Healthy Eating for Elders: Super Sandwiches
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Healthy Eating for Elders: Super Sandwiches

   

Healthy Eating for Elders: Super Sandwiches1

Jennifer Hillan2

Sandwiches can make a quick, easy, and nutritious meal when combined with a side of fruit and a glass of milk. Below are tips to create some new sandwich favorites!

BREADS

Bread comes in many varieties. Experiment with sandwiches made on pita pockets, bagels, or tortillas!
Choose whole-grain breads often. They provide energy, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Try whole wheat, pumpernickel, rye, or others made mainly with whole grain flour.


FILLINGS

For a lower fat dish, mix shredded tuna, turkey, or chicken with low-fat plain yogurt instead of mayonnaise.

Instead of peanut butter and jelly, how about peanut butter and banana? Add a little honey for a sweeter sandwich.

Try mashed canned beans or firm tofu flavored with chopped onion, parsley, garlic, pepper, or other spices. Chickpeas, black beans, and kidney beans work well.

Go easy on spreads such as mayonnaise, margarine, butter, and cream cheese. They add calories and fat but few vitamins or minerals. Instead, try mustard, low-fat plain yogurt, or cottage cheese.
When buying deli meats, choose lean roast beef, ham, or turkey. Ask for meats without added salt.


TOPPINGS

Give your sandwich a nutrition boost by adding vegetables or fruits. Try apples, pineapple, radishes, spinach, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumber, or grated carrots or zucchini.

Footnotes

1. This is document FCS 8699-ENG, one in a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Publication date: February 2005. This leaflet was developed with funding from the Florida Department of Elder Affairs in partnership with state, county, and local agencies. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

2. Jennifer Hillan, MSH, RD, LD/N, former ENAFS nutrition educator/trainer, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Reviewed by Linda B. Bobroff, PhD, RD, LD/N, professor, and Leigh Ann Martin, MESS, former ENAFS project coordinator, University of Florida.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.


Copyright Information

This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.