It’s my birthday today! Are you guys big on celebrating your birthday? For as long as I remember, my birthday has been an obsession of mine. It’s probably just a bit (okay, a lot) egotistical, but I just love the idea of a day celebrating me. I like planning elaborate themed parties with tons of friends (DIY grilled cheese party anyone?), but I also love the flip side of that – spending a day celebrating, just me and my boo.
No matter what I end up doing, there is one absolute must: eat ALL the things. It’s the one day you shouldn’t hold back. I know, I know, veggie sandwiches aren’t what one usually thinks of when they’re thinking about birthday eats, but when I saw this glorious picture of the ultimate veggie sandwich on Instagram, it had to be mine. I’m all about veggie sandwiches (and pizzas too, to be honest). I love the the different textures, the crunch, and the freshness.
This sandwich was truly epic – perfect for a pre-birthday treat!
The Ultimate Veggie Sandwich Recipe
makes 1 sandwich
- 2 slices bread of choice (I used multigrain)
- mayo and mustard, to taste
- 6 leaves romaine lettuce
- 1 small carrot
- 1/2 small cucumber
- salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/8 head red cabbage
- 1 avocado
- handful of sprouts
- 3 slices tomato
- thin slices red onion
Start off by prepping your vegetables. Trip the lettuce leaves to the size of your bread. Julienne or shred the carrot, thinly slice the cucumber and cabbage. Pit and peel the avocado and thickly slice. Toast the bread and let cool (so it doesn’t get soggy). Spread on mayo and mustard to taste and build your sandwich: 1/2 of the lettuce leaves, carrots, cucumber, salt and pepper, cabbage, avocado, sprouts, tomato, onion, then the remaining lettuce and top slice of bread. Wrap tightly in parchment paper or wax paper and slice in half. Enjoy immediately!
i put a candle in it, because birthday :)
Giveaway: I hope you guys like chopping vegetables (and everything else) because for my annual birthday giveaway, I’m giving away a shiny sharp Shun Nakiri knife and a Walnut Boos Block Cutting Board from cuttingboard.com. I absolutely LOVE my nakiri and there’s nothing better than chopping and slicing on a beautiful wood cutting board.
To Enter: Leave a comment below with your favorite birthday memory. I want to hear ALL the details! I’ll randomly choose a winner and notify them through email. Open to US residents only. (Sorry international friends!) Also, if you’d like some extra entries (one per follow), follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest (and let me know in your comment). Contest ends September 17th at 12pm PST. Good luck!
Update: Congrats Willow! Get ready to get your knife skills on! Keep an eye out for an email :)
This is cheesy, but my 21st birthday. I was in college and lived up the hill from the main “commons” of downtown with all of the bars, etc. My boyfriend and friends schemed prior to my party, and when we walked down the hill they busted out a chair with a unicorn glued to it that they had bike locked to a bike rack. They made me sit on it as they carried me all the way down the street.. with a crown on my head. I also ate a lot of pizza.
My parents had a “birthday kid picks the dinner” policy when we were growing up, so we took advantage of that loophole in my Dad’s “no pizza” policy pretty much every year. My Dad always said he hated pizza, which in his defense was mostly just pepperoni & cheese in our small town, so we never had it at home. I remember my 12th birthday, we had moved to a larger town, and we went out to a pizza restaurant for a pizza with everything. My Dad LOVED it! It turns out he just needed veggies on the pizza to make it one of his (now) favorite things to eat.
My older brothers flew home from college to surprise me for my 16th birthday!
By far my favorite birthday memory was my WEGMANS BIRTHDAY PARTY. (Wegmans=best grocery store). I was turning eight and my dream birthday party was at the grocery store. We made personal pizzas and decorated cakes. It was amazing.
My favorite birthday memory fell into one of the worst periods of my life. My hometown had just been devastated by a tornado (April 27, 2011) and I had come home early from college to help clean/repair/etc. Our house stood, but barely (tons of damage, but many houses in our neighborhood didn’t make it so we were lucky). My birthday is in early May, so we were not even staying at our own house yet, but I spent the day (with a few repair-related errands) mostly hanging out! I had lunch with my family and boyfriend and our friends, we made brownies and had a delicious dinner. It was a terrible time in our lives, but everyone came together to make my birthday feel special.
My birthday was in the summer and I was always sad bc I didn’t get to do the cake brought to school thing so my parents did the best birthdays for me. One year they rented a petting zoo!!
Hmmm, a memorable moment was when I was maybe 11? My then 5 yr old brother pulled his pants down and flashed us while the camcorder was a rollin. It’s still fun to remind him of this, to this day.
I follow you on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest ! It has to be my 30th birthday. People kept telling me that I was going to hate turning 30 but they were wrong. I planned my own party, invited the people I loved and did what I wanted. I also knew I was on my way out of an abusive marriage and a new life. I remember that night vividly. I had the best time and it set the stage for all my birthdays since. Life is short. Celebrate. I will be 56 next month. <3
Sophomore year of college, my friends saran wrapped my car and after filling it with balloons. At the time, it was frustrating, but now I remember it as one of my best birthdays.
I didn’t get to eat much sweets when I was a kid, but my birthdays always came with a cake, making the day so special! now I eat cake year round :))