A Healthier Hero

Whether they're called subs, hoagies, heroes, or grinders, long sandwiches stuffed with a variety of ingredients are a favorite lunch choice.

The fillings you choose will determine how healthy your meal is. A 6-inch, Italian, cold-cut sub has 425 calories and 20 grams of fat, but a 6-inch turkey-breast sub has 300 calories and 6 grams of fat

Here's how to keep your sub sandwich healthy:

  • Opt for low-fat main ingredients, such as turkey breast, grilled chicken, roast beef, or ham instead of salami, pastrami, or seafood salad.

  • Choose whole-wheat bread instead of white bread.

  • Dress the bread with mustard instead of mayonnaise, and add lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables.

  • To save extra calories and fat, round out your meal with pretzels, a fruit salad, a green salad, or a cup of broth-based soup instead of potato chips.

Best bets:

  • Turkey breast submarine

  • Grilled chicken submarine

  • Roast beef submarine

  • Ham-and-cheese submarine

  • Fresh vegetable submarine

  • Green salad

Worst bets:

  • Italian meat submarine

  • Seafood salad submarine

  • Steak-and-cheese submarine

  • Meatball-and-cheese submarine

  • Eggplant parmesan submarine

  • Regular potato chips

Healthy meal suggestions

Meal A

6-inch ham-and-cheese submarine

Pretzels

Green salad with low-fat dressing

Diet soda

 

Total calories: 539

Total fat: 15 grams

Calories from fat: 25 percent

Total sodium: 1,322 mg

Meal B

6-inch roast beef submarine

Baked potato chips

Nonfat frozen yogurt

Iced tea

 

Total calories: 608

Total fat: 19 grams

Calories from fat: 28 percent

Total sodium: 1,359 mg

Meal C

6-inch fresh vegetable submarine

Fruit salad

Baked tortilla chips

Lemonade

 

Total calories: 439

Total fat: 6 grams

Calories from fat: 12 percent

Total sodium: 830 mg

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