Vary the fillings—spread salad dressing or prepared mustard, topped with sliced cucumber or a lettuce leaf, over the meat or cheese; spread a thin layer of jelly over the peanut butter. Try different kinds of cheese. Or make a cheese spread: Put cheese through the food chopper and add jam or mashed cooked fruit, or salad dressing with chopped onion or sweet pickle.
For food value and variety, pack a salad of raw fruits or vegetables with the sandwich lunch. If the sandwiches are a little low in protein, include cottage cheese in the salad. Even with dressing and greens, salad travels well in a covered container of paper, glass, or plastic.
Hot soups, stews, or chowders—made with meats, fish, or beans—are good winter additions to the sandwich lunch. An individual-size insulated bottle or wide-mouth container for them may be a good investment, if these hot dishes cannot be bought at school or at work.
Moist, soft sandwich filling or salad mixtures made with finely chopped meat, eggs, or fish with salad dressing spoil quickly when temperatures are high. Refrigerate all such mixtures immediately after buying or making them and use them within 2 days. Lunches containing these mixtures are best refrigerated if they have to stand more than 3 or 4 hours before they are eaten.
Salads
Ham and Egg.—For each serving, use 1 chopped hard-cooked egg, ¼ cup chopped cooked ham. Add onion, celery, green pepper, pickle, and salad dressing to taste.
Meat and Macaroni.—Mix equal parts of cooked meat and macaroni. Add chopped pickles and celery and moisten with salad dressing.
Meat and Bean.—Use shredded chipped beef, or chopped cooked corned beef. Mix with any kind of cooked dry beans; add diced onion and tart dressing.
Potato With Meat.—Mix cut-up ham or crumbled bacon with potatoes. Add cut-up pickles, celery, onion, and salad dressing.
Meat and Fruit.—Mix any cut-up cooked meat with celery and raisins or raw dried apricots. Add salt and salad dressing as needed.