Macro Friendly “Warm Buns”

In my husband’s family, it’s a tradition to have sliders at every meal you have soup. They call them “warm buns,” and they are made up of a soft roll, ham (or turkey), lots of cheese, and a buttery poppyseed mustard spread that is do die for. After they are assembled, they get baked in the oven to turn into a warm, gooey sandwich. Quite honestly, they may be better than the meal itself! I have been known to make a batch of warm buns for a simple dinner or lunch, and they are always appreciated when you bring them to a potluck or to someone’s house.

As you can imagine from the description, they aren’t in their original state something you would call “macro-friendly.” In fact, I did the calculations, and they can clock in at 20F/23C/16P for an itty bitty bun that can be gone in a few bites. HA! So while I’ll enjoy the full-fledged version from time to time, it’s not something I can justify having frequently. But I LOVE the flavor, especially of the poppy seed mustard spread, so I made a few substitutions so I could enjoy this for lunch on the regular if I wanted!

The first change is the bread. I love a soft roll, but they contain a lot of carbs I’d rather hoard for dessert. You can do a few things: hollow out a bun, choose thinly sliced pieces of french bread, or use your favorite low carb wrap. I opted to use California Lavash wrap, which has just 50 calories, 8C/4P per serving. I even doubled them to make a “sandwich.” This makes a much larger “sandwich,” and more time spent eating. Next, I used a couple of servings of lean ham, to really amp up the protein. You can do less, or more, to fit whatever macros you need to fill. Then I used a serving of cheese to make it gooey.

And now the star of the show… the poppy seed mustard spread! This stuff is SO good, and gives the sandwich all its flavor. Usually it calls for a stick of butter, which helps give the rolls a nice crusty crunch and makes the sandwich almost melt in your mouth. For reasons you know about, butter isn’t very macro-friendly, so I simply subbed it out with light sour cream.  It still has all the flavor, but way less fat! Also, don’t think this spread can only be used for this particular sandwich! I have been using it on cold wraps throughout the week and have been LOVING the flavor it adds for minimal macros! 30 g of the sauce will cost you 3F/2C/2P, or 41 calories!