The 5 Healthiest Orders at Jimmy John's

Updated on May 2, 2017 at 3:33 PM

Jimmy John's is a fan favorite for sandwich-lovers across the country. It's lightning fast and affordable and touts "from-scratch food made with excellent ingredients." In a world where fast food is questionable at best with hidden cryptic ingredients galore, it's nice to see Jimmy John's come out with "all natural" and "no artificial ingredients" sandwich fixings. According to their site, they say, "Our food is simple; it's clean, and it's fresh! We use locally purchased produce, which is brought in fresh and hand sliced daily."

So is Jimmy John's your healthiest fast food option? We've picked out five sandwiches that are your best bet when you're eating lighter and leaner. Key elements: focus on upping your protein and loading on extra veggies while cutting back on sodium and unnecessary processed carbs (e.g., white bread). You'll notice in the ordering section online under bread selection that "take bread out" is an option to scoop bread out of the top shell to cut back on carbs. And always remember: if you're in a pinch, a sandwich with some bread isn't going to destroy your diet.

Slim 1: Ham and Provolone

How to order: take bread out; easy cheese

This simple sub starts at 570 calories, but when you make two slight modifications, you're down to 405. By removing some of the bread and going easy on the cheese, you'll also go from 13 grams of fat to 8 and 76 grams of carbohydrates to 55, while only losing 4 grams of protein — you stay at 29 grams (very satiating). Be mindful of the 1,325 milligrams of sodium and drink water.

Turkey Tom

How to order: take bread out; no mayo; extra tomato, lettuce, and sprouts

Load this turkey sandwich with veggies and you'll only be at 370 calories, with 2.5 grams of fat, 58 grams of carbohydrates, and a hefty 27 grams of protein. Keep in mind that sodium is still pretty high at 1,090 milligrams. You can eliminate carbs almost completely by doing the "Unwich" version — a lettuce wrap — but you'll lose about 11 grams of protein, according to their nutrition calculator.

Vegetarian

How to order: take bread out; no mayo; easy cheese; extra tomato, cucumber, lettuce, and sprouts

At 445 calories, the Vegetarian sandwich has 12 grams of fat (from cheese and avocado), 62 grams of carbohydrates, and 21 grams of protein — pretty good for a veggie sandwich! It's also the lowest on the sodium count of all these sandwiches at 850 milligrams.

You can make it vegan by losing the cheese; this will bring your count down to 335 calories, 3 grams of fat, 61 grams of carbohydrates, and 13 grams of protein with 60 milligrams of sodium.

Making it vegan AND an Unwich (basically a salad) puts you at 45 calories, 1 gram of fat, 6 grams of carbs, only 2 grams of protein, and 60 milligrams sodium. At that point, it's not really a substantial meal anymore, but perhaps a refreshing snack.

Big John

How to order: take bread out; no mayo; extra tomato, lettuce, and sprouts

Roast beef brings in a significant amount of protein (27 grams) in this 400-calorie sandwich with 5 grams of fat, 57 grams of carbohydrates, and 1,000 milligrams of sodium (less than the Turkey Tom).

Slim 4: Turkey

How to order: take bread out; add easy avocado spread

Add a little healthy fat and flavor to this plain-Jane, superlean turkey sandwich with some avocado; you'll still only be at 3 grams of fat with 347 calories — the lightest of all your options (besides the vegan Vegetarian), with 55 carbs and 25 grams of protein (very significant), but still 1,120 milligrams of sodium.