If you enjoy the taste of a hot, grilled sandwich, Charley's Subs offers many different combinations of ingredients. A grilled sandwich can exceed a healthy amount of fat and calories for one meal because it often includes high-fat meats and cheeses. According to Tanya Zuckerbrot, author of "The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss," grilled sandwiches are a better choice than those with fried meat, but you should still pay close attention to the nutritional information to ensure that you truly are choosing a more nutritious sandwich.
Breakfast
Charley's Subs features a few egg dishes and breakfast sandwiches that contain eggs, cheese and either bacon or sausage, as well as hash browns. The ham omelet has 410 calories and 25.5 g fat in each serving. The omelet also contains 1,289 mg sodium but offers a healthy amount of protein with 42 g. The sausage, egg and cheese sandwich has 39 g protein and 540 calories. The sandwich contains 19.5 g fat and 7 g saturated fat. An order of hash browns contains 200 calories and 9 g fat. The hash browns are high in sodium, with 266 mg in each serving.
Grilled Subs
The grilled subs contain meats, cheese and sauce, which makes most of them high in fat and sodium. The Philly cheese steak has 1,448 mg sodium, as well as 521 calories and 18.5 g fat. The BBQ cheddar sub has more sodium with 1,718 mg; it has 581 calories in each serving and 19.5 g fat. The chicken bacon club has 570 calories, 24.5 g fat and 1,347 mg of sodium. The mushroom Swiss steak provides 50 percent of your daily calcium needs but has 521 calories, 1,269 mg of sodium and 18.5 g of fat. The bacon three-cheese sub is one of the worst ones with 32 g of fat, 1,687 mg of sodium and 635 calories.
Salads and Toppings
Salad dressing is not included in the nutritional information for Charley's salads. The grilled chicken salad has 198 calories per serving, as well as 7 g fat and 533 mg of sodium. The grilled steak has 693 mg of sodium, 208 calories and 10 g fat. The fresh garden salad only has 2 g fat and 58 calories. Each of the salads provides 1 or 2 g fiber as well. Adding ranch dressing will increase the calorie count by 150 and the fat count by 15 g. The Italian dressing will add 150 calories and 16 g fat. The salad dressings at Charley's contain about 250 mg sodium in 2 tbsp. Adding vegetables, such as tomatoes, lettuce and peppers, will add only a couple calories but will also increase your fiber intake.
Side Orders
At Charley's, you are limited to fries and chicken as your side orders. An order of French fries has 453 calories and 25 g fat. The fries have 322 mg sodium and 2 g fiber in each serving. The ranch bacon fries increase the calories to 530 and the sodium to 1,082 mg. An order of five chicken fingers has 334 calories and 20 g fat. The chicken has 1,100 mg of sodium but does supply 22 g protein.
Considerations
There a few ways to make your grilled sandwich more nutritious. The addition of spreads, such as mayonnaise and other creamy spreads, increases the calories of your sandwich by about 100 and the fat by about 11 g. Eating your sandwich with mustard or fat-free salad dressing can eliminate these calories and grams of fat, making your sandwich a bit healthier. Zuckerbrot also suggests ordering your sandwich with BBQ sauce instead of high-fat spreads. Eliminating the cheese and adding extra vegetables can further reduce calories and add nutrients to your sandwich.
References
- "The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss"; Tanya Zuckerbrot; 2007
- Charley's Grilled Subs: Nutritional Information
Member Comments