Healthy sandwiches

GEETA KHURANA suggests a range of options to make sandwiches that are not just nutritious, but delicious too!

Sandwiches are a favorite food of millions around the world. And these are endlessly versatile, easy and quick to make. Sandwiches can be enjoyed for breakfast, lunch, with a cup of tea or even dinner. Most adults and children carry sandwiches to work and to school every day, which is why it is essential that sandwiches should be healthy. Try to include all the major food groups in sandwiches, if you have these regularly as a meal.

There are mainly three major components to sandwiches. First is the type of bread to be used, followed by the spread to moisten the bread, and finally - the sandwich filling.

Bread

When looking for bread, there are unlimited options in the market. So what should you choose? Nutritious bread should be your first consideration. It should be low GI and high fiber. Wholegrain and whole wheat are the words to look for. The best choices are multigrain, wholegrain lavash and pita bread, pumpkin seeds, rye bread, oatmeal and linseed. Sandwiches need not only be made on sliced bread. You can also go in for pita, tortillas and wraps. If you are fond of Lebanese bread, choose the wholemeal varieties. Low calorie options of tortillas are also healthy. Most of these breads have a low glycemic index and are high in fiber.

The low glycemic index breads help to curb your appetite and maintain your blood sugar and cholesterol levels. For those with gluten allergy, gluten-free breads, corn tortillas and brown rice tortillas are also available.

Spreads

Once you have picked a nutritious bread, next comes the spread. Avocado is one of the best choices for a spread. Though it is high in fat, it has good monounsaturated fatty acids. But to be on the safer side it is better to use about one third of an avocado per day to get the benefits, and ensure that you don’t exceed the amount of daily fat. Margarine is definitely a better choice than butter. Try to pick a margarine with the Heart Foundation tick

Any low fat mayonnaises are a good substitute for full fat dressings. Coriandermint chutney and tomato chutney make very good spreads, but if the slices are too thin, the bread will become moist and soggy.

Plan your own spreads by using hung curd and herbs, or low fat cheese.

Some other spreads might be light cream cheese, salsa, mustard sauce and honey.

Children might even like to have peanut healthy options for non-vegetarians. But make sure your tuna is canned either in springwater or brine. butter, vegemite and sometimes even Nutella as their choice of spread.

• Create healthy sandwiches by adding proteins such as eggs, skinless chicken, lite ham and lite cheese.

• Try to avoid processed meats as these are very high in saturated fats.

• Always add some kind of veggies like lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, grated carrots, cucumbers, mushrooms and beetroot to your sandwich to make it more nutritious and it can help in fulfilling your quota of 5 serves of veggies each day.

• Black and green olives may also be added for nutrition and flavor.

• Leftover veggies from dinner can make good fillings for patties and wraps.

• Create a delicious sandwich by adding chopped walnuts and raisins to your filling.

• Leftover roasted chicken with cheese and salads with lite mayonnaises and mustard sauce is another good combination.

• For children, rainbow sandwiches with layers of coriander mint chutney, jam and butter is very appealing.

Fillings

There are plenty of healthy and nutritious options to choose from, you just have to be a little creative and adventurous.

• Vegetarians may enjoy a mixture of sprouts and cheese with lots of veggies cut fine and added to the mix. Use sprouted moong dal, beans, or chickpeas.

• Tuna, sardines and salmon are very

• Vegetarians should try to add grated paneer or tofu to most sandwiches, to get the benefits of protein as well as calcium in the food.

• Baked beans with mushrooms and lite cheese are again high protein fillings for vegetarians.

There are unlimited combinations for sandwiches. But try and go for the lite fillings and healthy breads and enjoy a new, different and unique sandwich every day.