“Tell me and i’ll forget. Show me and I’ll remember. Involve me and I’ll understand”.

Chinese Proverb

When was the last time you bought a sandwich and ate it ?

Did you think twice before making your choice or simply grabbed it on your way because you were running late and it looked appealing stuffed with your favorite cheese and its companions ?

Statistics show … I’m just kidding!! You can’t really find statistics about food preferences in my country (Lebanon) but what you can do is observe and state those observations…

In my case i’ve asked my patients, checked with my students, friends, friends of friends and realized that very few individuals actually make wise choices when it comes to picking up a sandwich!

And that’s due to a very simple reason: when they look at an array of different appealing sandwiches at a time when they’re really hungry their brains stop calculating and assessing the benefits that each sandwich will or won’t offer!

To cut the story short here are the following steps you must memorize by heart and apply whenever your brains stop calculating and assessing the benefits of the foods you’re choosing!

1-The bread: Always go for Brown/wholewheat that’s gonna have more fiber, minerals(selenium,iron,magnesium), vitamins(vit.E,vit.B) and thus would make you feel full for a longer period of time when compared to white bread

2-Arabic v/s French: For the same amount (let’s say we’re talking about 30g of bread) the portion of Arabic bread would yield more than the French one – You can try to weigh both at home and see the difference- and thus the Arabic bread is definitely preferred

3-Cold cuts:        1 slice of ham provides you with 60 calories

1 slice of turkey provides you with 25 calories

1 slice of salami provides you with 100 calories

1 slice of “Italian”Mortadelle provides you with 170 calories

4-The spread:     Say no to mayo, yes to mustard, no to butter yes to avocado!

5-The Greens:  Open… Yes! Your sandwich is open to all types of veggies; rocket leaves, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, iceberg, thinly slices yellow peppers/red peppers/green onions/carrots, red cabbage (with drizzles of glazed balsamic vinegar in case you’re preparing it at home!).

6-Cheeses: You tell me how fattening they are, especially if they’re not portioned properly!

7-Eggs: Ditch the yolk! It has 60 calories and all the fat you can find in an egg compared to the white that has only 15 calories and much more proteins!

8-Think natural: labneh or cream cheese ? definitely labneh! Halloum or highly processed cheese? Halloum!

9-Try to prepare your sandwiches at home: It’s fun, healthier and much cheaper! You’ll be involved in the process of sandwich making and you’ll understand the whole healthy story 🙂

A smoked turkey and brie sandwich that you can find in the picture above has around 630 calories!!

I showed you so that you remember! It’s time for you to get involved now!!

Dietitian Nicole Maftoum