Diet-friendly ingredients to make a sandwich out of?

Question

I know that using whole-grain bread or pita is a good alternative to white bread, but what other choices are out there to replace the bad carbs? Also, which low-calorie meats should I put into the sandwich? And what other diet-friendly ingredients could I put into a sandwich to enchance its taste?

Answer 1

Of course, whole-grain bread and pita are good choices, but you could also try a wrap made from whole-grain tortilla or a low-carb wrap (careful with those though, some don't taste as good as others).

Meats - Turkey and chicken will usually be healthy and lower in fat than others.

If you are looking for deli-style meat, I have found that the best brand so far is "Hormel Natural Choice" because they do not use artifical ingredients and preservatives, no nitrates and nitrites in their ham and roast beef (these are very bad for you), no high fructose corn syrup, etc. It's a great product and the meats taste better than most I have tried. I get them at Wal-mart and it is not expensive at all.

Veggies - Of course lettuce, tomato, onion. But also try - spinach, cucumber, zuchinni, red peppers,
marinated tomatoes add a lot of flavor!

Condiments - Mustard, Fat free catalina french, fat free italian, lite ranch, taco sauce, salsa - all pretty low fat


Also, you would be surprised how good refried beans with a little garlic salt mixed in topped with tomato, spinach, and a taco sauce, salsa, lite ranch, or lite sour cream all in a wrap is.

Or a hummus sandwich on whole-grain with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber.

Hope this gives you some ideas!

Answer 2

My choice of healthy meat for you would be turkey. If you take a three oz. portion of turkey and compare it to an equal size portion of beef, pork, chicken, or lamb you get fewer calories, less fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, while still getting the same high protein levels as the other meats. Turkey is also especially high in calcium, iron, and potassium.

A crisp, dark piece of leafy lettuce and a crisp, bright red tomato slice will add good flavor. Mustard is supposedly a better dressing for a sandwich than the higher fat mayonnaise and such. A little pepper purhaps? I add that to my sandwiches. Some people like to put on some red onion or avacado.

And, lastly, if you must have a piece of cheese then go for a white cheese such as havarti, mozzerella, or swiss which are lower in fat than the yellow cheeses.

You are exactly right about the whole wheat bread being better than the white flour breads. But the level of high fructose corn syrup is alarming in some of the breads from the store so I tend to lean towards making homemade bread.

Answer 3

There's also some pretty decent low cal/low carb bread out there, for about 40 calories per slice (HALF of a normal slice).
Sliced chicken or turkey are low cal, and so is tuna salad if it's water-packed, and made with Light or Free Miracle Whip.
Lettuce is pretty much calorie free, as are pickles, cucumbers, onion, and sprouts. Tomatoes are very low calorie.
You might want to check out Progresso soups--there's a bunch of different kinds that only have about 200 calories for the whole CAN--and they're really tasty, too.

Answer 4

First, make sure that what you're buying is ACTUALLY whole grain bread. Manufacturers jump through hoops to make you think you're getting the real thing--lots of times, people buy "wheat bread" or "made with whole grain bread" that isn't 100% whole grain. Make sure it says "100% whole grain."

Lowfat turkey is great, of course.

Buy chicken cutlets when they're on sale. You can bake a bunch at once or George Foreman them. You can also dredge them in bread crumbs before baking. Put the chicken on whole grain toast with lettuce, tomato, mustard, and, if you have the calories to spare, one piece of cheese. (I like the Sargento sliced cheeses--they have about 5-6g of fat each.)

If you can handle the salt, buy some hot peppers (available in the pickle aisle; buy the ones meant for sandwiches.) They really spice up any sandwich to deliciousness and are low in calories.

Peanut butter is heavy but it's loaded with protein and is very filling. A typical serving of the sugar-free natural style (which is an aquired taste, yes) has about 16 grams of fat. . . but a serving is 2 tablespoons. You can easily get by with one.

Answer 5

I am a huge fan of diet sandwiches- I find them really convenient and healthy.

I use cucumbers, tomatoes, rocket salad, Philadelphia lite cream cheese, Kraft Zesty Italian dressing (not as calorie-ridden as other salad dressings), fat-free Ricotta cheese, low-fat cottage cheese, tofu, gherkins, dill, potato(boiled) slices, chutney and hommous.
I just pick about 3 to 4 ingredients from the above list to put in my sandwich. I like variety so I use different ingredients every day. I'm a vegetarian, so I wouldn't be able to recommend any low-calorie meats. I get my protein from tofu and other soy products.

I also like to sprinkle chilli flakes, pepper or oregano on top- just to add flavour. You could use other herbs as well to make your sandwich more lively.

Hope this helps. =)

Answer 6

Bagel Sandwiches

Makes 3 servings
1medium-size whole-wheat bagel
Crab Salad or Curried Tuna Salad (recipes follow)
1.Slice bagel horizontally into 3 equal slices. Toast, if desired. Spread each slice with 1 tablespoon Crab Salad, Curried Tuna Salad or Thai Chicken Salad

Crab Salad
Yield: Makes 1 serving
Ingredients: 3tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2teaspoon seafood seasoning
1/2teaspoon lemon juice
1/4cup finely chopped green bell pepper
2tablespoons finely chopped onion
1can (6 ounces) lump crabmeat, drained


Preparation: 1.Mix mayonnaise, seafood seasoning and juice in medium bowl. Stir in bell pepper, onion and crabmeat.

Note: Used 3/4 of the bagel due to "digging out the middle."
Nutritional Information:Serving Size: 1/3 bagel plus 1 tablespoon salad
Sodium 188 mg
Protein 3 g
Fiber 2 g
Carbohydrate 11 g
Cholesterol 4 mg
Saturated Fat 0.6 g
Total Fat 4 g
Calories from Fat 40 %
Calories 90


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Curried Tuna Salad
Yield: Makes 1 serving
Ingredients: 2tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2teaspoon curry powder
2tablespoons finely chopped celery
1can (6 ounces) chunk tuna in water, drained and flaked


Preparation: 1.Mix mayonnaise and curry powder in medium bowl. Sir in celery and tuna.

Note: Used 3/4 of the bagel due to "digging out the middle."
Nutritional Information:Serving Size: 1/3 bagel plus 1 tablespoon salad
Sodium 143 mg
Protein 6 g
Fiber 2 g
Carbohydrate 9 g
Cholesterol 6 mg
Saturated Fat 0.3 g
Total Fat 2 g
Calories from Fat 23 %
Calories 77
Dietary Exchange: Fat
Meat
Starch

Answer 7

I love this simple Persian app. adapted into a sandwich:

Fresh basil leaves, thin sliced feta and thin sliced radish on low-carb bread. Very satisfying.

Answer 8

Oscar mayer thin-sliced ham. lettuce of coarse. mustard is definetly better than mayo. I guess you'll just have to work with the cheese part. I don;t know how they do it, but subway makes great diet sandwhiches.

Answer 9

Turkey, lettuce, tomato, and use mustard or spicy mustard to enhance the taste. Stay away from the mayonnaise. Yummy!

Answer 10

I love sultana sandwiches.

If you add them to something diety and boring, they will add a sweet burst of flavour.

I like them on their own on buttered white bread though!

Try sprinkling sultanas and nuts on your bland breakfast cereal too!