It’s a labor of love this quest is. Figuring out how much something contains involves a bit of the olde maths. Yesterday at work I spent some time jotting down the nutritional content of a variety of vegetables and fruit in order to have an idea of its nutritional value. There is a lot of data out there now it just comes down to organizing it and more importantly using it. 

The sorry state of the canteen that is available to me for my convenience has prompted my change. It has been a week since I’ve implemented my changes and I must report that I do feel better. There is a bit more energy and I’m in a better mood. There is no abdominal discomfort either. 

It takes a bit of effort on my part to make the food but in the end it’ll be worth it. I know that many have been doing that for years and are surprised that I’ve finally come around to doing this myself. Previously there was no time and there was the availability of cheap nutritious food around me. There is something to be said about a nice hot lunch. 

Back to the sandwitch… Much of the info is taken straight from the product packaging that the individual components came in. There is some estimation regarding the amount of condiments used as well as the weight of the vegetables. I forgot to weigh them before using them. As I calculated the nutritional content I found that some of the values contained within these didn’t contribute significantly to the overall total. 

The ingredients are:

1. Two slices of Hovis Seed Sensations Granary Soft Batch “9 Seeds and Grains” bread (2x50g)
2. Two slices of Leerdammer “Original” cheese (2x20g)
3. Two slices of Asda Thickly Carved Cumberland Sausage Slices (approx 75g)
4. Two slices of Asda Hand Breaded Wiltshire Ham (approx 65g)
5. Tesco Organic Mayonnaise (approx 15mL)
6. Maille Honey Mustard (approx 10g)
7. Tomato (approx 100g)
8. Lettuce (approx 50g) 

By adding the individual numbers I got:

• Energy 715 kcal
• Total Fat 44g
• Of which Saturated Fat is 16g
• Total Carbohydrates  58g
• Of which Sugar is 12.1g
• Fibre 8.1g
• Protein 42.3g
• Salt 3.83g

There are other components within these foods that make them beneficial. These categories of nutritional content are found on all food items. Online I found the nutritional recommendations of USA, Canada and UK. The American one is quite lengthy whereas the Canadian and British one is consumer friendly. A quick scroll through revealed that in the US the recommended salt intake should be below 2.4g. This sandwitch is way above that. Also based on a 2000kcal diet this sandwitch represents approximately 35% of my recommended daily caloric intake. 

My next move will be to streamline my food intake recording. I’ve decided to forgo technology and use the olde pen and paper method. It’s just easier and more discreet.