PrintBy eDiets Staff
Remember that kid-favorite lunch combo, a grilled cheese sandwich and a steaming bowl of tomato soup?
It was a classic then, and it can still be a winner… if you know a few tricks for lightening it up. Thought the grilled cheese sandwich was a surefire diet no-no? You’re right, if it comes off the griddle at most diners and restaurants, where it can pack 360 calories and 23 grams of fat. Layer on some bacon and you’ll easily tally up 450 calories and 30 grams of fat. That’s as much as you’d get munching on 40 sour cream-and-onion potato chips!
You won’t do any better at some popular American-style fast food restaurants, either. In fact, you might do far worse. At Denny’s, their version of the grilled cheese sandwich has 510 calories and 30 grams fat, while Arby’s Triple Cheese Melt could give your weight-loss efforts a meltdown at 720 calories and 45 grams of fat!
So reserve this simple sandwich and soup coupling for Saturday afternoon lunches or easy mid-week dinners, when you can make it in your own kitchen and save big on fat and calories. The meal-making rules are all about ease, so opening a can or jar of tomato soup is the quickest route to finding your perfect sandwich partner. But check labels carefully, since many prepared soups can be loaded with sodium (up to 1,000 milligrams per cup, or almost half your daily recommended limit).
Some good bets include Campbell’s Healthy Request Tomato, which has just 90 calories, 2 grams of fat and 460 milligrams of sodium, Healthy Choice Tomato Garden with 110 calories, 2 grams of fat and 420 milligrams of sodium, and Walnut Acres Savory Tomato with 120 calories, 2 grams of fat and 580 milligrams of sodium.
You’ll get an added health bonus from sipping that canned tomato soup, too. Lycopene, the red pigment found in tomatoes, may help reduce certain cancer, lower cholesterol, protect vision and maintain mental sharpness, and it’s found in greatest supply in processed tomato products like canned tomato soup.
Now that your soup’s on, it’s time to prepare that slimmed down sandwich. This rapid-ready recipe can be on the table in just 10 minutes:
Grilled Cheese and Beefsteak Tomato Recipe
8 slices light sourdough bread
8 slices fat-free American cheese singles
2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 8 thick slices
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray both sides of the bread slices with butter-flavor nonstick cooking spray. Layer 2 cheese slices on each of 4 slices of bread, top with tomato slice and second slice of bread. Arrange sandwiches on a baking sheet and bake until cheese is melted and bread is golden brown, about 8 minutes on each side.
Makes 4 servings.
Nutritional values per serving: 153 calories, 1g fat, 28g carbohydrates, 13g protein, 5g fiber, 765mg sodium
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