Why You Should Think Twice Before Ordering A Cheesesteak From Jersey Mike's
Just a few years ago, Jersey Mike's was deemed the fastest growing restaurant chain in the nation. The generously packed subs and the brand's signature Mike's Way of dressing sandwiches with a delicious blend of olive oil, red wine vinegar, and spices tends to keep customers coming back for more.
The franchise's menu is far from perfect, and there are plenty of items you may want to think twice about ordering from Jersey Mike's. Unfortunately, tasty doesn't always translate to the most nutritious options. Jersey Mike's offers a few different hot, cheesesteak sub sandwiches that more health-conscious customers might want to skip or modify.
For example, a regular sized Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak comes with Frank's Red Hot Sauce, lettuce, tomato, white American cheese, and blue cheese dressing. All together, a regular size of this sandwich contains 3,344 milligrams of sodium which is more than 1,000 milligrams over the daily recommended amount, per the FDA and the CDC.
Similarly, the Bacon Ranch Chicken Cheesesteak, Big Kahuna Chicken Cheesesteak, and Chipotle Cheesesteak also contain more than the daily recommended amount of sodium, at around 2,300 milligrams each. Other aspects of the cheesesteak sandwiches' nutritional makeup, like high fat content and cholesterol make them less than an ideal part of a healthy diet. Despite these facts, there are some ways to make your cheesesteak order at Jersey Mike's a little more nutritious.
Better ways to eat at Jersey Mike's
When it comes to ordering cheesesteaks at Jersey Mike's there are some small adjustments you can make to reduce the sodium content and make other "healthier" choices. For instance, opting for gluten-free bread helps reduce the sodium in all the cheesesteak sandwiches.
Avoiding the extra saucy cheesesteaks like the Chipotle cheesesteak or the Bacon Ranch Chicken option will also help to reduce the sodium and fat intake from your order. Other sandwiches like the Portabella Chicken Cheesesteak also have much less sodium and fat, serving as a great alternative with the same cheesy goodness.
At the end of the day, it shouldn't come as a surprise that some options from what is essentially a fast food chain restaurant might not be the healthiest choices. We would never yuck someone's yum, and we absolutely make no judgments about your enjoyment of a buffalo cheesesteak sandwich. After all, who knows if Jersey Mike's might discontinue these cheesesteak options one day.
With no official nutritional expertise or degree, the best this author can advise is that enjoying all tasty food in moderation is always best and will help ease any second thoughts about having your lunch Mike's Way.