Sunday, January 22, 2012

30 New Sandwich Swaps

Healthy Living


 

 

30 New Sandwich Swaps

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/sites/all/themes/eatthis/images/free/mh_header_logo.jpg

America is in the midst of a sandwich crisis. At its finest, a sandwich should be a delicately balanced, well-proportioned, healthy array of meat, vegetables, and condiments. Too bad our favorite restaurants feature poorly conceived creations that contain copious amounts of calories without the quality to match. What's worse, to keep up with the competition, many fast-food joints and sit-down restaurants have taken to haphazardly piling on extra ingredients in an effort to attract new customers. Just picking the wrong sandwich for lunch can mean an extra hour at the gym that evening.

But the good news is that all is not lost. We might not be able to do anything about the quality of the sandwiches, but healthier alternatives do exist, and we've found them. Make just one or more of these swaps a week, and you could end up losing 10, 20, or even 30 pounds by the end of the year!

30 New Sandwich Swaps


30. A&W Crispy Chicken Sandwich :

550 calories , 25 g fat (4.5 g saturated, 1.5 g trans), 1,130 mg sodium

The word “crispy” is the restaurant’s way of discreetly warning you that this piece of chicken has been covered with breading and plunged into a bucket of sizzling hot oil. Any similarity to regular chicken was completely lost in the process.

Eat This Instead!

Cheeseburger

420 calories, 21 g fat (7 g saturated, 0.5 g trans), 1,040 mg sodium



29. Arby's Market Fresh Turkey & Swiss Sandwich:

710 calories, 28 g fat (7 g saturated), 1,780 mg sodium

The bread that houses this sandwich is responsible for an astounding 380 calories, much of which is thanks to a recipe that calls for 14 grams of sugar from mostly high-fructose corn syrup.

Eat This Instead!

Super Roast Beef

440 calories, 20 g fat (6 g saturated, 1 g trans), 1,060 mg sodium



28.Atlanta Bread Company Turkey Club Panini:

710 calories, 24 g fat (9 g saturated), 1,920 mg sodium

Not an altogether terrible meal, but certainly not up the standard one would expect from turkey—an all-star protein with serious low-calorie potential. The problem is the sandwich comes on oversized panini bread doused with an agressive load of fat.

Eat This Instead!

Honey Maple Ham on Honey Wheat

410 calories, 5 g fat (2 g saturated), 1,370 mg sodium



27. Au Bon Pain Sausage, Egg, and Cheddar on Asiago Bagel :

810 calories, 46 g fat (20 g saturated), 1,340 mg sodium

Bread always trumps bagel in the breakfast sandwich category, but at Au Bon Pain, the race
isn’t even close. Subbing in the Egg White and Cheddar sandwich would save you 560 calories and 35 grams of fat. Do you really love sausage that much?

Eat This Instead!

Egg Whites and Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich

250 calories, 11 g fat (6 g saturated), 550 mg sodium



26.Blimpie Grilled Chicken Caesar Ciabbatta:

580 calories, 20 g fat (5 g saturated), 1,480 mg sodium

The emperor has no clothes! Nine times out of 10, when you see the word Caesar, expect trouble. Consider this in the same nutritional red zone as mayo-bloated chicken salad. Ciabatta sounds fancy, but it’s essentially no different from white bread. Switch to 6-inch wheat and you’ll gain an immediate 3 grams of belly-filling fiber.

Eat This Instead!

Turkey and Cranberry

350 calories, 4 g fat (0.5 g saturated) , 1,220 mg sodium



25.Boston Market Rotisserie Chicken Salad Sandwich:

1,050 calories, 64 g fat (10 g saturated, 1 g trans), 1,700 mg sodium

Boston Market may have shaved 4 grams of trans fat from this sandwich, but it also grew by an extra 240 calories. Chicken salad has hit a new all-time low.

Eat This Instead!

Beef Brisket, Green Beans, and Dill Potatoes

430 calories, 19.5 g fat (6 g saturated), 870 mg sodium



24. Carl's Jr. Charbroiled Santa Fe Chicken Sandwich :

640 calories, 36 g fat (8 g saturated), 1,370 mg sodium
 
Triple Whoppers are supposedly charbroiled, but that doesn’t make them healthy. Here, the addition of cheese and a mayo-based sauce ups the fat ante by a factor of five.

Eat This Instead!

Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich

390 calories, 7 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 990 mg sodium



23.Cheesecake Factory Grilled Turkey Burger:

1,331 calories, 31 g saturated fat, 1,674 mg sodium

Terms like “grilled”and “turkey” are intended to temper your nutritional worries, but a quick look behind the buzz terms reveals that you could stuff nearly four  Wendy’s Double Stack Burgers into the vast caloric trench created by this “healthy” alternative.

Eat This Instead!

The Factory Burger

737 calories, 15 g saturated , 1,018 mg sodium



22. Cosi Tuna Melt:

774 calories, 41 g fat (11 g saturated), 1,060 mg sodium

Another complete waste of one of the world’s healthiest proteins. What is it about tuna that drives sandwich makers to turn to an ocean of mayo and a sea of melted cheese? This is one of the worst items in the entire store.

Eat This Instead!

Shrimp Remoulade Sandwich

454 calories, 20 g fat (6 g saturated), 735 mg sodium



21.Denny's Grand Slamwich :

1,520 calories, 101 g fat (44 g saturated, 1 g trans), 3,550 mg sodium

Bacon, sausage, ham, eggs, cheese, and mayo conspire to create the worst breakfast sandwich in America. Start your day with this and you’ll need to wait 48 hours before consuming another gram of saturated fat. And that’s before you get to the  hash browns that come on the side.

Eat This Instead!

2 Fried Eggs with Honey Ham and Hash Browns

580 calories, 38 g fat (11.5 g saturated), 1,595 mg sodium



20.Domino's Pizza Chicken Bacon Ranch Sandwich :

870 calories, 45 g fat (16 g saturated, 1 g trans), 2,380 mg sodium

Don’t bother looking to the sandwich menu for reprieve. More than half of these greasy bread boats break 800 calories, making them second only to pasta in their potential for caloric punishment. If you want something other than pizza, wings are your best bet.


Eat This Instead!

Chicken, Bacon, and Roasted Red Pepper Pizza (2 slices; large, Brooklyn crust)

670 calories , 32 g fat (13 g saturated), 1,850 mg sodium



19.Five Guys Cheeseburger:

840 calories, 55 g fat (26.5 g saturated), 1,050 mg sodium

What Five Guyscalls a “cheeseburger,”the healthy world calls a “double cheeseburger.”
Yes, even without embellishments this bulky hunk of beef has more calories than two McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.

Eat This Instead!

Little Cheeseburger

550 calories, 32 g fat (15 g saturated), 690 mg sodium



18.Hardee's Charbroiled Chicken Club Sandwich:

610 calories, 30 g fat (8 g saturated), 1,640 mg sodium

What goes intoa club at Hardee’s? Cheese, bacon, and mayonnaise—the unholy trinity of
sandwich toppings.

Eat This Instead!

Little Thick Cheeseburger

430 calories, 23 g fat (9 g saturated), 1,090 mg sodium



17.Jack in the Box Sausage Croissant:

565 calories, 39 g fat (16 g saturated, 1 g trans), 776 mg sodium

Two simple but immutable rules are at play here:

1) Bacon always beats sausage, and

2) buns always beat croissants.

Eat This Instead!

Bacon Breakfast Jack

316 calories, 15 g fat (5 g saturated), 761 mg sodium



16. Panera Bread Grilled Bacon, Egg, & Cheese Sandwich:

510 calories, 25 g fat (10 g saturated), 1,170 mg sodium

There are two differences between these sandwiches. First, this one is built on ciabatta, which provides 50 more calories and half as much fiber. And second, it replaces the ham with bacon, which means an extra 100 calories of mostly fat.


Eat This Instead!

Breakfast Power Sandwich

340 calories, 15 g fat (7 g saturated), 820 mg sodium



15. Quiznos Turkey Club Torpedo :

830 calories, 35 g fat (9 g saturated), 2,280 mg sodium

We can't vouch for the militant theme running through the names of Quiznos’ subs, but this is one that lives up to the title. They load bacon, cheese, and mayonnaise into the war-head and aim the Torpedo right at your gut.

Eat This Instead!

Pesto Turkey Bullet

380 calories, 13 g fat (3 g saturated), 1,250 mg sodium



14.Starbucks Egg Salad Sandwich with Grande Tazo Iced Chai Tea Latte:

730 calories, 26 g fat (7 g saturated), 945 mg sodium

The words salad and sandwich are best taken on their own. When combined, expect an excess of mayo-based binder and a flood of calories. Tack on a Chai Tea Latte with 42 grams of sugar and you have a snack with more calories than five bowls of Breyer's chocolate ice cream.


Eat This Instead!

Roma Tomato and Mozzarella Sandwich with Grande Black Shane Iced Tea

460 calories , 18 g fat (7 g saturated), 590 mg sodium



13.Subway Steak, Egg, and Cheese Omelet Sandwich :

430 calories, 15 g fat (5 g saturated), 1,220 mg sodium

Subway’s Omelet Sandwiches, albeit better than most fast-food breakfasts in the country, are still a big step down from the Muffin Melts. Make sure you choose accordingly.

Eat This Instead!

Steak, Egg, and Cheese Muffin Melts

200 calories, 6 g fat (2.5 g saturated), 590 mg sodium



12. T.G.I. Friday's Turkey Burger with fries:

1,230 calories, 60 g fat (16 g saturated), 2,530 mg sodium

This sounds like the healthy rebuttal to a plain burger and fries, but the calories tell another story entirely. When will a chain restaurant finally make a turkey burger worth eating?

Eat This Instead!

Flat Iron Steak with broccoli and mashed potatoes

740 calories, 41.5 g fat (14 g saturated), 3,260 mg sodium



11.Wendy's Asiago Ranch Chicken Club Sandwich :

690 calories, 36 g fat (12 g saturated), 1,630 mg sodium

Chicken clubs rarely deliver on theirlow-cal reputation,and that’s especially true at fast-food joints. Unless it’s made with grilled chicken and no mayo or dressing, expect it  to be on par with the burgers.

Eat This Instead!

Jr. Cheeseburger and 5-Piece Crispy Chicken Nuggets

510 calories, 27 g fat (9 g saturated, 1 g trans), 1,280 mg sodium



10. Hardee's Monster Biscuit :

640 calories, 44 g fat (16 g saturated) , 2,130 mg sodium

When they say “Monster,” they mean it. This 700-calorie behemoth should be enough to scare anyone: It contains nearly a full day’s worth of sodium and saturated fat. Instead try the Sunrise Croissant with Bacon. It’s not exactly diet-friendly, but if you’re stuck at Hardee’s, it’s a way to escape without too much damage.

Eat This Instead!

Sunrise Croissant with Bacon

450 calories , 29 g fat (12 g saturated) , 900 mg sodium



9. Denny's Moon Over My Hammy:

760 calories, 41 g fat (15 g saturated), 2,320 mg sodium

The Moon Over My Hammy has been a staple on the Denny's menu for years. Considering the dish serves up 16 grams of saturated fat and an entire day's worth of sodium, we think it's overstayed its welcome. Denny's either needs to give this breakfast classic a nutritional makeover or strike it from the menu completely.

Eat This Instead!

Veggie-Cheese Omelette

460 calories, 33 g fat (12 g saturated), 680 mg sodium



8. Chili's Buffalo Chicken Ranch Sandwich w/ fries:

1,410 calories, 68 g fat (12 g saturated) , 3,940 mg sodium

Given the rate of wing consumption in this country, clearly hot sauce-slathered chicken and blue cheese or ranch is a winning combination. Problem is, chains such as Chili's are using this high-calorie combo to create sandwiches that are some of the worst on the menu. Along with fries, this tangy train wreck has two days' worth of sodium and more than a day's worth of fat.


Eat This Instead!

Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/ Veggies

610 calories, 13 g fat (5 g saturated), 1320 mg sodium



7. Panera Bread Italian Combo on Ciabatta :

980 calories, 41 g fat (15 g saturated, 1 g trans), 2,620 mg sodium

When it comes to Italian-style sandwiches, you can always count on a mound of fatty meat tucked inside a big portion of doughy bread. All told, the final product usually ends up somewhere around the 1,000-calorie mark—like this one at Panera Bread. Cut calories and get a range of flavors by going with a You Pick Two combo.

Eat This Instead!

Half Asiago Roast Beef Sandwich and Half Fuji Apple Chicken Salad

630 calories calories, 31 g fat (11 g saturated, 0.5 trans) , 1,080 mg sodium



6. Applebee's Reuben:

1,140 calories, 81 g fat (28 g saturated, 2.5 g trans), 3,500 mg sodium

Piled sky high with fatty slices of pastrami, the Reuben is a sandwich that is guaranteed to destroy your diet for the day. Although the calorie, fat, and sodium counts are all high, what's most troublesome about this version from Applebee's is that it contains 2.5 grams of trans fat. That's more than a day's worth and reason enough to stay away from this sandwich.

Eat This Instead!

Asiago Peppercorn Steak

380 calories, 14 g fat (6 g saturated), 1,520 mg sodium



5. Red Robin Whiskey River BBQ Chicken :

1,022 calories, 57 g fat, 1,518 mg sodium

Alternative burgers nearly always lead you astray in the restaurant world. Any nutritional benefits you might receive by swapping out ground beef for a lean chicken breast are lost when it's smothered in salty sauces and sitting on a bed of deep-fried onions. At Red Robin, the safest choice is always the Natural Burger. It's not the healthiest in the world, but at least you can escape fairly unscathed.

Eat This Instead!

Natural Burger

599 calories, 24 g fat, 1,149 mg sodium



4.Outback Roasted Filet Sandwich :

856 calories, 51 g fat (16 g saturated), 3,970 mg sodium

Outback's ability to bump up the calorie count of almost any dish is once again on display here. By no means should a steak sandwich with provolone cheese and garlic herb aioli have over 800 calories. Treat yourself to a New York Strip and save roughly 250 calories.

Eat This Instead!

Outback Special Steak (9 oz) and Grilled Asparagus

433 calories, 23 g fat (8 g saturated), 564 mg sodium



3. Cheesecake Factory Grilled Portobello on a Bun :

1,377 calories, 22 g saturated fat, 1,362 mg sodium

Like the turkey burger, the portobello burger is another sandwich that restaurants love to tout as a healthy alternative. Unfortunately, that's rarely the case. This example from Cheesecake Factory is the worst we've found, but you should remain skeptical anytime a portobello sandwich is on the menu.

Eat This Instead!

The Factory Burger

737 calories, 15 g saturated fat, 1,018 mg sodium



2. Quiznos Regular Tuna Melt:

1,060 calories, 74 g fat (17 g saturated), 1,300 mg sodium

Quiznos' melt suffers from the same affliction as Cosi's: too much mayo and cheese. This subpar sub certainly isn't worth the 1,000 calories.

Eat This Instead!

Bistro Steak Melt Flatbread Sammie

410 calories, 22.5 g fat (5.5 g saturated), 1,100 mg sodium


1.Subway 6-inch Meatball Marinara Sandwich :

480 calories, 18 g fat (7 g saturated) , 950 mg sodium

Subway offers plenty of healthy options, but the meatball sub isn't one of them. Add some cheese and maybe a sauce and this 6-incher will end up costing you at the gym.


Eat This Instead!

6-inch Roast Beef on wheat

320 calories, 5 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 700 mg sodium

No comments:

Post a Comment