Calcium Beyond the Milk Mustache

Calcium is crucial to the health of our families, but getting enough can be difficult. Now, families can increase their calcium intake, not with chalky supplements, but with tasty BLTs and PB&Js.

Just consider — despite their milk mustaches, many American families, from their youngest members to moms and dads, aren’t getting enough calcium. According to the Surgeon General, 75 percent of Americans do not consume enough calcium through their diets.

But now, it’s getting easier to find calcium-rich foods. Take the sandwich, a family staple. Sandwiches provide ample opportunity to boost calcium intake. Start out with two slices of either Wonder Classic or Wonder Classic Sandwich bread — two slices contain as much calcium as an eight-ounce glass of milk, plus vitamin D, which aids calcium absorption. Add a slice of cheese and serve some milk on the side, and your family will be well on its way to meeting its calcium requirements.

“Balancing the food your family enjoys while providing the nutrition you want them to have can be difficult,” said Rich Seban, chief marketing officer at Wonder bread. “With Wonder’s added calcium and vitamin D offerings, giving your family the nutrition they need never tasted so good.”

To help families understand the amount of calcium and other nutrients they are getting, Wonder bread recently launched its Sandwich Wonder-izer (available as an iPhone and iTouch application at iTunes and at www.wonderbread.com), which gives families a fun way to choose from a list of over 120 ingredients to make thousands of sandwich combinations. With the Sandwich Wonder-izer, as they build their sandwich, they can watch the calcium and other nutritional values change with each added ingredient.

For those who would rather follow a recipe, the Sandwich Wonder-izer offers dozens of pre-made sandwiches to choose from, or you can try the recipe below. Pair this sandwich with a glass of milk, and you’ll already have received over two-thirds of your daily recommend calcium intake.

Wonder Fat-Free Turkey and Swiss Sandwich

2 slices Wonder Classic bread

4 slices fat-free smoked turkey breast

2 slices Swiss cheese

Handful baby spinach

3 slices of tomato

1 tablespoon fat free mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 of medium avocado (optional)

For more information and re-cipes, visit www.wonderbread.com.