On World Sandwich Day, we tell you which bread is better to choose and share recipes for healthy sandwiches.

Bread has been the basis of the daily human diet since time immemorial, but recently in the world of healthy eating there is a belief that bread is poison. It contributes to obesity, diabetes and other diseases, and those who want to lose weight and maintain youth should avoid baked goods altogether.

This is actually a wrong concept. It’s not for nothing that at the base of the famous food pyramid, developed by nutritionists back in 1992, along with vegetable oils, fruits and vegetables, there are whole grain products, including bread. It contains large quantities of vitamin B, and this is a very important group for maintaining the cardiovascular and nervous systems. It also contains a lot of fiber, which has a valuable property: it removes “bad” cholesterol from the body. With bread, the body receives macro- and microelements: potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, iron, copper, iodine, fluorine, manganese and others.

However, a caveat must be made. All these substances are contained mainly in the grain shell, so it is healthier to eat whole grain bread. The less processed the grains are, the longer they take to digest, providing the body with energy and vitamins. In an ordinary white yeast product, which is made from polished grains (i.e. from raw materials without shells), there are almost no beneficial nutrients. Thus, the point is not in the bread itself, but in its quality.

Nowadays you can find many types of bread products on store shelves. Try to choose products made from whole grain flour: rye, oatmeal, barley, corn, wheat, buckwheat (green buckwheat), spelled. Mustard bread is healthy. It is usually baked from wheat flour with the addition of mustard oil and/or powder. Don't forget about bran bread, although it is not as soft and tasty as others. A mix of different types of whole grain flour is also welcome. However, remember: even with healthy bread, it is better not to overdo it. Everything is good in moderation.

When purchasing, be sure to make sure that it contains whole grain flour, and at the beginning. If the packaging (and not the ingredients!) says “multi-grain” or “contains whole grains,” these may be marketing ploys and the product is not whole grain at all.

With all the types of bread listed above, you can safely make sandwiches and snacks throughout the day. They will not cause any harm to health. The main thing is to follow a few simple rules: combine whole grain bread with lean protein (chicken, turkey, low-fat cheeses, yogurt, fish), add fruits, vegetables and herbs and avoid harmful dressings, in particular ketchup and mayonnaise - it is better to replace them, for example, with sauce pesto, yoghurt sauces, vegetable oils.

Here are some healthy sandwich recipes:

Sandwich with pear

Ingredients:

  • whole wheat bread;
  • 1 pear;
  • 2 tbsp. l. ricotta or other cream cheese;
  • 2–3 tsp. honey;
  • a handful of chopped walnuts.

Remove the core from the pear and cut the fruit into thin slices. Then spread the bread with a thin layer of ricotta, lay out the pear slices, drizzle with honey, and sprinkle walnuts on top.

Avocado sandwich

Ingredients:

  • whole wheat bread:
  • 1 avocado;
  • 200 g cottage cheese;
  • 3-5 olives;
  • 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
  • salt, pepper to taste.

Peel the avocado, cut in half, remove the pit. Grind the pulp in a blender, add cottage cheese, mix. Cut the olives into thin slices and add them to the resulting paste. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and stir again. Spread the paste on the bread.

Sandwich with curd cheese and red fish

Ingredients:

  • whole wheat bread;
  • curd cheese to taste;
  • a couple of slices of lightly salted red fish;
  • 1-2 radishes;
  • 3 olives;
  • dill.

Spread the curd cheese on the bread, place pieces of fish, sliced ​​olives and radishes on top, add a sprig of dill.

Baked chicken sandwich

Ingredients:

  • whole wheat bread;
  • 2 chicken breasts;
  • spices;
  • 200 ml yogurt;
  • pinch of sugar or 1 tsp. honey;
  • a handful of spinach leaves;
  • 2 radishes;
  • salt and pepper to taste.

Marinate the breasts in yogurt with spices, salt and pepper, add a pinch of sugar or honey. Bake the meat in the oven at 200 C for 30 minutes. Toast the bread in a toaster, sprinkle with baby spinach leaves, add thin radish slices, add the chicken, and cover with the second piece of bread on top.

Sandwich with hummus and vegetables

Ingredients:

  • whole wheat bread;
  • 2-3 tbsp. l. hummus;
  • 1-2 cucumbers;
  • a handful of spinach or other greens;
  • 1/2 pcs. red pepper;
  • 1 tsp. feta

Remove seeds from the pepper and cut half of the vegetable into three parts. Grill or fry the peppers. Thinly slice the cucumber. Spread the hummus on the bread (you can also lightly toast the bread in a toaster or frying pan). Add cucumbers, spinach and then peppers. Sprinkle feta on top.