CWU Edition: Healthy Eating at Wrap and Roll.

Sandwiches, wraps, and soups may seem like quick and healthy options, and they are quick…but the healthy part can go wrong fast if you don’t know how to order healthfully, or aren’t fully aware of what nutritional bombs are lurking behind the counter.

First….the bread.


Everyone probably knows by now that wheat is best. And that means Whole Wheat, not Wheat Berry. Whole Wheat contains only whole grain flour, whereas Wheat Berry contains part whole grain flour and part white flour. So Wheat Berry is one step up from White Bread.

The Olympic Bread Podium would look something like:

Gold: Whole Wheat Bread
Silver: Wheat Berry Bread
Bronze: White Bread, Sourdough Bread, Deli Rye Bread, Panini Breads
Dead Last: Hoagie Rolls and Wraps

Panini breads have basically the same amount of Calories as two slices of bread (195 Calories). However, since the Panini breads are almost always grilled, they have the added Calories from the oil used to grease the sandwich press. Any sandwich, wrap, or Panini grilled on the press has added Calories from fat (about 240 Calories is placed on the grill and your food item each time it is re-brushed). Avoid getting your sandwich grilled every day. The added fats and Calories will pad your waistline quickly, and won’t do much to add to your sense of fullness.

Hoagies and Wraps are both fairly high in Calories, hence their last place finish. Each wrap has 300 Calories, the caloric equivalent of three slices of bread, and that’s before meat, cheese, and sauces are added.

Hoagies are worse, at 340 Calories- the caloric equivalent of 3.5 slices of bread. If you can’t forgo the denser hoagie bread, request your sandwich on ½ of a hoagie roll instead, or skip the cheese on your sandwich to make up for the extra 140 Calories that wouldn’t be present in typical sandwich bread.

Then…the sauce.
Ok, so mayonnaise is bad. This we know. But it can’t be that bad right? Well, there’s about 200 Calories going on each time it hits your bread, along with 30% of your RDA (recommended daily allowance) for fat.

The same goes for Red Pepper Basil, which is more popular than Mayonnaise but just as fatty, at 180 Calories for the standard 2 Tablespoon serving.

Bistro Sauce, Caesar, and Honey Mustard follow in third and fourth for worst dressings, both worse than creamy Ranch, at a respective 160, 150, and 130 Calories per tablespoon.

Honey Mustard may sound healthy, but it’s nearly just as creamy and unhealthy as mayonnaise.

For lower calorie, lower fat options; try regular yellow mustard (20 Calories per 2 tbsp) , Dijon mustard (30 Calories per 2 Tbsp), or Italian (30 Calories per 2 Tbsp).

You may want to consider skipping the oil and vinegar at the end, too. Although vinegar contains no Calories, Oil contains a lot of them. Although oils contribute healthy poly and monounsaturated fats in the diet, 120 Calories per Tablespoon may be too many Calories to be added to a sandwich, especially if other oils and fats are being consumed throughout the day.

Now… the meat.
You have a basic 3 meat options (ham, turkey, roast beef), as well as three protein-packed vegetarian options (Hardboiled Eggs, Bean Spread, Hummus). And of course, there’s always old faithful…the PBJ.

Choose Ham or Turkey over Roast Beef, which contains the most Calories and fat. Beef is also considered “red meat”, which is linked to higher incidences of cancer and heart disease. Limit your consumption of roast beef and other red meat (burgers, meatballs, steak, ground beef, etc.) to a few times a week.

Many people use the bean spread and hummus as spreads in addition to meat, but they should really be used as protein sources. Hummus, made from Garbanzo beans and Tahini (Sesame seed) paste, delivers about 100 Calories per ¼ cup, and is delicious with a slice of cheese and some vegetables.

Plain hardboiled eggs on a sandwich are always a healthier option than egg salad, which is mixed with large amounts of mayonnaise. Chicken Salad, Turkey Salad, and Tuna Salad are also prepared this way. Because of the added fat, these “salad” mixtures contain double the Calories of the standard lunch meats.

Although Peanut Butter is an extremely nutritious option in general, the Peanut Butter carried in the dining hall contains Hydrogenated Oils, aka Trans Fats. Trans fats lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, and arterial blockage, so go easy on the Peanut Butter consumption, especially if you’re eating it from the dining hall.

If you’re buying it on your own dime, it’s a whole different story: buy a natural brand that is Trans Fat and Hydrogenated Oil free (check the ingredients label), and you won’t need to worry about all that scary arterial plaque business.



Queso, Fromage…Either way you slice it, or say it, it’s cheese.
Every item ordered from the sandwich line has two slices of cheese added, or a handful of shredded cheese. Although cheese is a Calcium-rich dairy product, it is also a fat, and should be consumed in moderation.

And for most American’s needed Caloric intake, that doesn’t mean two slices on each food item.

Shredded Parmesan, Shredded Cheddar, and Shredded mixed cheese all have around 100 Calories for each ¼ cup (about how much goes on a wrap). Sliced American cheese is the lowest Calorie option, but is also more processed, at 50 Calories per slice.

Cheddar contains 85 Calories per slice, Provolone contains 100, and Pepper jack and Swiss both contain 70 per slice.

The Cream Cheese spread contains 90 Calories per serving, and should be considered as a cheese, not a sauce or spread. If you enjoy it, but usually get it as a spread in addition to sliced or shredded cheese, decide which you would rather have, then skip the second cheese option.

Vegetables….the Sandwich line champions.


You can’t really go wrong here. The vegetables offered at the end of the line add crunch, flavor, and essential Vitamins and minerals to your sandwich with a negligible amount of Calories.











Would you like any soup with your sandwich?
For the most part, that answer should be a no. Tomato soup or plain vegetables soup (not “creamy” “pasta” or “rice” vegetable) are your best bets, and the only options around 100 Calories per cup. Potato and Broccoli Cheese do not count as vegetable soups- They are laden with fat and contain about 430 Calories per cup.
The Clam Chowder, popular for its Friday-Only appearances, should really stay as a Friday-only treat- it contains 330 Calories per cup, and the optional bread bowl contains nearly 600. That means a single meal of clam chowder in a bread bowl would provide about half of the Average American’s allotted Calories per day.
Nix the bread bowl altogether, or consume only ¼ of it with your chowder. ¼ of a bread bowl with a cup of clam chowder contains 477 Calories. If you go on bread overload and consume the entirety of the bowl, you’ll be in for a 930 Calorie meal. To put this in perspective, you’d have to consume 2 Big Macs from McDonalds to eat the same number of Calories.


Here is an actual meal from Wrap and Roll, along with some ways to make it healthier:


Original Order:
Garlic Herb Panini (195 Calories) +
Ranch Dressing (140 Calories)+
2 Slices Swiss Cheese (140 Calories)
Turkey (77 Calories) +
Assorted Vegetables+
1 Bag of Doritos (250 Calories)
Oil from Grill (Assuming the grill was lightly oiled, 40 Calories)
= 842 Calories.

Panini, reinvented:
Garlic Herb Panini (195 Calories)+
Dijon Mustard (30 Calories) +
1 Slice Swiss Cheese (70 Calories)+
Turkey (77 Calories)+
Assorted Vegetables
Oil from Grill (Assuming the grill was lightly oiled, 40 Calories)
= 412 Calories.
The lesson: Just by changing the sauce choice, skipping the chips, and halving the cheese, the Calories of this sandwich were reduced by more than ½.

Next time you’re at Wrap and Roll, be choosy about your order’s ingredients: You may save enough Calories to lose a few of those Freshman Fifteen, or at least save enough Calories for a visit to the ice cream stand later. After all, a single scoop of Cookie Dough Ice Cream does have fewer Calories than most of the sauces at Wrap and Roll.
But I’ll leave that one up to you.