healthiest-sandwich
Since the Earl of Sandwich paired watercress with cold roast beef in the nation’s first-ever takeaway back in 1762, watercress has been favoured as the salad leaf of choice in countless sarnies down the centuries.
In Victorian England, watercress between two slices of bread was the poor man’s breakfast releasing energy slowly throughout the day to sustain a much more physical lifestyle than the majority of us lead today.
As this year’s National Watercress Week coincides with National Sandwich Week (15-22 May), British watercress farmers decided to celebrate the role of watercress in the history of the venerated sandwich by asking leading nutritionist, Lyndel Costain to devise a super healthy and nutritious sandwich using easy to find ingredients.
Recent media coverage of ‘the sandwich’ has focussed on how unhealthy the shop bought variety can be, dripping with fatty dressings such as mayonnaise and full of high in fat and salt ingredients such as bacon. In contrast, the sandwich developed by Lyndel simply bursts with health!
Containing a delicious and interesting mix of red salmon, avocado, light soft cheese, red peppers, herbs, strawberries and of course, watercress, it is all held together between two slices of wholemeal bread.
It provides foods from each of the four main food groups; two of the recommended three daily servings of fibre rich wholegrains; omega-3 rich oily fish - recommended once a week; vegetables and fruit – giving you one of your five a day; herbs that boost the antioxidant content; and calcium rich dairy food courtesy of the cheese.
The World’s Healthiest Sandwich is also brimming with 18 essential vitamins and minerals including 133% of the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin C and 180% of Vitamin D as well as good quantities of several B vitamins and key minerals.
What’s more this delicious lunch time feast is perfect for slimmers or anyone watching their weight as it weighs in at a mere 358 calories, yet is satisfying thanks to its fibre and protein content.
Lyndel Costain, nutritionist, explains how the nutrients in the sandwich work together in the body to maximise their health benefits: “The individual ingredients in this sandwich each provides their own health benefits, not least the watercress.
However, there are synergies between certain nutrients of which the average sandwich eater may not be aware. For example, the vitamin D present in the sandwich helps the calcium to be absorbed efficiently by the body, the vitamin C regenerates the vitamin E to help maximise its antioxidant effect.
Vitamin C also boosts iron absorption and the natural oils in the avocado and salmon help with the absorption of carotenoids and vitamins A, D, E and K. Finally, the inclusion of herbs enhances the overall antioxidant content of the sandwich. It really packs in plenty of nutrition.”
Here’s how to make it:
The World’s Healthiest Sandwich Ingredients
2 slices of wholemeal bread
30g sliced avocado
20g light soft cheese
25g watercress
40g canned red salmon
3 sliced strawberries
¼ of a sliced red pepper
2 sprigs of fresh herbs, eg marjoram or parsley
Tom Amery of the Watercress Alliance says: “Looking at the list of ingredients Lyndel has selected, we really believe that this must rank as the World’s Healthiest Sandwich. Along with other nutritious ingredients it contains watercress which gram for gram contains more vitamin C than an orange, more iron than spinach, more folate than bananas, more vitamin E than broccoli, more calcium than milk and that new research is also highlighting how it may help in the fight against cancer, you really would be hard pressed to eat something more healthy than this sandwich!”
Tagged in food