Sandwiches

Providing healthy and balanced meals for our kids is often a difficult task that we have to figure out how to provide as a parent. There are a lot of really easy meals out there that are not healthy at all. There are also a lot of really healthy options out there as well, but all too often our kids aren’t interested in them as they are too bland. If you have got a picky eater, then you know the struggle to get them to eat.

Fortunately, the classic sandwich is actually a fairly healthy choice for lunch (or dinner). Considering that some of the alternatives out there are things like macaroni and cheese from a box or pizza, a sandwich is a great meal for them. Put some carrot sticks or other vegetable with that sandwich, and you’ve got one of the simpler meals you can make that your kid will likely eat, at least to some degree.

Now, it’s important what type of sandwich you provide for your child as to how healthy it really is. One of the worst options is a grilled cheese sandwich. There’s very little nutritional value to such a sandwich - it’s loaded with many of the unhealthy fats and carbs that taste really good, but are missing a lot of the important nutrients that your child really needs. If you’ve got some good protein and vegetables on the side, then this is an alright choice. Otherwise, you should try to avoid this sandwich.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are another popular choice for kids, but this is also not the best choice. If you’re going this route, then you should avoid putting too much peanut butter on the sandwich (put a standard serving of about 2 tablespoons). Also, make sure that the jelly isn’t just straight sugar as that’s what many of the tastiest jelly is made up of - fruit and a lot of extra sugar so you want more.

The best choice is a standard deli type sandwich. Load the sandwich up with plenty of lean meats (turkey, ham, etc.) and plenty of vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, etc.). If your sandwich is just ketchup and lunch meat, then you’re not really any better off with this sandwich as there’s not a lot of nutrients on it. You want your kid eating the vegetables and plenty of protein when eating a sandwich.

Our sandwiches avoid all sauces and we generally skip the top slice of the sandwich. We have an open ended sandwich without a bunch of extra sauces - they don’t add any nutritional value generally, so they’re just adding calories for a little added taste. By skipping the top slice of bread, you also remove some of the dryness from the sandwich as well so it’s less important to have sauces on the sandwich.

A typical sandwich around our house looks like this: bread on bottom, followed by pickles, cucumbers, tomatoes (sometimes), cheese (sometimes), 2-3 slices of fairly thick lunch meat, and lettuce on top. If the kids want a sauce, we will put some mustard on the sandwich as well - they go through phases as to whether they like mustard or not. We allow any other vegetables they want on the sandwich as well.

Ultimately, a sandwich is a decent option as long as you’re putting plenty of vegetables on the sandwich and a good protein. Let your kids enjoy a sandwich for lunch, but skip the unhealthy versions of sandwiches.