SUBWAY Veggie Delight: FAST But Fresh and Healthy?

I like Subway when I need something on the go. It's not perfect, but it's a better solution than most places. It's better if you skip the bread and make the sub as salad as well. But sometimes I just need the roll anyway!

I usually order either the veggie delight, turkey, or subway club and I always get wheat bread. I am able to refrain from the chips, soda, and cookies. I usually get it to go, so if I need a drink, I grab a Dasani water. If I need a side, I get the apple slices.

Candice

I eat at Subway about once every two weeks. I don't consider it the healthiest place to eat, but it's a heckuva lot better than some fast food places. I usually get a 6 in. Roast Beef with no cheese, spinach, tomatoes, onions and pickles. Usually I'll ask for just one squirt of light mayo. I either get apple slices or baked chips to go with it and yes, I do get a Diet Coke. I don't drink soda at home, but have a hard time resisting it when I'm eating a meal out.

Carol

I typically order a 6" turkey and ham on honey oat, with all the veggie toppings and no cheese or dressings. For just under 300 calories, the sandwich provides a good amount of protein (19 grams) and fiber (5 grams) and is satisfying.

Some of the ingredients do contain preservatives, but since I don't have Subway (or any other fast food) on a daily basis, I don't feel there is a problem. Remember, all things in moderation.

Yes, Subway is selling fresh ingredients, but they aren't selling organic or all-natural. For that, I suggest stopping by the Prepared Foods section at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods.

Lindsay

I like Subway. No, it's not perfect, but it's cheap and it's a healthier alternative to just about any other fast-food place. Also, as a vegetarian, I love being able to get a veggie sub that is substantial, not just lettuce and tomato. When I was vegan about 15 yrs ago, Subway was one of the only mainstream restaurants I could eat in.

Since I am watching my carbs, I have started ordering the veggie salad instead of the sub. It's yummy and filling. I get a diet Coke (I know, not great, but better than HFCS) or water, and no chips. Also, I love that my kids can get apples with their kids' meal-- and they really do choose apples over cookies, so I must be doing something right!

Rachel

check out the sodium levels, and the veggie deli thing has no protein, not that great.

Oscar Riches

Beware the term "natural flavor." It's often used as a pseudonym for MSG. MSG is not a source of allergic reactions, as is commonly thought. It's a toxin that causes neurological diseases.

See: http://www.msgtruth.org

stan

I do like Subway, and yes, all things in moderation. It is a good alternative to "fast food" and most of the other options out there. Have you checked into Chik-Fil-A? According to a book I read, they are the only fast food restaurant that everything on their menu is under 500 calories...might be another good alternative, if they have them where you live...they do here in UT!!

Erin

Subway and Chick-Fil-A are alternatives to "fast food"??? They ARE fast food.

The food industry wants you to believe that it won't hurt you to eat their food "in moderation." Then they put physically-addictive chemicals in the food to make them irresistable. Who can eat just half a bag of chips?

Drug dealers use the same tactics - because they work.

Stan Mrak

I actually get the veggie at Subway as well, but I make a few modifications that would make it healthier than how you had it. I don't get the pickles or either of the peppers (those were the source of your preservatives, etc.). I also do not get one of the flavored dressings. I just get salt, pepper, and oil and a little vinegar thereby skipping the high fructose corn syrup as well. I also see that you didn't add spinach to the list of what was on your sandwich. (However, it looks like in the picture it might have been on there.) Most of the subways I have been to around here (WA) have it as an option.

Also, I usually agree with you, but I have to say, skipping the cheese and 'hollowing out the bread' but then ordering a cherry coke while complaining about the HFCS in the dressing is a lot like ordering a heavy meal and then a 'diet coke'. I see it as hard for you to complain when you made unhealthy choices when there were healthier ones offered that you could have made. As for resisting the chips, cookie, etc. just order a footlong. You don't have to actually eat more than a 6" but just getting it will make you think you have no room for the chips, etc.

I think Subway has actually gotten less healthier over the years because they want to keep customers from going to Quiznos who I think benefit from the 'healthy sub' commercials of the past for Subway, but are much larger portions, calories, etc.

Anyway, I still like that it is an option for fast food occasionally. I actually just had it last Friday, and ordered a water to go with it. By the way, a trick to not order soda is to either think 'this is poison' seriously start thinking 'poison' everytime you think of it and it is instantly less appealing. Also, I often get just soda water (it is usually a side tab you can push on the machine often next to like the Sprite or 7Up option).

T.

Hi Snack-Girl,

Great review, I'm a vegetarian and an occasional Subway eater myself and I was surprised to learn there is artificial coloring in the banana peppers.

One point I'd like to make to you and your readers is this: Low-Fat and Fat-Free dressings are generally worse for your health than their full-fat counterparts. When Subway's chefs/scientists engineered their sauces and removed the natural fats, they swapped them out for things like high fructose corn syrup and modified food starch. Fat is not the devil, the scientists convincing you of that are the problem.

Here's a link to info about modified food starch, just so people get a better look at what they're eating: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modified_starch

Read the part about how this stuff is modified and you might think twice before getting that sauce next time.

Thanks again for the post.

- Lyle

www.halfbakedcooking.com

Half Baked Cooking

Interesting write up. I do agree that Subway IS a healthier option for "fast foods", however, you can order your meal in a healthier way.

I use the olive oil/vinegar or spicy mustard and leave out the dressings. Plus you can pick their apples or yogurt for your sides or even baked lays and have iced tea or water versus the other options you list (soda, chips, cookies). If you are opting for a full fat chip, I do believe plain Sun Chips are the CLEANEST they offer with ingredients you can recognize.

I AM however bummed to see that they use High Fructose Corn Syrup in their breads :( But, glad to see that their veggies do not contain preservatives (pickles, jalapenos and pepperoncini's naturally contain them due to how they are made).

I am definitely going to have to check out all the ingredients now on their breads, etc to find the BEST possible option :D

Thanks for the thought pondering post for sure :D

Danica

where's the beef? or maybe some sort of protein though? otherwise it is not a meal to me, just saying.

Sheridan Ghaby

I eat at subway often, probably at least once a week. I usually get roast beef, turkey, or roasted chicken on wheat bread ,lettuce, spinach, green peppers and cucumbers. I skip dressing and have them add a healthy dash of oregano.

Linda

It's sad they add colors and preservatives to the veggies - I wanted them to be healthier, too. Oh, and btw - I accidently 'tested' Mrs. Bairds plain old white hot dog buns, and they grow mold nice and fast - lol

April

I usually get the Veggie Delight when I go to Subway. All that spinach is hard to eat without a little dressing though, so I add red wine vinegar to the veggies and then some mustard. I'm pretty sure it's zero calories and it tastes great! (to me anyway.)

If you try it out, let me know!

dualori

Eh, could be worse...in fact, usually *is* worse!

Russell

Hey! Don't be a hater about my veggie delight! I love these sandwhiches, but I get them with O & V, & Tea and Baked Lays like mentioned above. I dont care for pickles or the wax peppers, maybe the way they are made is why? Never knew it! I also am bummed, because I cant get spinach at our Subway! Some even have avacodo. Anyway, there is not much to choose from at the fast food places for me to eat! I am still waiting on the BK Veggie review!

Kim

It really bothers me that Subway is recognized as a "healthy" place to eat. I avoid it as much as I can. Besides, sandwiches taste WAY better at local cafes where the ingredients are fresh and homemade, without added artificial ingredients!

Even so, I really appreciate that Subway lists all of its ingredients on the website. Not too many restaurants have such easy access to seeing exactly what is in their food.

Sagan

Don't assume any restaurant or cafe use "fresh and homemade" ingredients, without chemicals! Even if they make their chicken salad "fresh," for example, they're getting their meat from large wholesalers who have already processed the meat with god-knows-what. And "god-knows-what" won't be on the list of ingredients, either! The truth is that you don't know what's been done to your food before it even gets to the restaurant. Bon apetit!

stan

I just ate at Subway again for the first time in ten years. I was on a road trip to Moab for biking and ran out of all the food I took with me to avoid eating truck stop and fast food. Not too many healthy options while on the road and Subway seemed like the best choice.

As soon as I ordered my veggie sub on the multi grain bread I knew exactly what I was eating.

On the posters in the shop "Jared" offers his favorites for a calorie reduced menu, but the truth is, each option is void in healthy calories and only provides you with simple carbs to fatten you up.

Thanks for all the great posts snack girl!

Adam

www.poweroffood.com

Adam Hart

OMG. There bread is basically soda in a solid form.

I spent the better part of my pregnancy eating lunch there because I had Gestational Diabetes, (not even a trace of it after the baby was born) and ordered the wheat because I assumed it was BREAD.

The more I learn about restaurants the less I want to eat out. It's really getting to the point where everything we eat I will have to make, for the benefit of my children and myself.

Thank you for another great post.

Juliette

Thanks for writing this and looking into the ingredients. It is disappointing to read the ingredients list. Especially to see high fructose corn syrup in both the bread and dressing. I think I read that Jilliam Michaels has asked Subway to remove the HFCS from their menu recently. We'll see if that happens. At least you got spinach instead of iceburg! (iceberg = no nutritional value) When I've ordered a veggie sandwich at Subway, I ask just for them to add on their oil & vinegar mix and salt & pepper. Tasty!

Mary B. Peterson

http://trainufit.wordpress.com

Mary B. Peterson

Subway is for road trips, when I haven't packed enough healthy snacks in the cooler. I ask for extra veggies and usually they'll pack 'em in if the boss isn't watching. Yours looks really skimpy on the veg, especially considering the bread is hollowed out to make more room.

I order the 6" veggie delight (sometimes with cheese), with no pickles and dijon mustard instead of dressing. Sometimes I get the soy patty thing. I've never seen nutrition info and suspect it's not exactly health food.

I don't order a drink or anything else with it. Sometimes a cup of tap water, or just ask for my bottle to be refilled.

I've never seen spinach at Subway in Canada; maybe we'll catch up in a couple of years.

The (non-whole wheat) bread is a huge disappointment but not really a surprise.

AND, what is that WEIRD smell coming out of Subway the last few year. It didn't used to smell like that. Some kind of fake bread aroma?

Rachelle

I just can't believe they add preservatives to the vegetables! Talk about lazy! There is NO need for that! I really hope fresh and healthy restaurants emerge soon to overpower the fast food places. There are some great business owners out there but they are not national yet.

Kaylan

I must admit that the only thing I ever get at Subway is the meatball sub. If I want a veggie sammich, I'll stop by a grocery store and hit the salad bar.

Lou Doench

Stumbled across your blog when looking for nutritional information. Usually, I'm like, "Ugh, nasty processed junk" when I think of Subway, but I actually really like the Veggie Delight. I get mine with lettuce, tomato, onions, bell peppers, provolone cheese, and oregano... Re: your point about trying to find a dressing - You should try it with just oil and vinegar, it tastes very good. Thanks for pointing out the issues with the veggies not all being so "fresh," but I can't say its a surprise either.

Aly

The way I refrain from pop is by looking at that extra $1.xx. I can't go to college with an empty wallet!!

Matt

I order the Subway Veggie Delight SALAD with lettuce, green pepper, cucumbers, onions, & tomatoes. It comes in a bowl without the bread. You can ask for red wine vinegar or olive oil as a topping. You can purchase as an extra apple slices. For drink I get water.

Mike

If you live near a Fresh and Easy, they have healthier sandwiches than offered at Subway...likewise if you are near a Whole Foods...

Daniel

I suppose as fast-food goes the subway is moderately better than the likes of McDonalds or KFC etc, however in the city (London), they are so damn expensive!

John

I love the veggie delight- and here is how you drop some of the cals: You can order it as a mini sub, and drop the condiment altogether. Voila, you have yourself a 150 calorie sandwich! And, you definetly deserve that cherry coke now :)

kasia

I personally love these sandwiches. They I skip dressing and get olive oil and just have them fill up my water bottle out of the tap. However, I wish they had a Whole Grain option. Also, its not that hard to not have soda or an empty calorie filled side. Anyone who is ordering one of these sandwiches to try and cut back calories probably will be able to deal with not having chips or a soda.

Seth

I order the footlong ham sub on 9 grain wheat bread with the ham on the side. No cheese. (Keep the ham to use sparingly in the mornings for a nice ham omelet.) Sandwich fixin's: lettuce, double or triple tomatoes, dill pickles, spinach, cucumbers, easy onion and green peppers. Then I have them sprinkle with salt/pepper and double oregano, vinegar and light on the oil. Cut in half. . lunch for two days and ham for omelets for three days or so. 6 Weight Watchers points plus for the sub plus points for the oil. Also STILL only $5.00 (same price as the veggie sub). Delicious!!!wait. see ton

Penny Wilkes

I know this is an old post....

I just wanted to say if I can go into Subway and get a 6 inch sub (either veggie delight or ham and turkey on wheat with veggies) a diet coke or simply water and apple slices, anyone can do it. At my highest I was 245 lbs (5 feet even, female). I've been doing Weight Watchers for 40 weeks and I've lost 34.2 lbs.

Samantha

I love the veggie. I don't get any dressing. I opt for vinegar, black pepper and mustard and I love it!

Jenn Smart

U only need 49g approx protein in a day unless u r a body builder. So don't let the meat industry convince u ur getting it from beef, pork etc. these animals stand knee deep in their manure most of their life and are injected with heavy antibiotics to kill the bacterial infection which they keep getting. Also cows dont eat grass ... They are eating corn all their life... Just think how healthy the so called protein is. Dark green veggies n tofu will give u more than enough protein in a day. Last but not the least this ur meat source... Http://meatvideo.com. Video published by non profit org called MfA

Nick br

so it has egg in the mustard sauce :( total disappointment.

kasthuribhai

It kinda peeves me when people rag on something for being "unhealthy," when you could have just made better choices.

A restaurant offers cookies, chips and soda? Crazy. Don't order them. Get apple slices and water instead. Also there are like 15 sauce options. Get one that satisfies your standards, like yellow/spicy mustard or oil and vinegar. Sure more options would be great, but don't blame a restaurant for your lack of discipline.

The vegetables with preservatives are the ones that are PRESERVED; pickles, olives, banana peppers, etc. That's how these foods are made!! If you don't want preservatives don't order these options. The rest of the vegetables are delivered fresh and prepared daily.

I have no excuses for the bread, but I didn't expect much more from a fast food restaurant. If you want to avoid all that then order a salad instead.

Jess

I think that Stan is right when he says "Don't assume any restaurant or cafe use fresh and homemade ingredients, without chemicals". Thanks Stan, Bon apetit.

Sandra

MUSTARD! Just plain old mustard. That's what I put on my veggie delights anyway. Delicious.

Calvin

I usually get a salad with turkey and keep the dressing on the side. However, the last time we went to Subway was while traveling. My husband's turkey sandwich had mold on it. It completely turned us off of Subway. Our daughter also got sick after eating at a Subway once. Deli meat does not have a long shelf life and I'm suspicious about quality control at Subways. I think Panera and other fast food restaurants, like Chick-Fil-A, do a much better job. I think we'll pass on Subway from now on.

Beth

I get Subway probably once every week or every two weeks. I get it because most veggie burgers at fast food restaurants make me sick. They're cooked on the same grill as regular burger and my stomach can't tolerate it. Except for Harvey's. I usually get an egg white on a flat bread with most veggies (no olives or hot peppers) and avocado. Usually get Swiss and no sauce. Works out to 12 sp. Pretty good and I'm satisfied. If I'm completely honest though, I could eat a foot long!

Kelly Lynn

I bought a SW card. Handy to carry on my bike. SW is one of the best places I can stop and get a veggie sandwich quickly. I'm vegetarian and use my bike for transportation. Sometimes I add the egg for protein.

Jane

I agree with the comments by Stan. I avoid FF, chain restaurants as much as possible. There are times when out and about, that bringing a meal isn't appropriate but better options are still available, usually. I have sworn off all traditional sodas, yay!, for well over 20 yrs, a short-lived habit I attribute to my careless youth and work association. If I yearn for a fizzy drink its seltzer or the recent Zevia brand. As I matured it became easier to resolve to eat the way I knew was best and not just yap about it, as I often did. I used to disappoint myself and knew it was my own lack of will-power. In my early 40's, my actions and behaviors finally became aligned with who I thought I was. I understand the path to health, and eating to that end, is relative to our upbringing, associations, and newfound knowledge. We all want it, which is why we love Snackgirl, and come here for great exposes, hints, recipes and sharing! Never give up striving for good health. Thanks for the Subway warnings, Lisa!

BarbL

I loathe Subway. It all taste the same. Then again, I live in the land of fresh hoagies (shout out to the Philly area!) so I am spoiled on a good veggie hoagie ;)

Meghan

We frequently order the Chicken Teriyaki with onion sauce (yes, I know it has sugar and oil in it....) and load on as many veggies as we can. We never order soda, cookies or chips, as we are on a strict budget! Hubby drinks black coffee and I do water.... pretty healthy, I think!

Jan

ok, what am I missing here? soggy bread with soft lettuce and mushy vegetables???? life is too short for this.....give me a small slice of crusty bread, a little bit of good cheese and some fresh fruit

Kevin

@Kevin, now that's my kind of fast food! :) My family has saying, when no one wants to cook, we say "beans n a pickle?" More often than not, someone will defrost chiabatta bread, slice up some dubliner or cheddar, grab some homemade dills and a tin of fish [sardines, tuna, salmon, anchovies] and maybe some garbanzos with a little o/v! I think this satisfying throw-together cold stuff is called a "ploughman's lunch". Yum-mee!

BarbL

If I do go there I order the egg whites with spinach and tomatoes. I throw away the bread and make sure I have napkins as I am usually eating in the car. Its filling at least.

Sue

You need to add avocado, and order extra spinach, cucumber, carrot. :)

Scott H

I get the veggie delite . It has 45 carbs, lots of veggies and 9 grams of protein.

Tamera

SUBWAY: Fresh, it most certainly is not, none of it is fresh bar freshly baked. But the fruit and vegetable unless radiated or gassed is raw and that does matter.

SCott

I get the veggie delite in a tomato basil wrap. It has less carbs than any of the other breads (that multi grain isn't very carb friendly). I get every veg. except black olives (yuck), salt & pepper and chipolte sauce. OK, that sauce is a bit of a splurge but it has some good heat and taste (and I only get a wrap once or twice a month). No need for chips or a side, wraps have double the amount of veggies so it is very filling.

cnoyes

THANK YHOU SNACK GIRL FOR ALL THE ABOVE. ALSO TO ALL OF YOU WHO GAVE ALL THE ABOVE COMMENTS. THERE IS A LOT TO THINK ABOUT. HAVE A BLESSED & HEALTHY DAY. ANNETTE

Annette Giordano