Low-carbing and Subway Sandwiches

EDIT: I’ve been to Subway and tried their low-carb wraps. They are really quite good. Five of the eight carbs in the Turkey Bacon Wrap are from the wrap itself. While it’s not appropriate for Induction (you’re trying to break the carb addiction, after all), it’s a nice treat. You can convert any sandwich into a wrap now for an extra $0.50, and from what I understand, in a couple of months Subway is introducing low-carb salads to complement their offerings. Watch this space!

January 1 is often a time of quiet contemplation, reflection, and consideration of times past. Many of us sit down with a sheet of paper, a pencil, and perhaps our partners, and figure out what our goals for this year are going to be. Most often, it really doesn’t matter if we achieve these goals (and heck, how many of us actually keep them anyway?) but simply that we set them, and that we aspire to be better than we are.

EDIT: I’ve been to Subway and tried their low-carb wraps. They are really quite good. Five of the eight carbs in the Turkey Bacon Wrap are from the wrap itself. While it’s not appropriate for Induction (you’re trying to break the carb addiction, after all), it’s a nice treat. You can convert any sandwich into a wrap now for an extra $0.50, and from what I understand, in a couple of months Subway is introducing low-carb salads to complement their offerings. Watch this space!

January 1 is often a time of quiet contemplation, reflection, and consideration of times past. Many of us sit down with a sheet of paper, a pencil, and perhaps our partners, and figure out what our goals for this year are going to be. Most often, it really doesn’t matter if we achieve these goals (and heck, how many of us actually keep them anyway?) but simply that we set them, and that we aspire to be better than we are.

What a noble tradition. However, this January 1, for me, isn’t about goal-setting, except for one: to go out and stuff myself silly on a Subway low-carb sandwich wrap!

Yep, Subway Sandwiches has jumped on the low-carb bandwagon. They are coming out with whole-weat sandwich wraps. The wraps have 5 carbs — add to that the sandwich meats and veggies, and you’re talking about a big sandwich that will probably come in under 10 carbs for most people. While not ideal for those on Atkins Induction (less than 20 carbs a day — blowing half the wad on one meal is not recommended), any time past the first two weeks, this might be a pretty good treat, or even a staple.

So, while I’m not saying “Forget the Jared Diet” (eat less and exercise while eating Subway sandwiches daily), this may cast an entirely new light on Jared’s diet for those trying to speed up their weight-loss or manage diabetes by reducing carbohydrate intake.

In related news, I bought a Carl’s Jr. Western Double Bacon Cheeseburger the other day. And I asked them to “hold the bun”. They presented the sandwich very attractively, with ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise on the side, all on a nice foam dinner platter with a plastic lid. The bacon slices were criss-crossed in an “X” on top of this bun-less double cheeseburger.

I was so freaking impressed I called the Carl’s Jr. number right then and there (1.877.799.STAR) to congratulate them. Other than waiting on hold fifteen minutes while my kids played in the play area, it was cool. It went something like this (though I can’t remember the exact wording):

“Thank you for calling the Carl’s Junior customer service line. I’m Judy; may I have your name please?”

“Matthew P. Barnson”

“Matthew, what can we do for you today?”

“Well, I was just calling to congratulate you guys on a job well done. I ordered a Western Bacon Double Cheeseburger tonight without the bun. The last time I ordered a hamburger without the bun, it was at McDonald’s, and they took a cheeseburger, threw on all the toppings, and wrapped it in paper. It was disgusting. This burger from you guys, though, it just rocked! I mean, the presentation was excellent, it looked attractive to eat, and they didn’t look at me weird or anything.”

“Sir, you mean you’re calling to thank us?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Just to say thanks for making keeping to my low-carb eating regime much easier and more attractive.”

“Umm… okay”

(there was a pause, clicking of the keyboard on the other end)

“So, erm, well,” (she’s obviously trying to read her script at this point and figure out how to respond) “I will be sure and notify the regional vice president and manager of the store about this probl… erm, compliment, and they will see to it that it’s resolved… erm, that they keep up the good work,” she finished lamely.

She asked me for some personal information (address, phone number, etc). I went ahead and gave them to her, and surprise of surprises, she told us we would soon have coupons for two free hamburgers arriving in the mail!

Anyway, that’s my rambling post for the day. Cheers.

6 thoughts on “Low-carbing and Subway Sandwiches”

  1. Got the burger cards!

    Yep, we got two credit-card sized coupons, signed by Peter B. Espinoza, Jr. Each one is good for a complimentary Famous Star or Charbroiled BBQ Chicken Sandwich.

    This calls for another trip to Carls Jr. 🙂

    —
    Matthew P. Barnson

  2. morning snack

    Dawn brought me a morning snack….

    A plate of homemade toffee and a coke. I think that’s way more carbs than is allowed in a month under the Atkins Diet.

    mmmmm….. toffee…..

    1. Don’t tease me!

      Heh, don’t tease me! Christy just made a huge batch of home-made chocolate-covered toffee, and I know how good that stuff tastes. Toffee runs about 6 carbs per small piece (a piece about the size of a half-dollar if it were square), and a 12-oz Coke runs somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 carbs.

      For comparison:

      • A slice of strawberry cake mix with canned frosting runs about 50-55 carbs
      • The Food and Drug Administration recommends 300 carbs per day per person. Most Americans eat way, way more than that. Particularly overweight Americans.
      • A serving of chocolate runs about 20 carbs.
      • A serving of commercial low-carb chocolate is almost exactly the same, but most of the carbs are in the form of sugar alcohols. Depending on who you talk to, you can count them when low-carbing or not.
      • Most low-carbers start out at only 20 carbs, and gradually ramp up to somewhere between 50-100 per day. Some athletic types can go up to about 150. Some weirdos (like me) count calories, too, and choose to regulate both ways.

      How’s that for a boring factoid or two of the day?

      And I stopped at Subway today, and the one up on I-80 inside the Chevron doesn’t have the wraps yet, and thinks they’ll have them on January 1 “if we’re lucky”. Apparently, they have some distribution problems to certain franchises…

      —
      Matthew P. Barnson

  3. Subway low carb menu

    I also wish to thank food chains such as Subway for joining the low-carb band wagon.

    However, there is one point I wish to complain about. Although the wraps are excellent for a fast food meal, I have to point out that the wrap has no more, no less ingredients than a regular 6 inch sub, yet, because it is a specialty (diet) item, they are charging sometimes in excess of a dollar more per sandwhich. The idea of charging more for the same “stuff” is to me, kind of insulting.

    Do they charge an additional $.50 for anyone who wants one of the numerous other types of breads beyond basic white?

    Why am I charged for an alternative bread type (wrap) because I am a low-carb dieter?

    The real genius to this whole thing is, that if I go in an order any of the other various chicken subs, ask for the same fixings, and ask for a wrap (paying the additional charge), I still wind up paying over $.50, less than just asking for the low carb special! So, my advice to you would be, definitely enjoy Subway’s new “wraps”, but order the chicken sub, and add all the ingredients from the promo, but with the wrap. Don’t just go in and say you want the low-carb chcken or turkey wrap because you will be unecessarily overcharged.

    I also encourage any fellow dieters to email or call Subway and thank them for the new menu items, but point out the predudices of over-charging for “diet” items.

    1. Dig it

      Yeah, I’ve begun to make it a habit to just order the type of sandwich I want “in a wrap”. I pay an extra $0.99 for it that way, but it’s less messy than my old “hold the bun” line.

      The only real complaints that I have so far about the wraps are:

      • They often nuke the bread, cheese, and meat together in the microwave for certain hot wraps, making the tortilla-like wrap into this inedible, chewy cardboard. Important note if any Subway employee ever checks out my site: nuke the meat & cheese together if you like, but the bread should be just barely warm.
      • The wraps are slightly smaller than what you’d fill them with for a standard 6″ sub. They are just right for the meat, green peppers, and olives of the standard “Atkins-compliant” style, but the moment you have some lettuce in there, it’s a tough fit.
      • The wrap quality seems to vary wildly according to store. I’ve eaten at four different Subways since December 29, and the quality of the bread itself varies from dry and gross to mealy to perfect. I think they are still working out the bugs in their recipe, as of the end of January, 2004. Or else the stores store them a little differently at each place.
      • Although they advertise Atkins “Sweet as Honey” mustard on their promotions, I have yet to go to a Subway that actually has this sauce in-stock. I like mustard, but unlike normal mustard, Subway’s is quite carby and I don’t want to use it on my sandwiches. I’ve gotten to the point of bringing my own mustard sometimes 🙂

      Overall, I like it a lot. But the pricing disparity should really end once it’s no longer the “new thing”, I agree. I don’t mind paying a slight price premium right now because Subway’s recouping the cost of the higher-cost ingredients in a low-carb wrap (5 carbs for the wrap itself, by the way), but if I’m still doing so a year from now, it will bug me. Low-carbing is mainstream now where it used to be “fringe”.

      —
      Matthew P. Barnson

  4. A good weight loss diet is a

    A good weight loss diet is a combination of different food groups that are combined together to meet all the body requirements. The food that we consume must contain carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and fiber. Eating at subway and being on low carb diet is not the only way to lose weight.

    (EDIT by matthew: Removed spammish link.)

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