In American culture, lunch is nearly as often overlooked as breakfast. Unless you’re having a lunch meeting, many people don’t put that much thought into what they eat in the middle of the day. (And even then, lots of them get salads. Come on, people. That’s not a real meal.) Granted, it is a rather difficult meal to prepare, because so many of us eat lunch at the office or school. You can’t have that much variety when whatever you bring has to fit in a brown paper bag or a lunch box.

If you’re a broke student like me, you don’t want to go spending exorbitant amounts of money on your lunch either. Most of the time, I eat a sandwich for lunch. Lemme tell ya: the old ham-and-swiss gets very boring after a while. That’s why I was so excited to read an article on CookingLight.com about healthy ways to spice up your lunch. One of the suggested recipes was a Turkey, Pear and Brie sandwich. I tried it and ate it for two weeks in a row. It is now my all-time favorite lunch.

I have now tried several variations on this theme. First, the bread. I’ve tried rye and sourdough, and next week, I think I’ll try pumpernickel. The sourdough was so-so, but the rye was delicious! It perfectly complimented the sweetness of the fruit. Once, I even bough a loaf of rye bread with caraway seed in it at Trader Joe’s. Delish!

Second, I’ve varied the fruit. I actually prefer using apples instead of pears, because the pear is so squishy when it’s properly ripe. Honeycrisp is my favorite brand of apple so far for this sandwich. I tried Braeburn, but it was a bit too soft. I might try Pink Lady’s next week, since they have the required crispness and sweetness. I have a thing with texture, if you can’t tell.

Lastly, I’ve found that the reduced fat version of brie tastes just as good as the regular kind and that mesquite smoked turkey tastes a bit odd, while honey smoked turkey is delicious.

The recipe? It’s actually a very simple sandwich to make. I always toast the bread so that it is warm enough to slightly melt the slices of brie that I lay on it. I also slice the apple or pear thinly enough so that I can easily bite through it. Then I just layer the fruit slices on top of the cheese, finish it off with my desired amount of turkey, add the second slice of bread and voila!

As you can see from the photo, I also slice up the rest of the apple and dip it in a little sauce of my own invention: 1.5 tbsp peanut butter and 1.5 tsp honey, microwaved for 25 seconds, seasoned with nutmeg and cinnamon, and stirred. It’s the perfect dipping sauce for apples.

Oh and what’s that in the background, you ask? It’s a butterbeer cupcake, from a lovely local cupcake bakery here in town: Silver Lining Cupcake Co. No, I don’t eat cupcakes every day. I just wanted to brag on this awesome local Athens eatery.