Building a better (for you) sandwich

Last week, I finally sent my editor the last odds and ends for the sandwich cookbook I’ve been working on. Ironically, also that week, New York magazine ran a whole section on sandwiches (including what I found to be a really useful primer on how to best construct them), plus my co-writer and I did a talk about sandwiches for Slow Food NYC. I’ve had sandwiches on my brain maybe more than ever! So before I move on (develop an interest in soup, maybe?), I thought I’d pass on some of the best general health information I culled. Specifically, as I was working on one of the introductory chapters for the book, I had the chance to tap Svelte contributing nutritionist Stephanie Middleberg‘s incredible brain about how to maximize sandwich nutrition. Here, we’ve put together some easy-to-take-in highlights from that project (along with a few recipes from Stephanie’s own archives).

Bread: Look at the ingredient label. The first ingredient should say whole wheat. If it says enriched flour, it isntt 100% whole wheat and the nutrients have been stripped. Don’t be fooled from front of package marketing. Multi-grain doesn’t mean anything unless the grains are whole. Furthermore, the “diet” breads often have added ingredients, often artificial to make it taste somewhat palatable.

Filling: If you lay out your sandwich ingredients on a plate, 1/2 should be vegetables, 1/4 protein, and 1/4 toppings. The leanest meats include turkey, chicken, ham, roast pork loin (anything loin is lean), and roast beef. A serving size of any of these should be the thickness of a deck of cards or 2 smart phones. Choose fresh meat when you can and look for packaged meat with labels indicating hormone free, nitrate free, free of antibiotics.  As for vegetables, in addition to lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, easy go-with-anything add-ons might include cucumbers, sprouts, cooked mushrooms, sliced apples or pears, and of course avocado. Fresh basil livens anything up, and if you have a few more minutes, try steaming thinly cut squash and adding it to a sandwich with a little feta (some pieces of fresh tomato can also be good here). If you need something salty in a more general type of sandwich, add in 5-8 olives, capers or even diced pickles.  Crispy kale chips make for an interesting “crunch.” Make them by ripping off kale from stem, mixing it with olive oil, salt, and pepper and baking it in the oven until crispy.

If you’re a sucker for egg salad… Pare down the fat by going for a ratio of 1 whole egg to 3 egg whites.  Similarly, you can cut down on mayonnaise fat in egg or chicken salad by blending 1 part low-fat mayonnaise to 3 parts Greek yogurt (which is incredibly high in protein).

Toppings: Aim for cheeses naturally low in fat, including parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, goat cheese and feta cheese. Better yet are cheese spreads such as Laughing Cow Light and Boursin spreads. In general, shoot for 1 ounce of cheese per sandwich. If you’re still craving creamy, try for 1/4 avocado. It’s delicious and rich in nutrients.

Condiments: Aged balsamic vinegar is a great one. It provides bold flavor a little goes a long way. Likewise, tahini, a little hummus, tapenades, and fruit compotes pack a lot of punch. A good rule of thumb for spreads is that when in doubt, keep it to two tablespoons max.

Mayonnaise versus yogurt: Two tablespoons of mayonnaise contain 200 calories and 20g of fat.  If you simply remove the mayo on five sandwiches during the course of a week you would save about 1000 calories a week or 52,000 calories a year. A tuna fish or chicken salad made with mayonnaise can easily contain over 600 calories and 25 grams of fat–more fat and calories than a Big Mac. Two tablespoons of yogurt, by contrast, have just 35 calories and little-to-no fat. By making the switch, you’re cutting out 165 calories and countless grams of fat. You can mix things up by combining it with smoked paprika, olive oil, and cumin. Or blend yogurt with lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper; simple and delicious. Even simply adding dried tarragon to chicken or turkey mixed with Greek yogurt can make for a flavorful, almost smoky filling. Here, a yogurt-ready chickpea sandwich option from RealSimple.com. Alternatively, for a quick Waldorf-style lunch combine chicken with sliced walnuts, grapes, apples and celery mixed with nonfat or 2% plain Greek Yogurt, salt, and pepper. To get even more flavor, add in some curry powder, and serve between bread.

Love sandwiches but need to eat less bread? We’re actually big bread fans. There’s even some great research on the health benefits of white bread. That said, there are plenty of really strong health reasons–from gluten-sensitivity to just wanting to cut down on some carbs for a bit–to warrant some breadless options. Below, three easy ones…
Open-face it: Removing just one slice of bread can alone decrease your calories by 100.  To get you going, here’s an open-face healthy tuna salad from eatingwell.com.
Try a vegetable roll-up: Slice zucchini length-wise (thin) and brush on olive oil and garlic, sauté on each side for a few minutes to get soft. Then in the center, add goat cheese and spinach leaves and roll it up. This can also be done using eggplant or portabella mushrooms.
Go for lettuce wraps: Boston lettuce works perfectly.  This is a good tip for Chinese take-out, too, actually. Try getting moo-shoo and asking for lettuce leaves to wrap in verses the tortillas.
Or just serve it up on a salad: Toss the bread and place all the other ingredients over lettuce. Aim for green leafy veggies (spinach, kale, swiss chard, romaine, arugula). Always include at least two colors and at least one healthy fat.

Stephanie’s Soft-Boiled Egg over Asparagus on Toasted Whole Wheat Bread (makes 1 sandwich)

Ingredients
1 slice whole wheat bread
1/2 pound asparagus, tough ends trimmed
2 tsp olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 large egg
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1. Toast bread in toaster oven
2. Place asparagus on a baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper
3. Roast asparagus until tender
4. Meanwhile, soft boil an egg. Cool under running water and peel.
5. Plate asparagus on toast, sprinkle with Parmesan, and top with the soft-boiled egg.