nectar, fresh herbs (or herb infused olive oil), and the vegetables of the season.
4. To keep herbs fresh, treat them like flowers. When they come home trim the bottom and put them in a glass with water. If you buy them in the refrigerated section of the market, keep them cold. If you buy them at room temperature, keep them room temperature. To add fun fresh taste to many dishes, add fresh mint! (Note: You all know how much I love mint so I loved hearing that she does too!!!!)
5. Don’t be afraid of whole grain WHITE bread. It still has the grains in it, but tastes like traditional white bread. And it is good.
6. Make a great playlist to use when entertaining. Start the music off slow and build it up over the night. Before your guests even arrive, play some music, pour yourself a glass of wine, and get into the mood. It will set the right feel for the whole night. I love love LOVE this tip!
7. When entertaining, create flow. Put snacks and drinks in the areas you want people to mingle. Be sure to have 2-3 bites per person per item. Have a variety of items.
8. A great quick entertaining snack is BRUSCHETTA on Sandwich Thins. Who would have thought?!
(Source)
9. You don’t just have to use sandwich bread for sandwiches. Claire has created some really unique items using the sandwich thins, and now I am eager to try some creative uses too! Next on my list to try that we brainstormed together? French toast roll ups using the honey wheat sandwich thins! I can’t wait!
10. Lots of fun recipes are available on the Arnold website. Check them out!
Things you didn’t know…
- Claire got to try Sandwich Thins before they were even available on the market! Lucky duck!
- Her favorite sandwich these days is her healthified turkey reuben!
- Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain has great biscuits (and it’s one of Claire’s favorite spots for Southern style food)! Jenna, maybe you need their recipe to help perfect yours?!
- The last time Claire was in Philadelphia she had a meeting with Morimoto and ate at a Stephen Starr restaurant. Guess which one?!
- Claire is going to create an awesome healthy Buffalo burger based on a really fun one (read: not healthy) she loves and is going to give me the recipe to test it out. I will be SURE to share the results! I was sent some samples of the Arnold Sandwich thins by Arnold and can’t wait to try out her latest creation.
When sharing a favorite dessert recipe using the thins, Claire said to “panini it”. I love that she used panini as a verb and I plan to as well.
Claire, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today, and the next time I make a sandwich I will be sure to panini it!!!!
14 Responses to “Claire Robinson says “Panini it!””
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how cool! i love claire…her personality is too cute 🙂 i’m going to panini my next sandwich too!
we make Foremanini’s on the George Foreman at work. and at home. LOVE that thing!!
That is so cool. I love Arnold Sandwich thins so I will have to check out their recipe site. Did you meet her in person or was it a phone interview?
@Jacqui, Video chat! I love the sandwich thins too.. especially for late dinners 🙂
SO cool. I love Claire. She is fun to watch. And I am a massive Arnold’s thins fan…we almost always have them in the house. They are perfect for sandwiches (and I couldn’t agree with you more that when I want a really good/calorie dense piece of bread, I’m eating it alone to enjoy every ounce of flavor- not with a sandwich!) Great tips- hummus is awesome on arnolds. I have always used my arnolds as croutons and in panzanella salads. Wish I could hear you speak at the healthy living summit!
loveeee this! i love a good arnold thin, so this interview chat was just fabulously insightful.
I should “panini” more sandwiches. I’m just so lazy!
Instead of making an English Muffin pizza, try doing it on sandwich thin. So good!
I used to love the Thins, but I think it’s important to note that they have artificial sweeteners in them (sucralose, i.e. Splenda). For those of us who try to really eliminate all artificial sweeteners in their diet, I think this should be noted…..one of the reasons they’re so low in calories is the use of some fake sugar….just thought I’d share because I didn’t realize for months that they had sucralose in them until I took a closer look! Of course, many people won’t be bothered by this, but for people who don’t want fake sugar at all or are allergic, it’s good to know:)I never would ave expected it in my bread!
As a sidenote, I love the use of panini as a verb:) Everything is better when it’s panini’ed!
@Megan, Wow I had no idea! Thank you so much for sharing that!!!!!!!
Hi Sabrina! Absolutely adorable title! I didn’t realize I was verbing “panini”! You are a wonderful food writer and I enjoyed speaking with you as well. I’ll enjoy reading future posts and comments! Thanks, and all the best!
@Claire Robinson, Thank you so much Claire! All the best to you as well!! Thanks again!
good idea as it looks so good!