I am NOT a fast food person. At all. Don't hate me, but I don't even like the french fries. Sometimes I get forced into fast food joints for coffee or a bathroom and they do tend to have good frozen desserts, but most of the time I stay far away! I am much more of a "fast casual" girl. I like that I can see my food being prepared and even have some input before I buy it and eat it. That's why I have been a long time Subway fan. This dates back, to when they were a small chain and there was one in our dad's office building in Gaithersburg, MD. Remember when the stores were actually decorated with murals of the old time New York City subway? Get it, Subway Subs?? Now Subway is the largest food franchise in the country. They are everywhere. I frequently stop by my local shop after a workout for a foot long and seek them out on every road trip.
Just another veggie delight after a hard run. Bulldog approved.
Since I have been such a devotee, I was thrilled when Subway asked if I'd like to attend a lunch with their head nutritionist and try out their new Premium Grilled Chicken. I went to the event with three other women who write health and fitness blogs. We introduced ourselves, talked about what we do and then were treated to a sub. Lanette Kovachi, Subway's nutritionist sat down with us as we ate and explained her role at Subway. Her job is to make Subway as healthy as possible. Over the last year or so that has meant reducing the number of ingredients in the food. That means taking away all of the unnatural preservatives and weird scary sounding things. The Premium Grilled Chicken strips are an example of that. They took the out all of the unnatural preservatives and it's just white meat chicken. I have pretty much been off fast food chicken since a bad chicken nugget experience years ago, but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed my sandwich. I usually go for a spinach and avocado loaded Veggie Delight, but will now be adding the chicken for the 20g of protein, especially after a hard workout.
Another interesting tidbit I learned from Lanette: Subway recently added Vitamin D to the bread. In addition to getting a serving of whole grains (order the 9-grain breads, they are the healthiest!), we are also getting Vitamin D which so many endurance athletes need. I'm looking forward to posting a Q&A with Lanette on Athlete Food about endurance athletes and eating on the road.
Overall, I was really impressed with Subway's mission to make their food as healthy as possible. It was inspiring to hear how such a large restaurant chain is so committed to providing a healthy dining option. Of course, if you pile on the creamy sauces you could easily negate that, but as it is with most things, it's all about making healthy choices. --Laurel
This post is sponsored by FitFluential.
