RATING: 5 out of 10

User's comments:
This is what I eat for supper: I usually eat a half a sub on white bread with American cheese, lettuce, and turkey from Jrecks Subs. I will also have six cheese sticks.

Expert's comments:
Ordering food from take-away places is always tricky as you have limited control over portions (often enormous) and the calorie or fat content of the meal. There are a few things, however, that you could request or insist on when ordering a sandwich or in your case, a sub:

• Ask for brown or whole-wheat rolls or bread instead of white bread.
• Request that more vegetables be added, e.g. tomato, cucumber or shredded carrot.
• Ask for no margarine or butter on the roll.
• Avoid mayonnaise-containing combos, e.g. tuna mayonnaise. Ask for the tuna alone or if it is prepared with the mayo, don’t double up on fats i.e. ask for no marg or butter if you have a mayo-containing sarmie, cheese, avo or cream cheese.
• Ask for lower fat options of cheese or that the cheese be grated and finely sprinkled on your sub.

Lower fat cheeses (medium to low fat) include:

TYPE	APPROXIMATE AMOUNT OF FAT
Fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese	0,5 - 3g fat/100g
Low-fat cheese wedges, cheese spreads	6 - 9g fat/100g
Woolworth's reduced fat cheddar, Clover low-fat cheese	13g fat/100g
Low-fat feta, Simonsberg low-fat cream cheese	18g fat/100g
Tussers, Mozzarella, In Shape, feta (medium-fat), Dairybelle Delite medium fat cheese, Parmalat reduced fat cheese	21-24g fat/100g
Regular cheddar, Gouda	36g fat/100g

Turkey is an excellent source of high-quality, low-fat protein. It is also a good source of zinc, potassium, phosphorous and the B-vitamins, particularly vitamin B12 and niacin. Other good options include chicken, tuna and boiled egg.

Be careful of eating large quantities of cheese sticks (more than two at a time) as they tend to be high in fat, particularly saturated fat (the kind that clogs the arteries). I don’t know the cheese stick brand but generally the fat content could be in excess of 30g per 100g.

To drink, try to rather buy water or fruit juice instead of fizzy cold drinks. You could also end the meal with a piece of fruit or fruit salad.

Here are some other ideas for low-fat sandwich fillings to which lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppadews and grated carrots could all be added:

• Lean cold meat (roast beef / chicken / ham)
• Smooth, low-fat cottage cheese
• Egg, tuna or chicken mayonnaise ('lite' mayo) with lettuce and tomato
• Mozzarella cheese
• Avocado

Subs tend to be enormous. Make sure you listen to your body and eat just until you are satisfied, but not overfull. If you have not finished it, keep it for the next day’s lunch. Try not to eat too late in the evening (after 8pm).

TAKE NOTE: Take a picture of your plate of food, write a short description of what you had and send the pic and comment to us.

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