In my quest for sandwich-related post topics I learned about these brilliant personalised lunch boxes from Getting Personal!

Did you know school children in the UK eat over 5.5bn packed lunches each year? I know I did. In fact, by the time I was old enough mum made me pack my own!

I think these personalised lunchboxes are so fun (perhaps not as adorable as my Little Orphan Annie tin lunchbox but close). They come in more than 25 designs and are a reasonable £9.95 each.

See two examples, above and below!

Continuing this week’s sandwich theme, here is a roundup of sandwich recipes from celebrity chefs we love! Now you can eat like the rich and famous with simple sandwich recipes.

First up, my favourite, Jamie Oliver:

Fried Mozzarella and Prosciutto Sandwiches (pictured above)

Ingredients:
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
4 slices rustic, ciabatta–style bread
1 large fresh mozzarella, sliced
4 slices prosciutto
Olive oil and butter, for frying

Method:
Whisk up the egg and milk and season. Top two bread slices with mozzarella and prosciutto and season. Cover with remaining bread, then dip and turn the sandwiches in the egg mixture.

Fry in a pan with oil and butter over medium heat for five minutes each side, until golden and the mozzarella begins to melt.

Next, from Nigella Lawson:

Nigella’s Hungarian Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 slices black bread*
1 to 2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 to 2 tablespoons best quality black cherry jam

*Cook’s Note: Black bread can be found at speciality Polish bakeries and some supermarkets. Brown or rye bread can be substituted.

Method:
Smear a slice of black bread with the cream cheese, and top with the black cherry jam. Top with the second slice of bread and serve.

And finally, Delia Smith:

Open-faced Egg, Chive and Spring Onion Sandwiches

Ingredients:
3 small bread rolls, warmed, halved and buttered
3 large eggs, hard-boiled
1 rounded tablespoon fresh snipped chives
4 spring onions, very finely chopped (including most of the green as well)
½ teaspoon butter
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
salt and freshly milled black pepper
1 box fresh cress

Method:
As soon as the eggs are cool enough, peel them, discard the shells and place the eggs in a bowl with the rest of the topping ingredients. Now take a large fork and mash like mad until the eggs are thoroughly blended with the rest of the ingredients. Then pile it on to the rolls and sprinkle each one with the cress before serving.

The new site Love Dips recommends swapping fresh dips for mayonnaise to save calories and fat and add vitamins diet without running over budget.

According to the site, you can swap a tablespoon of mayonnaise for salsa and you’ll save a whopping 94 calories and 11g of fat, or tzatziki 84 calories and 10g of fat. As well as making it easy to cut calories dips are full of vitamins and minerals; the avocado in guacamole is a great source of vitamin E, while the tomatoes, onions and chillies in salsa are a great provider of antioxidants such as lycopene (which give tomatoes their red colour) and quercetin, a flavonoid antioxidant. The Greek yoghurt in tzatziki also contains bone friendly calcium and almost all fresh dips contain vegetable, rapeseed or olive oils meaning they are high in beneficial unsaturated fats and light on unhealthy saturated fats.

Here are a few new recipes to try, courtesy of Love Dips:

THREE BEAN AND CHEESE AND CHIVE WRAP (pictured)
Prep: 10 mins Cooking: none Serves 4
Per serving: 327 kcal, 19.7g fat, 10.3g saturates, 4.8g sugars, 1.46g salt

1 (400g) can mixed beans in brine, drained and rinsed
a dash of Tabasco sauce if liked
4 wholemeal tortilla wraps
120ml/8tbsp cheese and chive dip
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 little gem heart lettuce, shredded
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Place the beans in a bowl and season with Tabasco sauce and black pepper to taste.
2. Lay the wraps out on a clean board, spread 30ml/2tbsp dip over each, leaving a 2.5cm/1in border clear around the edge of the wrap.
3. Scatter the beans, chopped tomatoes and lettuce, evenly over the dip. Fold the sides in, over the filling slightly, then starting at the side nearest to you, roll up the wrap to seal.
4. Wrap in clear film and chill until required. Serve cut in two.

GUACAMOLE BACON AND CHICKEN SANDWICH
Prep: 5 mins Cooking: 4-5 mins Makes 2
Per serving: Energy 392kcal, Fat 14.2g, Of which saturates 4.0g, Total sugars 2.9g, Salt 1.72g

4 rashers streaky bacon
4 medium thick slices Granary bread
4-6 tbsp guacamole
75g cooked chicken breast, sliced

1. Cook the bacon under a hit grill for 4-5 mins, turning, until crisp. Drain in kitchen paper and cool.
2. Lay the bread out on a board, spread both slices with guacamole. Top with the bacon and chicken, then sandwich together. Wrap in clear film and refrigerate if not serving straight away. Eat within 6 hrs of making.

SMOKED SALMON AND CRUNCHY SLAW WRAP
Prep: 10 mins Cooking: none Makes 2
Per serving: Energy 289kcal, Fat 7.4g, Of which saturates 2.0g, Total sugars 11.3g, Salt 2.93g

half a small bulb fennel
1 large carrot, peeled and trimmed
half a red apple, quartered and cored
2 tsp lemon juice
4 tbsp tzatziki
75g/3oz smoked salmon
2 multigrain wraps

1. Finely shred the fennel and place in a bowl. Coarsely grate the carrot and apple, then add to the bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice and mix together. Add the tzatziki and fold through until the vegetables are coated.
2. Place the wraps on a board, divide the smoked salmon between the two, then top with the slaw mix. Roll up the wraps, folding in the ends to enclose the filling. Wrap in clear film and refrigerate if not serving straight away. Eat within 6 hours of making.

CRUNCHY VEG & HOUMOUS SUBS
Prep: 5 mins Cook: none Serves 2
Per serving: Energy 361kcal, Fat 15.3g, Of which saturates 2.3g, Total sugars 7.4g, Salt 1.48g
This recipes provides two thirds GDA of Vitamin C

2 wholemeal, seeded subs, split
6 tbsp of fresh Houmous dip
quarter each red and orange pepper, cut into sticks
50g cucumber, cut into sticks

1. Open the rolls, then spread half the houmous in each, top with the pepper and cucumber sticks and serve.

TEX MEX CHICKEN WRAP
Prep: 5 mins Cook: 0 mins Serves 1
Per serving: Energy 352kcal, Fat 20.1g, Of which saturates 8.5g, Total sugars 6.3g, Salt 1.4g
This recipes provides a third of your GDA of Vitamin C

1 large seeded tortilla wrap
1 Tex Mex multi pack containing fresh Guacamole, Salsa and Sour Cream and Chive dips
50g/2oz cooked chicken breast, broken into pieces
50g/2oz red and yellow pepper sticks
25g/1oz shredded little gem lettuce

1. Place the wrap on a clean board. Spread about 2 tbsp of Salsa dip all over the wrap. Next spoon about 2 tbsp Guacamole on the centre of the wrap. Top the Guacamole with the chicken, pepper sticks and finally the lettuce.
2. Spoon about 2 tbsp Sour Cream and Chive dip over the vegetables and chicken. Now with the line of chicken and vegetables lying horizontally to you, fold over the two vertical edges and start rolling up the wrap away from you to enclose the filling.
3. Use a sharp knife to cut the wrap in two before serving. Once filled its best to serve the wrap within 3 hours or it will become soggy.

This week is British Sandwich Week and I feel like celebrating!

Did you know British consumers ate over 11.5 billion sandwiches last year?

Sandwiches are my favourite lunch and as a simple, portable food they can save you money when you’re eating away from home!

Here is a list of Britain’s Favourite Sandwiches (and how they ranked last year). Way to go, egg and cress!

1. Chicken Salad (1)
2. Prawn Mayonnaise (7)
3. Egg+Cress (9)
4. Bacon+Lettuce+Tomato (3)
5. Mixed Selection (5)
6. Chicken+Bacon (2)
7. Cheese+Onion (11)
8. Tuna+Sweetcorn (10)
9. Ploughman’s (4)
10. Chicken+Sweetcorn (10)
11. Salmon+Cucumber (-)
12. Ham+Mustard (-)
13. Breakfast (12)
14. Ham+Cheddar Cheese (20)
15. Southern Fried Chicken (16)
16. Chicken Caesar (14)
17. Chicken+Stuffing (8)
18. Egg+Bacon (15)
19. Tuna+Cucumber (13)
20. Egg Mayonnaise (-)

In honour of sandwiches, I’ll be sharing great recipes and sandwich-related tips with you all week. If you want to get even more into the spirit of things, click here to see what’s on for British Sandwich Week.