by Kat Apf

Created on: May 29, 2008   Last Updated: January 04, 2012

Everyone gets sick of the same, plain, old boring sandwiches but you can easily jazz up your lunch or any other meal for that matter. There are quite a few ways to combat boring sandwiches and most are pretty simple. You don't need any special equipment or ingredients to get there, either.

My kids loved peanut butter and jelly but would get bored with them by the second week of school. Instead of jelly, you can add all kinds of fruits-thinly sliced, peeled apples, banana slices, thinly sliced strawberries or halved grapes work really well. Add a dash or two of cinnamon to really make it a special sandwich. My oldest would tell me, sometimes, she'd forgotten what I'd packed and be happily surprised at the first bite of her sandwich.

When I was growing up, tuna salad just meant tuna, mayo and diced celery. My kids love when I throw some pickle relish into it. Diced green, red and yellow peppers and onions are good, too. I also add powdered garlic, dried parsley and oregano to my tuna. If the kids are taking them to school for lunch, lettuce leaves, placed between the bread and tuna, keep the bread from getting soggy.

An easy fix for a boring grilled cheese sandwich is to add some sliced tomatoes. My husband likes sliced jalapeno peppers on his but that's too spicy for me. And instead of always using American cheese, you can change that up, too. My kids love a four cheese grilled cheese. I use American, Swiss, Provolone and mozzarella cheeses in one sandwich. Thinly sliced onions work well for a grilled cheese, too.

My kids adore egg salad but it has to be the jazzy kind. They like it loaded with diced onions, celery, green peppers and even a little shredded cheese. If I'm in a hurry, I'll just add the mayo and some pickle relish.

A great trick for deli meat sandwiches is to use as many meats as you can. So instead of just a turkey sandwich, add salami and ham to it. My husband likes horseradish on his deli meat sandwiches. I like to use mustard on one slice of the bread and mayo on the other. Cheese always works with these sandwiches, too.

Now that my daughter is a vegetarian, she likes to have hummus on almost all of her sandwiches. Much to her horror, I've discovered it's a nice replacement for mayo on a deli meat sandwich.

Changing the bread you use is another way to up the ante on your sandwich. If you normally use white bread switch to wheat. Or try a pita, instead. Peanut butter and jelly on pita bread is very good.

It doesn't take much effort to change a boring sandwich into something yummy and fun. You just have to think about it a little.

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