Sandwiches are easy and convenient, but if you are eating them for lunch day after day, they are bound to get boring. Here are some ways to make them interesting:
- Heat: Instead of eating it cold, try heating up your sandwich (in a skillet, open-faced under the broiler, or even in the microwave). Tip: add vegetables at the very end so they don’t wilt.
- A different kind of heat: Add a sprinkling of chopped, seeded jalapeño peppers (or canned pickled jalapeño slices) for a refreshing tingle.
- Crunch: Revive that delicious childhood practice of inserting potato or tortilla chips directly into your sandwich.
- Tiny food: Use crackers instead of bread to make teeny tiny sandwiches!
Here are some quick tips for smart sandwich making:
- Pre-packaged lunch meat is convenient, but not always the most nutritious choice due to preservatives and high sodium content. Try getting meats sliced at the deli counter (fewer preservatives, though often just as much sodium). Ideally, use leftover freshly cooked meat like turkey or chicken breast, or roast beef.
- There’s nothing worse than a soggy sandwich! When you’re taking a sandwich for lunch at the office or school, try packing the bread separately and constructing the sandwich right before you eat it. It takes more time in preparation, but you get a really fresh-tasting sandwich.
- Get creative! Remember, you can stuff just about anything between slices of bread!
Start with your bread
- Hearty white or sourdough bread
- Whole-grain bread
- Rye or pumpernickel
- Baguette or a soft French or Italian loaf
- Braided Scarborough Faire Bread
- No-Knead Beer Bread
- Tortillas (plain or flavored) for rolling up or folding in half
- Pocket bread (“pita” bread)
- Flatbread or naan
- Hoagie or sub rolls
- Crackers (for tiny crunchy sandwiches!)
- Bagels
- Any sort of roll or bun
- Large leaf of lettuce
Spread one or more condiments
- Mayonnaise
- Mustard (popular types include American yellow or prepared mustard, spicy brown or deli style, sweet and hot, horseradish, honey mustard, coarse-grain, and Dijon)
- Butter
- Relish (pickle or otherwise)
- Barbecue sauce
- Ketchup
- Horseradish or horseradish sauce
- Salad dressing (Italian, creamy Italian, ranch, Thousand Island, Russian, Caesar, blue cheese, vinaigrette)
- Chutney
- Salsa
- Pico de gallo
- Sriracha
- Cream cheese
- Hummus
- Guacamole
- Peanut butter
- Jelly
- Honey
And then add fillings
- Meat, deli sliced or leftover from another meal (ham, turkey, roast beef, chicken, salami, sausage, meatballs, hamburger, shrimp, salmon)
- Tuna, chicken, or egg salad
- Vegan Chickpea “Tuna” Salad
- Bacon
- Cheese (such as fresh mozzarella, cheddar, swiss, jack, muenster, provolone)
- Lettuce, spinach, or any other greens
- Tomato slices
- Shredded carrots
- Onion slices (raw or sautéed)
- Cucumber slices
- Bell pepper strips (raw or sautéed)
- Sprouts
- Avocado slices
- Jalapeño peppers
- Pickles (sweet or dill)
- Potato chips (yep, right into the sandwich!)
- Artichoke hearts
- Olives, sliced
- Nuts (peanuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds)
- Dried or fresh fruit slices
Quick mix & match sandwich ideas
Classic Grilled Cheese
Hearty white bread, butter or mayonnaise, cheddar cheese. Spread both sides of the bread with butter or mayo, add cheese, and cook in a skillet on medium heat (or on a baking sheet in an oven set to 425 degrees F) until nicely browned and cheese is melted.
Italian Veggie Roll-Up
Large tortilla, spinach, green onions, diced tomatoes, red bell pepper, provolone cheese, creamy Italian dressing.
Tiny Tuna Crackers
Whole-grain crackers spread with tuna salad (tuna, mayonnaise, diced celery, onion, and/or relish) and shredded carrot. Eat open-faced or top with another cracker.
Turkey Bagel
Plain or onion bagel, cream cheese, sliced turkey, leaf lettuce, cucumbers, and sunflower seeds.
Peanut Butter and Pickle
Whole-grain bread, peanut butter, sliced sweet or dill pickles. This is not everyone’s favorite, but I love this unusual Depression-era sandwich.