Healthy and fun sandwich recipes to try!

I know - this is not me. But I just loved this photo. He is so excited!!

But back to my subject - classic healthy sandwiches. I do love them. I have made some changes in them through the years, but they remain a staple in my household. Why? They are easy and fast to make, they can be made in so many different combinations, and they taste good.

It's fun to experiment with breads. One change I have made with the breads to my sandwiches is that now I only make sandwiches with whole grains.

I use tomatoes - and tomato ketchup - often on my sandwiches. A tomato is so versatile, as are onion slices. One change I have made in all my vegetables used on my sandwiches now is that I try to buy them from Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, both natural food stores that feature organically grown vegetables.

1. Peanut butter and jelly - I used to use any kind of peanut butter and jelly, usually what cost the least. Now I use natural peanut butter (my favorite brand is Trader Joe's smooth), and no sugar added jelly. (Strawberry is my favorite here). My mother would often put lettuce on her peanut butter sandwiches - - now I have tried that and I love it!

The lettuce tastes great with it and gives it more moisture, which helps with the peanut butter. And I admit I do use a butter substitute. It just makes the peanut butter taste better. I use Earth Balance spread. It costs a bit more, but it is worth it. It is high in Omega 3's, and tastes good too.

2. Tuna - I only use dolphin safe Tongol from Trader Joe's or Whole Foods now. I put chopped dill pickles in the tuna mix, along with chopped onions. This really gives the tuna a great zing.

3. Meat loaf - I add TVP (textured vegetable protein) plus an egg and a little water to my meat, which I buy from either a local farm that treats its animals well, or my 2 natural food stores (Trader Joe's or Whole Foods). Then I mix the combination up with my hands, but take care not to overmix it. I often buy ground turkey or chicken for my meat loaf too.

4. Lunch meat - I do not buy a lot of this anymore, but when I do I make sure it is organic. I have found a great soy mayonnaise that is called NatureNaise. It is in the refrigerated section of Whole Foods. It has 3 grams of fat, including .5 g of saturated fat, which is a lot better than the occasional purchase of regular salad dressing had. It tastes good too. But I do miss Miracle Whip sometimes, I have to admit.

5. Bacon, lettuce, and tomato - I use free range type and locally sourced bacon sometimes, but I also use soy bacon too, or turkey bacon, and buy organic whenever possible on the lettuce and tomato. I find the lettuce at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods lasts a lot longer and is of much better quality - more crunchy too! And I get heritage tomatoes whenever I can - they taste really great.

6. Egg salad - I have cut down a lot on egg salad - I eat too many eggs as it is. I am going to try no-yolk eggs, scrambling them, and then making egg salad out of them, with maybe just a few real eggs in it. I think that will cut down a lot on the cholesterol.

7. Spaghetti sauce - does anyone else besides me eat spaghetti sauce sandwiches? They are so good, especially if they have meat or meat substitutes in it. My tomato paste and vegetables are now organic, and I use chicken or turkey most of the time too.

8. Liverwurst - I don't eat this a lot anymore, but when I do, I use smaller slices and good-for-you dressing and margarine. I also sometimes add some sweet onion pieces to the sandwich too, and a dill pickle to the side or right on the sandwich.

9. Hot dog - they make good chicken hot dogs that have a lot less fat in them, and I use these now on my hot dog sandwiches, along with onions and good-for-you ketchup with no sugar added.

10. Cream cheese and lox or salmon - you can buy little packages of salmon at both stores. And the natural cream cheese is great. They also have whipped cream cheese, which goes a lot longer way, and still tastes good. I like to have this on bagels. I like sesame seed bagels now even better than "regular" ones.

11. Cream cheese and jelly - ditto on the whipped cream cheese. I use no sugar added jelly with it.

Nowadays, the bread I use on these sandwiches must be whole grain to be healthier. I often toast my bread or bagels now too. And I add sliced onion whenever possible.

Since I now read the ingredients on things I eat, (and I'll bet you do too...) I have had to change my salad dressings. And I am trying to buy meat from humane producers as much as possible. If you have seen some of the YouTube videos about chickens, cows, etc. you will know why I do this. I feel that I am helping in a small way to change some of the bad treatment of animals and to allow them to have a better life.

Other things I do to make my sandwiches healthier: I serve a salad and/or homemade soup with my sandwiches now. I also put sprouts on my sandwiches every so often to add more nutritional value. The breads I buy sometimes have sprouted seeds and different kinds of whole grains in them. And the spreads I use are organic and healthier than my old spreads I used.