Low Fat Sandwiches - Tried and Tasted

On-the-go at lunch time with no food to hand? You might be tempted to grab a pre-packed sandwich to satisfy those hunger cravings but is this the best option? And how do you know if you’ve made a good choice? Will you be tucking in to sandwich heaven or suffering with soggy bread?

There’s only one group of elite tasting experts who can solve that dilemma – the Tried and Tasted Team! Yet again the team have been sacrificing their own taste buds to find you the perfect lunch – and of course it’s all healthy! This time the Tasters were definitely challenged as they were faced with low fat sandwiches to taste – some of which were decidedly soggy and downright disgusting. But your trusty Tried and Tasted Team struggled on, tasting six healthy sandwiches, all 300 cals and under, to save you the trouble!

If you have got the time to make your lunch before you go out, it’s always the better option. You get far more for your calories, and for your money and most of the time it tastes better too! WLR can help you with healthy sandwich inspiration – using our recipe database you can browse by calories and ingredients to find the perfect lunch. Try it free for 24 hours!

Our tasters scored all the low calorie sandwiches out of 5 and they have been ranked in order according to their score.

Table 1: Low Fat Sandwiches Compared

Product Name	Tesco Light Choices Chicken, Tomato and Rocket Sandwich	Marks and Spencer Count on Us Ham, Salad & Mustard Sandwich	Boots Shapers Roast Chicken Salad Sandwich
Ranking	1	2	2
Appearance	Colourful, bright and fresh – the Tasters liked the look of this sarnie.	It looked fresh and homemade – another promising start.	‘Busy and full’ said the Tasters. Plenty of chicken and looking fresh!
Smell	A bit spicy? Or was it Chinese Chicken flavour? Or even spag bol? We couldn’t work it out but actually we didn’t care because it smelled delicious!	A hint of mustard (this had the mustard-haters worried) but otherwise not much smell – at least there was nothing to offend our delicate noses.	A nice fresh smelling low fat sandwich and it was salady which was nice.
Taste	Although the taste didn’t quite live up to the appearance and smell it still tasted great. We liked the flavoursome sauce which transformed this low fat sandwich from a boring old chicken salad to a delicious delight! Our only complaint, because we like to be picky, was that we wanted a bit more sauce!	Luckily the mustard had been spread sparsely so even those not so keen on it found they enjoyed this low calorie sandwich – we weren’t overpowered by mustard flavours. We loved the taste of this sarnie, but unfortunately the ham was slightly on the cheap side. A bit ‘plasticy’ and watery – not quite so appetising.	A peppery taste and good bread. Most of the Tasters liked that it was fresh and had a bit of flavour, but it was nothing special. Unlike our winning low fat sandwich, it was just your standard chicken sarnie – you know what you’re getting but don’t expect to love it!
Filling / Satisfying?	A pack of these healthy sandwiches would leave you feeling nicely full. The Tasters only got bite-sized pieces though, so as usual were asking for seconds.	As filling as your normal sandwich – we couldn’t taste that it was low fat.	The bread was a bit thin, but most thought they would be full and again we couldn’t tell that it was a low fat sandwich.
Texture / Consistency	The chicken was nice and chunky but as is common with pre-packed sandwiches the bread was a little bit soggy. Even our winning low fat sandwich couldn’t escape the nuisance that is soggy bread.	The slimy old ham meant only one thing – soggy bread! Not again!	The chicken was a bit dry and the bread was a bit soggy – not the greatest texture combination.
Conclusion	The Tasters loved the flavours and the fact that there was plenty of filling, plus this low fat sandwich looked and smelled great. Unfortunately there is no escaping the soggy bread and so the Tasters concluded a homemade version would be better. However for lunch on-the-go it’s a good option (although it is the highest in calories).	The flavour was great but we really needed better ham! We really expected more from Marks and Spencer who usually deliver great quality, especially as the sandwich was highest in price! It was low in calories but fairly high in fat for a healthy sandwich so watch out!	Another low fat sandwich suffering from sogginess. The filling was good and we liked the taste, but why does it have to be soggy? At the high-end for calories and fat but will suffice for lunch on-the-go although we wouldn’t recommend it every day!
Serving Size	1 pack	1 pack	1 pack
Calories	285	265	274
Fat	3.9g	5.9g	4.5g
Price	£1.80	£2.30	£2.25

Table 2: More Low Fat Sandwiches Compared

Product Name	Weight Watchers Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Sandwich	Morrisons Eat Smart Prawn Mayonnaise Sandwich	Sainsbury’s Be Good to Yourself Reduced Fat Egg and Cress Sandwich
Ranking	4	5	6
Appearance	The wholemeal bread looked good – the bacon did not. Most of the Tasters just thought this was a regular ham sarnie – in fact not one recognised that it was bacon! Oh dear!	One healthy sandwich that didn’t look soggy! Nice and fresh with plenty of filling.	It looked good, which in this case was not a good sign – we had not prepared ourselves for what was to follow. It was fresh with plenty of filling and no sogginess – how could it be bad?
Smell	Bready – not much else but at least the bread was good.	Not as prawny as you’d expect.	Nope!
Taste	From the appearance this shouldn’t taste good but it was actually okay. Although once the Tasters found out it was supposed to be bacon, they weren’t so impressed. A good low fat ham sandwich but definitely not a bacon sandwich. Oh and it was soggy!	Some Tasters were suffering with a minor prawn aversion but they powered through. However even the Tasters who weren’t so ‘prawnaphobic’ had to psyche themselves up to eat this one. We’re not sure a low fat sandwich should seem like such a challenge – aren’t they meant to be enjoyable? Anyway it didn’t taste great – it was bland and there wasn’t enough sauce. And one Taster got prawn shell in his sandwich!	Oh no! It was bad. It wasn’t the taste that appalled us so much as the lack of it! This low fat sandwich was like eating rubber and was without a hint of flavour to liven it up. The Taste Team suspected a fake egg filling as there was none of that delicious egg flavour. We suggest you make your own, it will be much nicer.
Filling / Satisfying?	Regardless of whether it was supposed to be ham or bacon, there wasn’t enough of it. Again it was as filling as you’d expect a healthy sandwich to be.	If you can eat it all then you will be full up!	We’re sorry but we couldn’t finish it so we don’t know.
Texture / Consistency	Why can’t the manufacturers make a ‘soggiless’ sandwich? The Tried and Tasted Team manage it in their lunch every day! There is no excuse for it to be soggy.	For most it was light and fresh, but for the Taster with the added extra of prawn shell, it was crunchy!	The bread wasn’t bad, it wasn’t soggy anyway, but the egg – it was horrible, rubbery nothingness. Unfortunately it didn’t really seem like you were eating egg.
Conclusion	It was okay for a low fat ham sandwich. For a bacon sandwich it was lacking bacon. The taste wasn’t bad but it wasn’t the most flavoursome thing we’ve sampled. Weight Watchers have achieved the lowest cal and fat sandwich (perhaps because there was no bacon) and for once we didn’t think the portion size was tiny! And did we mention it was soggy?	A few mixed reactions but after the discovery of the prawn shell we were a bit put off. Overall we just didn’t take to this healthy prawn sandwich – it was generally fairly disgusting. Don’t let the fact it’s the lowest in cals persuade you to eat it – you will regret it.	Yet again the Tasters were tricked by a promising appearance (you’d think they would have learnt!) This low fat sandwich was just so bland it wasn’t worth eating. Being an egg and mayo sarnie it has a very high fat content which is just not worth it. Please don’t try this at home!
Serving Size	1 pack	1 pack	1 pack
Calories	238	234	268
Fat	2.5g	3.9g	7.5g
Price	£1.80	£1.20	£1.00

Tesco Light Choices Chicken, Tomato and Rocket sandwich came out top and we definitely think it’s the best low fat sandwich option if you’re rushing around and haven’t got the time to make your own.

Overall the Tried and Tasted Team were disappointed by the quality of the healthy sandwiches. If they weren’t soggy they were boring, and if you can, you’ll be better off making your own! Why not use the WLR Recipe Database to get some inspiration for your low fat lunch – try it free for 24 hours!

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