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Meal Makeover: Build a Better Sandwich

Packing your lunch is much less expensive than eating out. It also gives you total control over the calories and carbohydrate in your meal. Let’s face it. While the convenience of grabbing a sandwich from the local deli is great, it’s worth it to spend a few extra minutes at home packing a healthy sandwich for the day.

But brown bagging it doesn’t guarantee a healthful lunch. You still need to be mindful of the foods you pack. Check out our sandwich makeover below for lower calorie, lower carbohydrate lunch ideas that will keep you energized during your workday.

Original Sandwich:

4 oz Deli style Roast beef on 2 oz of foccacia bread with 1 oz cheese, 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise

Nutrition Information:

500 calories, 28 grams of carbohydrate, 1 gram of fiber and over 1500 mg of sodium (mostly from the processed deli meat)

What is a better option that is still quick to prepare?

Slice up some leftover Roasted Chicken from last night’s dinner. Put it on a 100% whole wheat sandwich thin with lettuce, tomato, onion or other vegetables. Add some light mayo or mustard if you wish. 

Nutrition Information:

300 calories, 28 grams of carbohydrate, 5 grams of fiber and a more reasonable 400 mg of sodium

This switch saves:

• About 200 calories
• Over 1,000 mg sodium
• For about the same amount of carbohydrate, you’ll also get 4 more grams of fiber, whole grains and about a serving of vegetables.

Looking for something even healthier? 

Why not try a vegetarian option with more fiber and the addition of healthy fats. Try filling half of a whole wheat pita with 2 large slices avocado, tomato, shredded carrot, cucumber and hummus. You can even use our Curried Beet Hummus for a new twist.

Nutrition Info:

200 calories, 22 grams of carbohydrate, less than 200 mg of sodium and more than 7 grams of fiber.  Not to mention a delicious combination of whole grains, vegetables and healthy fats. 

Want more healthy sandwich ideas?

For more vegetarian sandwich ideas, try our Cheese and Veggie Pita, Mediterranean Roll Up, Grilled Veggie Wrap, or a Roasted Red Pepper, Arugula, and Goat Cheese Pumpernickel Panini. 

Featured Cookbook

The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook

by Jackie Newgent, RD

This cookbook features 150 recipes that focus on whole foods and unprocessed ingredients. It skips the artificial sweeteners, fat-free products, and other processed foods, but the recipes are still full of flavor and packed with nutrition.