Ah, the great British sandwich. Invented in 1762 by the eponymous Earl of Sandwich, and a staple of lunches up and down this land and pretty much every other in the western world since then. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good sandwich, and the more inventive the better (I put kimchi in one yesterday). I had sandwiches in my lunchbox every day as a child. A crisp sandwich was a particular delicacy, especially cheese and onion. But as any good Dietician or Nutritional Therapist will tell you, an over-reliance on bread, especially if you find you’re having a wheat extravaganza morning, noon and night (Weetabix, sandwich, pasta is not an atypical British daily menu), and you could not only be spiking your blood sugar with a carb overload, but also exposing yourself to the most-difficult-to-digest-of-all protein – GLUTEN – pretty much all the time.

Now, I should probably also confess that I was a wheat-addict for most of my life. Those early dietary habits stuck. But then I cut gluten out and watched my energy levels soar overnight. I kid you not. However, going gluten-free, though largely a sensible move for me, is not without its challenges. It doesn’t mean you need to forgo the sandwich but given the huge levels of sugar and seed oils present in most gluten-free bread, not to mention the astonishing ways said bread can get stuck to the roof of your mouth (ick), you’d be better off dreaming up some alternatives for lunch.  

So, just now, I had some leftover potatoes from the night before, added some olive oil, finely chopped red onion, pepper and served on a bed of shoots and leaves, and popped a hard-boiled egg on the top. It took less time to prepare than a sandwich and helped me to reduce food waste (anyone else found days-old cooked potatoes at the back of the fridge or is it just me?)! The thing about previously cooked and cooled potatoes is they are full of resistant starch – far better for blood sugar as they have a slower release, plus your good gut bacteria will thank you.

Other lower-carb, nutritious, distinctly un-wheat-y, un-bread-y alternatives include: quinoa, barley (contains gluten but you may be okay with that), spelt, polenta, cooked and cooled root veg, or any combination of those. Ancient grains are great as they contain no nasties and the body generally knows how to deal with them in ways it doesn’t with, say, a Subway sandwich.

I like a rice wrap with veg and goats cheese inside. And I have a great recipe for polenta and rosemary biscuits. Nom. I also make my own oaty-seedy olive and cottage cheese bread that is way more filling than your average slice of Mighty White, and can be used to make an open ‘sandwich’, although the phrase ‘open sandwich’ seems vaguely oxymoronic to me.

I digress. The takeaway here is that Sandwiches are not the only Lunch. A little bit of creativity goes a long way to making your middle of the day meal an enjoyable, tasty, nutritious, and filling in a lasting way kind of affair.

If anyone has some good suggestions for sandwich alternatives, gluten-free or otherwise, I’d love to hear them. Please feel free to comment below. Happy eating, everyone!