We’ve all had those mornings. The ones right after we’ve stayed awake far into the latest hours of the night and then the earliest hours of the morning trying to finish that PAK or that last-minute project. Sometimes we forget to eat dinner, sometimes we forget to get that progress report or that permission slip signed. Other times, when fate decides that it’s not going to be our lucky day, we forget to pack a lunch. Well here’s a solution: a 10-minute recipe that uses ingredients that can easily be found in nearly any family fridge.

PREPARATION:
Make sure you have all of your ingredients. Lay them out on a kitchen counter or dining table so you have room to work. Grab a cutting board and a kitchen knife and begin slicing the tomatoes. Depending on the size of the tomato you use, cut enough pieces to cover one slice of the bread. Four is usually a good number. Run some water over the lettuce to wash it off a bit and then put that aside.

ASSEMBLY:
Toast your slices of bread until they are a bit brown. Make sure they are toasted so that once you pack your sandwich it doesn’t get soggy while it sits. If you have mayonnaise, as soon as you’ve removed the slices from the toaster, immediately spread a thin layer of it onto the bread, using the heat to melt it a little bit. If you don’t have mayonnaise, grab your slices of cheese instead and lay them out to cover the slice. Grab a few slices of your deli meat and fold each piece over into layers until you have covered the slice of bread. Take your tomato slices and lay them out on top of the meat. Take the pieces of lettuce, bend the middle stems a bit so that they lay flat and stack them at the top of your sandwich. Place the other slice of bread on top. Slice the finished sandwich in two and use toothpicks for each half to keep everything together. Layer until you have covered the slice of bread.

PACKAGING:
Take your sandwich slices and place them in any sealed container or a sandwich bag. Throw in a fruit or some chips and a bottle of water along with your sandwich and you’re good to go!

OPTIONAL:
Instead of spreading the mayonnaise onto your bread, pack it in a separate container to bring along with your sandwich. Also pack your tomato slices in a separate container as well. This will prevent the sandwich from becoming soggy so you can skip the toasting. Once you are about to eat, you can spread the mayo onto your bread and throw in the tomatoes.