The Healthiest And Least Healthy Sandwich At Jersey Mike's
Sandwiches fall into that weird in-between category where they're not necessarily unhealthy, but depending on ingredients, you can unknowingly eat your entire daily recommended amount of sodium and calories in one meal, and that's not even including the chips and soda that naturally accompany them. We did the math so you don't have to on all 34 sandwiches (plus breakfast) on the Jersey Mike's menu and found the healthiest and least healthy choices (via Jersey Mike's).
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion suggests the estimated amount of calories needed per day for a moderately active adult woman between the ages of 26 and 50 is 2,000, and the estimated amount of calories needed per day for a moderately active adult man between 26 and 45 is 2,600. These amounts will vary depending on age, sex, height, and weight, along with other personal health factors. The CDC recommends a healthy adult should consume less than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, as high amounts of sodium can put you at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
To figure out which sandwiches are the healthiest and least healthy, we compared the sodium and calorie content of each in the regular size, on the default option of white bread, using Jersey Mike's Nutritional Guide. The breakfast sandwiches only come in the mini size, so we ranked them separately. These nutritional numbers, by the way, do not reflect the menu in Hawaii.
The healthiest sandwiches on Jersey Mike's menu
The lowest calorie sandwich available on the Jersey Mike's menu is tied between the No. 16 Mike's Chicken Philly and the No. 19 BBQ Beef, both of which come in at 670 calories. If you are more interested in a classic cold sub, you can opt for the No. 1 BLT, which contains only 700 calories.
If your concern lies with sodium intake, the best option for you is the No. 6 Roast Beef and Provolone, which has 1,111.66 mg of sodium. If you want the lowest sodium hot sandwich, choose the NO. 19 BBQ Beef with 1,571.38 mg of sodium.
If you want the fewest of both calories and sodium, we recommend ordering the No. 19 BBQ Beef hot sandwich or the No. 6 Roast Beef and Provolone cold sandwich.
If you are in the mood for breakfast, the No. 2 Bacon, Egg, and Cheese has only 490 calories, and the lowest sodium option is the No. 3 Sausage, Egg, and Cheese with 940.19 mg of sodium.
The least healthy sandwiches on Jersey Mike's menu
Ranked by calories, the least healthy menu item is the No. 9 Club Supreme, which is listed at 1,130 calories. Out of the hot sandwich options, the No. 79 Grilled Italian is the worst offender with 1,080 calories.
If you're worried about high sodium, be sure to avoid the No. 44 Buffalo Chicken Cheese Steak which contains a whopping 3,512.74 mg of sodium — well over the daily recommended amount. The No. 13 The Original Italian has the highest amount of sodium out of all the cold sandwiches, with 2,531.04 mg of sodium.
If you're concerned with both sodium and calorie content, the No. 8 Club Sub is the worst cold option on the menu. It came in second-highest in both categories, with 1,100 calories and 2,483.31 mg of sodium. No. 79 Grilled Italian is the worst hot sandwich across the board, as the worst calorie-wise, as listed above, and the second-worst when it comes to sodium with 2,904.96 mg of sodium.
For breakfast, the sandwich with the most calories is the No. 3 Sausage, Egg and Cheese with 890 calories, and the highest sodium breakfast sandwich is the No. 4 Ham, Egg and Cheese, which contains 1,563.89 mg of sodium.