November is National Bread Month and a great time to revisit your passion for breads! Bread and grain foods provide essential nutrients that our bodies need to fight diseases. Whole grains are a great source of fiber and complex carbohydrates while being naturally low in fat. Enriched grains will also give you the benefit of complex carbohydrates while providing a major sources of iron and folic acid to your diet. Dietary Guidelines recommend eating six one ounce servings of grain foods every day!
This year also marks the 250th anniversary of the sandwich! The Sandwich was born in 1762 when Sir John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, didn’t want to put down his cards in the midst of a marathon game of poker so he requested his meat be served to him between two slices of bread. Sandwiches may now be America’s most popular dish with over a billion sandwiches being consumed each year! Bread is the foundation ingredient in making a healthy and delicious sandwich which is one of the easiest and most versatile meals you can make!
My oldest takes a packed lunch daily and his lunch nearly always includes a sandwich. We keep variety present by mixing up the type of sandwich for the day. His favorites are peanut butter and jelly, deli sliced ham and cheese sandwiches, and tuna sandwiches! I really appreciate how quickly I can whip up his sandwich in the morning before we head out the door. It really makes our morning routine much easier by the simplicity of a sandwich. The rest of his lunch box is packed up the night before leaving just one quick step left to prepare his lunch. Sandwiches aren’t just for the lunchbox, though. I’ll often make sandwiches for my other kids that are not yet in school and myself. Grilled Cheese or Tuna melts are favorites at home.
Celebrity Chef Bryan Voltaggio has offered some great looking sandwich recipes to help inspire some new varieties you can try! I’m drooling over his Pastrami Reuben sandwich! When we went on our honeymoon cruise, I’d pick up a customized reuben sandwich every day for lunch time because it was just SO good! In addition to the recipes, you can also find expert nutrition advice and video tips for adding more grains into your diet at www.gowiththegrain.org.
What’s your families go-to or favorite sandwich?
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of the Grain Foods Foundation. I received a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.