Dispatches: Sandwiches made with whole wheat bread. Don't forget the vegetables.

As you continue to manage your food budget, there are several options for finding creative ways to feed your families. We often think of having a cooked meal instead of lighter options like sandwiches. However, sandwiches can be very filling and cost-effective in providing nutrition for the family and especially for children who are finicky eaters.

Sandwiches are all-purpose and can be used for every menu need. The sandwich can take several forms from basic, to 'bunwich', 'rollwich', 'toastwich', hamburger, mini pizzas and a 'cakewich'. As an all-purpose product, sandwiches are mainly built on bread, a basic food, and spread with any selection of meats, poultry, sausages, cheeses, jams, jellies and canned foods of all kinds. Buttered up with relishes and condiments to enhance the taste, sandwiches can be served with salad greens, fresh fruit, soup, coffee, tea and juices to make a balanced meal.

Making the sandwich

What types of filling are available for use? Bread combined with butter is the simplest form of sandwich. Butter can be flavoured with savoury or sweet fillings using basic food items in the kitchen.

Savoury-flavoured butters:

To 1/4 pound butter you may add the following ingredients to make interesting butters.

Lemon butter - 1 tablespoon lemon juice and one teaspoon crushed grated rind.

Chili butter - 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons chili sauce.

Pickle relish butter - 2 tablespoons well drained pickle relish.

Mustard butter - 1 tablespoon table mustard.

Sweet-flavoured butters:

To make sweet sandwiches for afternoon tea or dessert, add the following ingredients to butter.

Honey-butter: 1 1/2 tablespoons honey

Cinnamon-butter: 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Nutmeg butter:1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Other plain spreads for bread include mayonnaise, cream cheese, peanut butter, avocado (guacamole), jam, jelly, marmalade and preserves.

Fillings

Sandwich spread fillings may be made from the combination of almost any food group that tastes good with bread. Savoury sandwich fillings are made by blending butter with flavourful proteins finely minced or put through the food processor. Fillings may include cheese, tuna, corned beef, sardines, ham, eggs, chicken mixed with nuts, bacon and herbs.

Assembling the sandwich

To make the sandwich, you will need a clear table or counter top and your equipment will be what you already have in the kitchen - cutting boards, pairing knife, slicing knife, spatula for spreading filling.

1. Line up slices of bread, aligning edges of the bread together.

2. Spread with soft margarine or butter all the way to the edges.

3. Using a spatula or table knife, cover the bread slices evenly with the filling to the very edges of the bread. Do not cut off crusts as you are throwing away the most nutritious part of the bread.

4. To make the sandwiches more manageable, cut each into four pieces using a sharp, long knife. Sandwiches can be cut in different shapes - diagonal, triangular, halves, quarters or spears.

To keep sandwiches dry, apply filling with just one sweep of the spatula. Make filling easily spreadable to apply quickly to sandwiches.

Sandwich variations

Sandwiches may vary depending on the base that is available. Garlic bread can be topped with several savoury spreads for quick entertaining. Spreads can be made ahead of time and easily applied to French bread. Cut the French bread on the diagonal and cut it down the centre. Spread with garlic butter and top with filling of choice.

Sandwiches are a healthy alternative when fillers such as chicken, ham, cheese and turkey are used. Remember to go light on the wet stuff that makes them soggy by lunch time.