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Is Subway Really A Place to “Eat Fresh”?

January 8, 2014   87 Comments

Whenever I bring up Subway, there is a serious debate here on Snack Girl.

Subway Review

I have been watching the NFL playoffs and I feel like the whole thing is a big commercial for Subway and Bud Lite. Subway hired all these winter Olympians to promote the food and Bud Lite has this crazy commercial with mountain climbers.

Subway is the largest restaurant company in the WORLD. I know that it is the largest one in my world. My tiny town of 30,000 boasts three Subways and ZERO McDonald’s. Really. Amherst also has three Dunkin’ Donuts and recently added a food cart serving falafel.

If I want a Subway sandwich, I can have one within a three minute drive of almost anywhere in the town (that is how small it is).

Now that we agree that you can’t avoid passing the place, should you eat there? I am going to give you my list of pro’s and con’s and hope that you can add your own.

Pro’s:

  • There are no fries to tempt you.
  • It is CHEAP ($5 for a foot long sandwich – wow!)
  • Compared to other fast food venues it is a garden of Eden with the vegetable choices at your disposal.

Con’s:

  • The bread does not taste good (to me) and has some questionable ingredients.
  • The sodium content of most sandwiches is too high.
  • Cookies, soda, and chips are everywhere (not fresh or healthy).
  • Many of their choices are not healthy (meatball sub? Philly cheesesteak? Pulled pork?)

Jared lost a lot of weight by eating there but I bet he didn’t order the Philly cheesesteak.

I think Subway is a better choice than most but you have to order carefully. I like the 6-inch “Veggie Delight” and I don’t add mayo. I add an Italian dressing and call it a salad sandwich and it works out to only 280 mg of sodium and about 250 calories. I drink water (because I am cheap) and I don’t order the cookies or the chips.

Did I do better than a Big Mac? Absolutely! I ate spinach, onions, peppers, mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers instead of 2 beef patties, cheese, and special sauce.

Did I like it as much as a Big Mac? No, I did not. I have stopped eating Big Macs because they make my stomach hurt but what I remember is better than the Veggie Delight.

What do you think of Subway? Do you eat there? What do you order?

Photo Credit: Dwight Burdette


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First 20 Comments: ( See all 87 )

We eat there rarely. Not a fan. I would rather cook at home or take food in the car from home :) A much better alternative!

If I have to eat fast food, I always choose Subway. It is a far better alternative to the other choices. I usually cook and always pack my lunch. Fast food was my addiction. I'm 2 yrs free from it. Subway is also good since it is not as convenient as the other places - no drive thru, made to order means it takes more time and I'm more likely to plan a meal from home.

LOL! I TOTALLY agree with everything you said. As far as choices in the "fast food" world, it is the heaven of them all. I have three kids and in a hurry or pinch - subway is always the choice. They get turkey and whole wheat bread and if chips are a must, the baked lays will do. But, I never go in there thinking that the processed lunch meat is a wonderful healthy choice. But, in comparison to other fast food joints - it is a far better choice. As a vegetarian - I always get your "lettuce" sandwiches. ;)

Last time I had Subway, picked up a Turkey sub while at lunch on jury duty. It tasted like I was eating a cardboard sandwich (really!). If I'm going to eat calories, I want it to be tasty so ended up throwing most of it away in trash can outside courthouse. A little annoyed because I was hungry. I'm sure the philly cheese would have tasted better. Jared probably lost weight out of boredom!

I eat there maybe 2 times a year. Don't understand why it is promoted by people who are trying to lose weight (Jared commercials) as far as I know lunch meat of ANY kind is not good for (too much salt and lots of other stuff). Even though Jared lost that weight doesn't mean that eating all the lunch meat didn't cause other issues for him. When I eat there I am bloated for about 2 days.

I only get their egg white breakfast wrap. Except I don't est the brea. Just egg white, spinach and tomatoes. Only food I will order there.

Go for the Honey Oat bread... a few more calories but with five grams of fiber per 6", it will help soak up some of the fat.

They recently added a SECOND Subway to my workplace campus. For me, though, it beats the other options in the food court, so I tend to eat there once a week or so, when I don't have the time or patience to pack my own lunch. You can always order any of their Subs as a salad, selecting whatever "fillings" and dressing that you want - and you get a nice, big, healthy and yes, fresh, salad. This is what I usually do, but when I do order a sandwich, I only eat half the bread - I take off the top, and eat the fillings on the bottom. Their 9-grain wheat is pretty good, the Subway roll is just TOO MUCH BREAD. I've been meaning to try their flatbread, but haven't yet.I think you could do much worse than Subway for a quick, healthy lunch. (but of course, you could do better just by brown-bagging from home).

I believe Subway is as bad as the other fast food restaurants for the mere fact that it promotes itself as healthy when its anything but healthy. I don't eat any fast food as a rule but did have no alternative to eat there last fall when I was in Western Mass. I should have just eaten one of the apples we picked by I was overruled by the group (teens) I was with. The taste of the sandwich I had was awful! I can't even stand the smell whenever I walk into a Subway restaurant. They may have a few "fresh" vegetables but those are limited and usually look old. Everything else is completely processed and so bad for you. Breads and whole grains are another misconception of eating healthy as they cause bloating and all sorts of other problems. Thankfully we don't have any fast food establishments in the town that I live in on Cape Cod.

I actually had subway last night. I have the other half of lunch today. I like the wheat bread or I just get the salad bowl. It was a quick fix after my son's basketball game. I use load on the veggies and use mustard, vinegar on salad. Nothing creamy or white. I get cheese every now and then. Its better then a deli sub.

I do so little fast food but I love the veggie delight at Subway. It's the only thing I order. The problem I find is I'm usually in a hurry and can't wait in line, so i rarely eat there if I'm rushed. Bread is a trigger food for me so I try to limit it. My favorite rushed food is sushi from Wegmans, the selection is amazing and fresh. I just keep Lara/Luna bars in my purse so I keep the need for fast food away.

I just LOVE LOVE LOVE my Veggie Delights! I've been eating them almost every Friday for lunch for over 1 year. I have the 6" flatbread with 1 slice of provolone cheese and ALL veggies, even the hot peppers, with a little light mayo and their red wine vinegar. I could eat these every day, but by having them only on Friday starts my weekends out right. I'm now a lifetime member at WW, lost---no got rid of, because I don't want to find the pounds again, over 60 lbs.!!! Subway is the ONLY fast food I eat. Thank you for letting me share.

I get a salad with spinach, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, banana peppers, cucumbers, onions,green peppers, vinegar and black pepper. Will also get small bag of apples and water. For the most part, pretty healthy to me, and usually all for under 10 bucks.

The deal with Subway is to stay away from the meat, bread, cheese, salad dressings, cookies, soft drinks etc...

At least that is how I see it...

I don't eat at Subway, but friends who do tell me their sandwiches are mostly lettuce with little meat and terrible bread. Since I live in the Philadelphia area, we have many choices of delicious hoagies and cheesesteaks, If I am going to splurge on them, I order from a deli that I know has good bread and good meat.

I stopped going to McDonalds and Burger King a long time ago but occasionally find myself at a Subway out of desperation. My problem is that as a vegetarian who doesn't eat cheese, I can only order some version of the veggie delight and that version never has anything resembling

protein. Not to mention that contrary to the sandwiches from Subway that we all see on that famous tv weight loss show, they are extremely stingy with their ingredients. So, in effect I'm eating something that won't keep me full for very long, has little taste and isn't satisfying. If I'm feeling the need for an indulgent sandwich I much prefer a hummus wrap at Pita Pit, adding chickpeas to my DiBellas sub or cobbling something together at Wegmans. At least I feel as though I've eaten something.

The bread usually doesn't taste fresh. I always get Veggies and Cheese or Chopped Salads. Our usual choices when in a hurry are Chick-fiL-a, Subway or once in a while Wendy's.

My daughter worked there, and everything is not fresh, it's frozen.

If you're going veggie, you need to get mustard, not Italian dressing. Mustard has no fat, and will further make the option less hazardous.

I eat at subway about 4 or 5 times out of the month. I buy the Black forest ham no cheese all vegys, spiced mustard, and I only eat the bottom of the bread. I like them for the calories and I do think they taste as good as possible.

It's all in the choice you make. I love the 6 in chicken breast on the garlic bread with lettuce, onions & black olives with a dash of oil & vinegar & oregano on top. It is delicious & filling. Days I'm really hungry & have the calories to spare I do a foot long veggie delight with all the veggies, oil, vinegar & oregano. Everyone at work drools because it smells so good. They have baked chips as well as regular, all in the choice. Subway is tg e only fast food I eat. My daughter lost 35 lbs by only eating Subway for fast food so yes you can lose weight as well as Jared did! Make the right choices!

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