What's between your slices?

http://meltingmama.typepad.com/wls/2007/08/whats-between-y.h tml What's between your slices?

A bit of useless knowledge - since I'm all about useless knowledge - August is National Sandwich Month.

"A Texas A&M University study, in honor of August being National Sandwich Month, revealed Americans eat more than 45 million sandwiches annually.

The study said that the average U.S. citizen eats about 200 sandwiches a year, and the average child will eat around 1,500 peanut butter-and-jelly sandwiches before graduating from high school, Texas A&M found.

"You have to start off the right way -- with the bread and meat. The bread should preferably be whole grain, not white. The whites have the highest calories and lowest fiber content," he said. "And the leaner the meat, the better."

So, what's between your bread?  What's spread between your slices?

Us gastric bypassers tend to have odd sandwich habits.  We might:

• Like the above photo, put our fillings on crostini, crackers or small slices of toasted bread.
• Rip off the top slice of bread, and eat the other half of the sandwich open-faced.
• Make a half-sandwich, eat in it's entirety.
• Take a few bites of the sandwich normally, then, rip it open and eat the innards only.
• Peel off all extra bread - all parts that aren't touching the filling, and eat a few bites like that.
• Throw away both slices of bread, and eat the innards like a salad with a fork.
• Throw away all bread and eat the insides like a caveman, fingers all up in the chicken salad.
• Eat a full size two slice of bread sandwich normally with all parts intact, and risk the later swelling and exploding feeling.
• When ordering a sub, grinder, hoagie, what have you - order a small, protein and veggie filled, eat one or two bites regularly - wrap half "to-go" and dig into the remaining insides with a fork.

If you are pre-op (OR you are a glutton for punishment) what is/was your FAVORITE sandwich before your weight loss surgery?

Pre-op, a homemade sandwich favorite would be a fat grilled cheese, made with thick grainy bread, and sharp cheese, grilled in real butter.  Sometimes, a sliced tomato in it.  *sigh* 

Now, three years after WLS, I now eat regular sandwiches if I feel like it, although bread is often a waste of precious calories, I try to avoid eating much of it.  (See above quirk list.)

My faves: 

• Tomato, Basil + Fresh Mozzarella
• Chicken, Cranberry, Walnut Salad with lettuce + sprouts
• Subway "Veggie Delight" Mini or Small with Provolone
• Turkey Breast, Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo
• Panera Breads' Roast Beef + Asiago

To make your sandwich healthier, regardless if you've had WLS or not, do this:

• Swap high-fat mayo for light/fat-free varieties or healthier options, like Smart Balance's Mayo.
• 
• Use lots of flavor in place of high-fat toppings, mustard has nearly no calories and packs a punch in spice if you pick a good whole-grainy variety.
• Use herbs to spice up a plain sandwich. Fresh cracked pepper can really spice things up.
• Don't. Ever. Use. Miracle Whip. Ever.
• Looking to replace spread in your sandwich?  Try hummus!  Chick-pea dip.  It's a great binder in your sandwich or wrap, with tons of healthy protein and some good fats.
• Healthy fats for your sandwich?  Well, hummus, avocados, olive oils...
• Add low calorie high-flavor toppings like sour pickles, dill pickles, sweet banana peppers, hot peppers (not packed in oil)
• Add tons of fresh veggies for bulk and flavor.  Lettuces (the darker the better, iceberg is void of nutritional value), fresh spinach, alfalfa sprouts, broccoli sprouts, radish sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, shredded carrots, olives... anything to taste!
• Never. Use. White. Bread.  There's no reason for it when there are many alternatives.
• Do use whole grains and flax breads.  Most grocery stores carry many good varieties of healthy breads.  My fave?  When Pigs Fly breads.
• Wrap it up!  Use a wrap in place of bread, saves calories and carbs! My fave?  Joseph's Lavash, they are also in MA.
• 
• Swap your peanut butter.  Use natural low-fat PB, and pour out the fat first.  Smart Balance also puts out a flax-PB that is good.
• Toss your jelly.  Smuckers sugar-free jellies are just as good as the real thing, alternatively, use "All-Fruit" varieties.
• Fancy up your old standby fillings, add fruit and nuts to your chicken salad, cut back on the mayo or use alternatives to mix it.  Add spice to your egg salad, horseradish?
• Do not use fatty nitrate filled "sandwich meats."  NO bologna, "loafs," etc... they are disgusting and filled with chemicals.  If you must have some, find nitrate-free varieties, made with turkey, etc.
• Do use all-natural turkey, chicken breast and lean roast beef!  My favorites are Boars' Head Ovengold Turkey, and Boars' Head Roast Beef.  Also, the sliced organic varieties in vacuum packs at Trader Joes.
• Add wheat germ to your PB + J.
• Add sliced apples to your PB + J. Fiber!
• Add Fibersure to any of your wet sandwich toppings.  You can't taste it - and if you're a WLS'er, you're not getting enough fiber anyways, it can't hurt.
• Add flaxseed/flaxseed oil to your PB.
• And... many others... I will add to this list as it occurs to me.

I hope this helps.  I need to go make a sandwich.

2007.08.12 | Permalink

Hey Beth, I don't do bread (I owe half my arse to too much bread, the other half to pasta) but I make wraps a few times a week. Low carb whole wheat tortilla (I eat 1/2). Love them. I use grilled chicken or steak, cold cuts, cheese. I love grilled veggies in them, hummus, wasabi mayo, avocado things like that. Mmmm ok I'm hungry now. ~Michelle

Always liked wheat bread better...one of my fav sandwiches pre-op and post is Crunchy Peanut Butter and Banana!!! And once when I was in the hospital and the doc had ordered me on 1800 ADA diet, it took me a couple days but I figured out that a PB&B sandwich with a glass a milk fullfilled the breakfast regiment...their eggs, cottage cheese, were yuck...so I asked for my 2 starches to be break, my fruit to be a sliced banana, and my meat to be PB!!! My dairy was milk....yummy!!! Now on the weekends I like to have a scrambled egg, ham, and cheese sandwich for breakfast. My new NUT has had me cut out carbs but for breakfast so I get to have 1 slice of bread...but I can and have been for a long long time able to eat a normal 2 slice sandwich. My fav bread right now is Peppridge Farm 100% Whole Grain Oatmeal.

Hi Beth, I don't eat sandwiches all that often but when I do I have fallen back in love with the grilled cheese, on rye of course.  I like it just plain or with bacon sometimes.  My favourite sandwich is the one made with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and lettuce on rye with mayo, I can only eat half and no crust.  I don't do low or reduced fat mayo, just the regular stuff for me.  As I said I am not a big sandwich eater, maybe a couple of times a month, but when I do I like them to be tastey. Hugs Heidi

i don't do much bread either, except for my chicken quesadillas, that i use one flour tortilla to make them with. i put lots of finely shredded cheese on half, put on about 2 or 3 ozs. of 'tyson's fajita chicken strips-cut up' on half of it, fold over the other half and microwave for 30 secs., flipping it 1x at 15 secs. the only other sandwiches i have are cheese and meat wraps. maybe with some mustard in them. mardi

Mardi, That is one of my fav dinners...I use the South Beach Diet tortillas grill it while the chicken is in the microwave...then spread the cheese and chicken on the tortialla...then I mix up some of my black bean salsa from wal-mart and ff sour cream!!! YUMMO!!! I buy the chicken at Costo...a big bag for like $12...a bigger bag than they have at Publix for $9.

it sounds great, how you make them. i also dip mine in thin 'ortega' taco sauce after i use a pizza cutter and cut it into 3 triangles. i forgot to mention that. i just checked and my taco sauce has 10 cal. per tb. i probably use about 2 tb. of it. i never measure it and probably should start. hugs, mardi

lol...I cut mine with a pizza cutter too...3 triangles!!!

works great, doesn't it? i think i'll probably eat one for dinner. i never get sick of them. hugs, mardi

Great now I am dying for a sandwich!!!  As a pre-op my favorite sandwich is fresh hot roast beef on thick sourdough french bread with extra mayo, tons of melted cheddar, sauted mushrooms and sliced tomato. With a side of au jus juice.  YUMMMMMMMMMMMMM