I'd rather take a cab...

So this is a SOAPBOX edition today.  Have you seen the new campaign(s) for Subway lately?  You know, the ones with all the healthy options, including the NEW yogurt parfait along with several other breakfast choices, touting the slogan that goes something along the lines of "Where the athletes eat..." (not exact words but something similar)? 
Let me start off by saying that the one time my husband has had food poisoning, the culprit was known to be the "rainbow meat" (he calls it that) from Subway.  There's a reason he calls it "rainbow meat":  If you hold it just right in the light, a sparkling, shimmery rainbow pattern glistens the surface of this ever-so-processed "meat."  It makes me sick just to think of it--probably not as much as him, though!  Here's the thing, if anything ever qualified as "meat," this wouldn't be it.  Take a look at the following ingredients (posted right on their site for all to see):

• HAM (Black Forest): Ham cured with: water, dextrose, salt, potassium lactate, contains 2% or less modified food starch (derived from corn), sodium phosphates, sodium diacetate, sodium erythorbate, smoke flavoring, sodium nitrite. May contain: seasoning [potassium chloride, pork stock, sugar, yeast extract, salt, lactic acid, fructose, sunflower oil, cysteine HCL, calcium lactate, modified food starch, flavors, grill flavor (from sunflower oil), polysorbate 80, rendered pork fat, and smoke flavor], hydrolyzed corn protein, autolyzed yeast extract, modified food starch, acacia gum, sunflower oil, tricalcium phosphate, silicon dioxide, spices and sulfites.
• BEEF:  Beef, beef broth (water, beef stock), seasoning (hydrolyzed soy protein, salt, dextrose, modified corn starch, sodium phosphates, beef extract, soy sauce powder [soy sauce (soybeans, salt, alcohol) maltodextrin, salt], yeast extract, natural and artificial flavor, grill flavor [maltodextrin, grill flavor (from vegetable oil), modified corn starch, corn syrup solids]), beef flavor (water, natural flavors, beef fat, gelatin/gum arabic coacervate, xanthan gum, citric acid, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate and soybean oil). Rubbed with: salt, maltodextrin, modified corn starch, dextrose, caramel color, beef extract, garlic powder, onion powder, natural flavor. May contain tomato, lemon, onions, peppers,Contains soy.
• TURKEY:  Turkey breast, turkey broth, contains 2% or less of: carrageenanan, dextrose, modified food starch (derived from corn), salt, seasoned salt (salt, sodium diacetate, flavoring), sodium lactate, sodium phosphate. * Browned in soybean oil. May contain: seasonings (modified corn starch, dextrose, salt, carrageenan, sodium diacetate
  

Anyways, I needed to discuss this soon after I saw the commercial.  I consider myself an athlete even though I don't play any sport:  I lift weights, I sprint, I keep my health in check and I follow through with any injury/health concerns on a regular basis just like any other athlete that plays an organized sport.  I just don't have a uniform or the skills...not to mention the ability to play well with others, but that's another story altogether!  To put it simply, I bust my ass to remain healthy and feel that I have earned the right to consider myself as such!  With this said, this ATHLETE ain't goin' no where near no Subway anytime soon!  Believe!

If you're all like me and have any sort of food allergies (most of us do, some of you just may not know it!)...avoid this LIKE THE PLAGUE!  I'm pretty sure the meat I eat at my house has one simple ingredient!

Allow me to touch on their nutritious breakfast options; but, may I add first that I can't even imagine the thought of having breakfast at Subway--it just seems odd!  In their attempt to touch on all the needs of the American population, they offer a "regular" egg omelet "patty" and one made of egg whites.  Here's the lovely ingredient list for those gems:

• EGG OMELET PATTY (Regular): Whole Eggs, Egg Whites, Water, Nonfat Dry Milk, Premium Egg Blend (isolated pea product, salt, citric acid, dextrose, guar gum, xanthan gum, extractive of spice, propylene glycol and not more than 2% calcium silicate and glycerin to prevent caking), Soybean Oil, Butter Alternative (liquid and hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavors, beta carotene (color), TBHQ and citric acid added to protect flavor, dimethylpolysiloxane (antifoaming agent added), Salt, Beta-Carotene (color).Contains eggs, milk and soy.
• EGG WHITE OMELET PATTY: Egg whites, artificial butter oil (soybean oil, artificial flavor), modified corn starch. Contains less than 2% of the following: dicalcium phosphate, salt, xanthan gum, white pepper. Contains eggs.

I'm guessing they are trying to caplitalize on the conventional wisdom that the yolks are bad and will raise your cholesterol; SO, what do they give you instead--artificial butter made from soybean oil and artificial flavor, modified cornstarch, and other fluff that's entirely unnecessary.  It seems to me like they'd be fine just stopping after the first ingredient if someone feels compelled to order sans the yolk.  BUT, that would mean that the shelf-life would be far less and they wouldn't get to serve who-knows-how-old egg white omelet patties.  One word:  GROSS.

Let's hop on the breakfast parfait bandwagon shall we Subway?  I don't know where we got the notion that such a thing could be considered a health food.  It was probably decided by the same panel that gave the stamp of approval to bagels, muffins, and wraps (and, YES, I'm bashing all of them, "whole wheat" or not!!!).  This cup-o-joy for your morning commute contains 24 grams of sugar and a host of allergens for all my allergy-rific peeps out there.  It may only have 164 calories (for those of you who are calorie-obsessed); but I'd rather get my calories from something other than a boat load of sugar that's only going to have me crashing 2-3 hours after I eat it!