Fans of Subway have a lot to love.
They're pretty good at putting together a fast, fairly nutritious sub at super-reasonable
prices, and that makes them a great lunch option for those days you're on-the-go.
But not all their choices are good for you, so let's talk about what you should never,
ever order there.
Watch to the end to find out the one ingredient that may not be what you think it is.
"Take it away.
TAKE IT AWAY!"
Double meat sandwiches
Ordering double meat isn't always a bad thing, but it depends what kind of meat you're getting.
If you're a fan of a wrap with extra rotisserie chicken, you're doing a good thing and doubling
the amount of lean protein you're getting.
It's easy to think that applies to all meat, but what about in the case of calorie-dense
subs like the cheesesteak or a meatball sub?
Order double meat on most Subway sandwiches and you're going to jack up the calories,
sodium, and fat on your sandwich.
And while it may pack on some flavor, it's not worth consuming all of your food requirements
in one meal.
So, if you can't resist double the meat, skip the sandwich and stick with the salads or
a wrap.
Vegetarian options
Subway has been putting money into their meatless marketing game for years.
They have a variety of vegetarian options, including the staple Veggie Delight and some
more recent, regional vegetarian options.
And this is in addition to their already meat-free salad options.
But try as they might, Subway just can't quite get it right on the meatless front.
In early 2018, Subway franchisees went public with the news that corporate only allowed
them to get veggie deliveries once or twice a week.
They said it wasn't customers' imaginations that vegetables were often less-than-fresh.
That's definitely not how that's advertised, and who wants a veggie sub filled with greens
that have been sitting for a week?
Vegetarians, you're better off elsewhere.
The cold cut combo
A cold cut combo might make you think of meats like turkey and ham, but if that's what you're
looking for, you want the Subway Club.
That comes with turkey, roast beef, and ham, while the Cold Cut Combo comes with ham, salami,
and bologna.
Still doesn't sound so bad?
It might not, but when you look at the numbers you'll see the Cold Cut Combo contains over
1,000 milligrams of sodium per 6-inch sandwich.
For some perspective, the American Heart Association recommends trying to keep your sodium intake
at around 1,500 milligrams per day.
Surprise, cold cuts are salty.
This is one instance where sticking to some simple rules can help you put together a healthier
meal.
Pass on the multiple meats, pick just one, make it a wrap, and load up on the freshest-looking
veggies, if they're not a week old like we mentioned before, and add some avocado for
that healthy fat.
Classic tuna
Subway has overcome one of the major hurdles when it comes to tuna.
Even their naysayers have to give them props for the sustainable food practices they observe
when sourcing their tuna.
They only use skipjack tuna, and source their fish only from safe operations that are not
over-fishing.
The problem with Subway's tuna sandwich is that it's drenched in mayonnaise, turning
the tuna into a soupy ingredient, killing the texture, and adding enough calories and
fat to make this a poor lunch choice.
The Classic tuna, when served on a six-inch roll without anything extra, has 470 calories
and 25 grams of fat.
It only gets worse if you add cheese, and that's a shame.
Steak, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich
Subway didn't serve conventional breakfast at all until 2010, when they finally found
a way to break into the breakfast market.
But they still have a bit of work to do to make it healthier.
At a glance, 450 calories for their steak, egg, and cheese sandwich might not seem too
bad.
But this breakfast sandwich also comes with 18 grams of fat and 1,280 milligrams of sodium.
In fact, most of their breakfast wraps have almost your entire days' worth of sodium,
wrapped up in a breakfast sandwich that's a bit on the small side.
There's a good chance it's going to leave you craving a bit of supplementary breakfast,
and that makes it not a good option for starting any day of the week.
Most chicken
In 2017, Subway became embroiled in controversy when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
released results from a study which found that some of Subway's chicken was only 50
percent actual chicken.
They said the rest of the DNA in both oven-roasted chicken and chicken strips was found to be
soy.
Initially, things were looking pretty bad for the sandwich restaurant.
Subway responded quickly.
They sent their chicken to two independent companies for testing, and the tests found
their chicken was comprised of far less soy than the CBC tests claimed to have found.
But the damage may be done, even though Subway has sued over the results.
How can you trust you won't be served a soy sandwich after results like this?
Just to be safe, you may want to skip the chicken strips and patties completely.