For low-fat sandwich fillings, things that swim are followed closely by things with wings, specifically chicken and turkey. A three-ounce portion of skinless chicken breast—about three slices—weighs in at under four grams of fat, while turkey is the champion with just two grams.
Some sliced deli meats are okay, but most are loaded with fat. Stay away from standard cured lunch meats like bologna, salami and hard sausage or any others that we used to call “mystery meats” when we were kids. They generally deliver about 20 to 25 grams of fat per three- to four-slice portion. (To keep within the suggested health guidelines of the American Heart Association, a man of average weight and appetite should consume no more than 80 grams of gat in an entire day.) It does little good to switch to the “lite” versions of bologna made from turkey or chicken. Even though they’re cleverly described on the packages as being one-third lower in fat than the original, they still weigh in at 15 to 20 grams per three-slice serving, which means that as much as 80 percent of their calories are from fat. A better bet at the deli department is to choose meats like boiled ham, roast turkey or lean roast beef, all of which are relatively low in fat.
If you favor deli food, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the food additives known as nitrates. These are added to prevent spoilage and retain the appetizing color of the meat. The whole issue of whether or not nitrates are a major risk factor for some types of cancer is unanswered as yet. Still, the American Cancer Society recommends limiting your intake of nitrate-cured meats, unless they have vitamin C compounds added. Researchers thing that the vitamin C may keep nitrates from turning into cancer-causing chemicals. Vitamin C has been added if the label includes mention of ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate or sodium erythrobate.
Most people don’t consider a sandwich a sandwich without some cheese thrown in. That might seem like a problem, since about 50 to 70 percent of the calories from many cheeses are from fat. One solution is simply to use less. Will two or three make the sandwich taste that much better than a single slice will? For us, the answer is no. Cheese is very flavorful, and a little goes a long way.
It’s also a good idea to use lower-fat cheesed whenever possible. A slice of Cheddar will contribute about ten grams of fat to your sandwich, but mozzarella adds only six grams. Even better, try a part-skim version of mozzarella, which cuts down the fat content by about another 20 percent. Similar savings can be found with low-fat Cheddar, Monterey Jack or Swiss. At these levels, the amount of fat your are adding is small enough to justify the flavor benefits of cheese. Cheese also supplies significant amounts of protein and calcium to your meal.
