Every now and again I’ll eat a sandwich from a sub shop even though I suffer from gluten intolerance. For me, things like sandwiches and pizza need to be really, really good for me to justify feeling like a slug the rest of the day and usually the next morning.
Even though I am the consummate meat eater, I prefer both vegetarian pizzas and sandwiches to their carnivorous counterparts, partially I think because I know the wheat is going to affect my system poorly. And also in part, I think somewhere in the back of my brain I somehow think it is more healthy to have a spinach and artichoke pizza than one smothered with pepperoni, although I certainly know even more so now that is not the case.
We ordered Jimmy John’s for lunch last week and I opted for the Gourmet Veggie Club thinking I was doing my waistline at least a tiny bit of justice; so imagine my horror when I later looked up the nutritional information and saw that the veggie-laden beauty had 1,141 calories and 70 grams of fat (http://www.jimmyjohns.com/nutrition.html)! Just to put this in perspective, that is more calories than I would have consumed had I eaten two McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with Cheese -- 1,020 calories and 52 grams of fat (http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html)!
Honestly, the sandwich was great, and I definitely enjoyed it much more than I would have two Quarter Pounders, or even a half of a pizza, but it’s definitely indicative of how much we can fool ourselves into thinking we’re eating healthily when we are really not. In order to burn off the calories in one Jimmy John’s Gourmet Veggie Club, I would need to run for 1 hour and 53 minutes, or nearly 12 miles. I think I’ll stick to a salad the next time I get a veggie craving.
Amy L. Schubert is a 15-year veteran of the hospitality industry and has worked in every aspect of bar and restaurant operations. A graduate of Marquette University (B.A.-Writing Intensive English, 1997) and UW-Milwaukee (M.A.-Rhetoric, Composition, and Professional Writing, 2001), Amy still occasionally moonlights as a guest bartender and she mixes a mean martini.
The restaurant business seems to be in Amy’s blood, and she prides herself in researching and experimenting with culinary combinations and cooking techniques in her own kitchen as well as in friends’ restaurants. Both she and her husband, Scott, are avid cooks and “wine heads,” and love to entertain friends, family and neighbors as frequently as possible.
Amy and Scott live with their boys, Alex and Nick, in Bay View, where they are all very active in the community. Amy finds great pleasure in sharing her knowledge and passions for food and writing in her contributions to OnMilwaukee.com.
