This week, with a couple of 9-year-olds in the back seat (pay attention, Britney), I reached out for a new Crustless Market Fresh Mini Ham and Cheese Sandwich at Arby's.

Here's the blueprint: a smaller version of Arby's deli-style Market Fresh sandwich on honey-wheat bread, but with the crust cut off, so your finicky eater won't get bent out of shape because his sandwich isn't exactly like his doting mom makes at home.

Total calories: 240. Fat grams: 5. Dietary fiber: 2 grams. Carbs: 28 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $3.39 for the Kid's Meal, including fries (or a fruit cup) and a Coke (or juice or milk).

Arby's wants your kids to be healthy. Arby's also wants to be wealthy. So it's wise for Arby's to offer a healthful, lower-fat children's meal. Instead of small fries (340 calories, 20 fat grams), how about giving your small fry a cup of seedless grapes and diced apples (35 calories, 0 fat grams)? Instead of a small Coke, how about 100 percent orange juice, or 1 percent chocolate milk or 2 percent milk?

I'm telling you, the real villains in fast food are soda (sugar), fries (fat and calories) and mayonnaise (oodles of fat). If you can stay away from that trio, the drive-thru won't kill you. Mustard is the correct play on ham and cheese, anyway.

Arby's hook to lure kids is the crustless bread. My kid went through the "I don't like crust" stage - most kids do. It's a power play. They're working Mom and Dad. And the score so far is: Kids 14 billion, Parents 0. And while you're cutting off the crust, you might want to cut the labels off his T-shirts. That's another one.

The honey-wheat bread, which happens to be quite tasty, is made by Rotella and Flowers bakeries. The bread is shipped to individual Arby's restaurants, where sandwich makers use a specially designed cookie-cutter gizmo to trim the crust. The crust is then tossed in the garbage. Please don't tell the pigeons in your neighborhood.

The ham and American cheese are first-rate - the same stuff Arby's puts on grown-up sandwiches in its 3,500 stores coast to coast. The sandwiches also are suitable for school lunchboxes. They'll hold until noon. Burgers, forget about it - grease city.

Arby's also has a crustless mini version of its Turkey and Cheese Sandwich - also deceptively healthful for Junior. In addition to smarter food choices, Arby's is offering educational toys with its Kid's Meals. I'm surprised there isn't a homework assignment in the bag, too.

I almost miss the good old days, when fast-food joints made kids fat

and stupid.
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