The Basics
“Many retailers of sandwiches use high fat dressings such as mayonnaise to make the product more enjoyable to eat. A typical cheddar cheese ploughman’s sandwich is over 35% fat with a calorie count of 650kcal (or more). A ham salad with mustard sandwich, on the other hand, can be as low as 230 calories with a 10% fat count”, says Todd Donnelly, nutritionist.
Nearly all supermarkets and sandwiches places have pre packed healthy potions – it’s the sandwiches that are made for you that can be very difficult to control in terms of portion. Choose your filling carefully, toppings mixed in mayo will typically be very high in calories.
Myths and Misconceptions
- “It’s low in fat and so I can eat more”. Not true - just because the packet says ‘low fat’ does not mean the food is low in calories. Portion control is important for all foods, even those claiming to be low in fat or calories.
Tips and Tricks
- Making your own sandwich saves you money and gives you control over what goes into it. Use thin sliced bread and don’t overfill it with fattening fillings – use lots of salad as filler or eat a separate bowl of salad with the sandwich.
- Use higher fibre bread choices (wholemeal or granary) which are more filling and substitute butter with houmous (lower in calories than butter) for a change.
- Salsa is extremely low in calories and can be counted towards your fruit & veg intake – it’s great with salad and chicken.
- Take the edge off your hunger with a piece of fruit if you are going to the sandwich shop – this will help prevent you from over-ordering when you get there.
- Opt for the sliced meat or cheese choice rather than those mixed in mayonnaise and dressings. Most cafes and sandwich shops make their tuna and egg mayonnaise fillings with full fat mayonnaise – these fillings can be incredibly high in fat and calories. If you eat or buy regularly from one place ask them to change over to lite mayonnaise or offer low fat dressing.
- When buying a sandwich it is better to choose sliced bread over a French stick or ciabatta which both tend to be sold as a larger portion – ask for extra salad to make your sandwich bigger.
- Drink a large glass or small bottle of water before or with your sandwich – this is great for your digestion and will also help you to feel full.
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