If you already had a cooked meal at lunchtime, you most likely won’t feel like cooking again in the evening. After all, you’ve been working hard all day. Now you just want to put some food on the table quickly and then enjoy the evening. It’s better to have a light meal than another big one anyway.
Sandwiches are an excellent solution. They make great, healthy and filling meals, but are still light – provided you choose low-calorie ingredients, of course. And most of them go really fast and don’t take much time to prepare.
There are endless possibilities for what you can put on your sandwich. Be creative! However, make sure you choose from the following key ingredients:
- whole wheat bread
- Low-calorie spreads and toppings
- Low-calorie sauces and dressings
- Salad, vegetables, legumes or fruit
whole wheat bread
Whole grains have several advantages over processed white foods. On the one hand, they fill you up much faster and longer because they are rich in fiber. This means that if you eat slowly, it’s very unlikely that you’ll overeat and you won’t get hungry again that quickly.
You can use whole wheat bread, buns, toast alternately for more variety. There may even be different types of whole wheat bread.
Low-calorie spreads and toppings
What would a sandwich be without ham or cheese? That’s okay. But choose lean ham and low-fat cheese to keep your sandwich healthy rather than calorie-bombing. Choose low-fat margarine over butter and buy low-calorie spreads. Low-fat cottage cheese makes great spreads when you mix it with some spices. But no matter what you use, don’t take in too much of it as this will add up to the calories.
Any cooked or grilled meat you still have in your fridge makes a great topping for sandwiches, too. For example, slices of grilled chicken breast or the rest of your meatloaf. I also like to put shredded tuna on top (preserved in water, not oil!). Salmon slices are a bit pricey but are delicious on a whole wheat bun topped with sliced onions and sprinkled with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Low-calorie sauces and dressings
Sauces and dressings do a great job of making your sandwich special. Choose reduced-fat mayonnaise and avoid ready-made sauces, as many of them contain quite a bit of sugar. If you want tomato sauce, only apply a thin layer.
Alternatively, you can make your own healthy sauces and dressings at home, such as a canned tomato, onion, and green pepper salsa.
Salad, vegetables, legumes or fruit
Don’t forget to put some really healthy things on your sandwich! Lettuce leaves are great and quick. If you have cooked or grilled veggies on hand, mash them up and use them as a topping on your meat sandwich. Or cut them. Homemade salsa or baked bean salad are also good options. Sliced onions taste great on sandwiches. And if you like it sweet, why not with fruit slices? Or pineapple rings or peach halves?
By consuming a large portion of these foods, you ensure that you are getting low-calorie toppings packed with vitamins and minerals. This goes a long way in making your sandwich a healthy and filling meal.
When it comes to making the sandwich, you have many options to make it exciting. You can make a burger, grill any type of sandwich in the oven, use buns today and toast tomorrow… You can even make a buffet: just put everything on the table and let people make their own sandwiches. Much less work for you and much more time to spend with your family.
Thanks to Bettina Berlin
