A Healthier Hero

Whether they're called subs, hoagies, heroes, or grinders, long sandwiches stuffed with a variety of ingredients are a favorite lunch choice.

The fillings you choose will determine how healthy your meal is. A 6-inch, Italian, cold-cut sub has 425 calories and 20 grams of fat, but a 6-inch turkey-breast sub has 300 calories and 6 grams of fat

Here's how to keep your sub sandwich healthy:

• Opt for low-fat main ingredients, such as turkey breast, grilled chicken, roast beef, or ham instead of salami, pastrami, or seafood salad.

• Choose whole-wheat bread instead of white bread.

• Dress the bread with mustard instead of mayonnaise, and add lettuce, tomatoes, and other vegetables.

• To save extra calories and fat, round out your meal with pretzels, a fruit salad, a green salad, or a cup of broth-based soup instead of potato chips.

Best bets:

• Turkey breast submarine

• Grilled chicken submarine

• Roast beef submarine

• Ham-and-cheese submarine

• Fresh vegetable submarine

• Green salad

Worst bets:

• Italian meat submarine

• Seafood salad submarine

• Steak-and-cheese submarine

• Meatball-and-cheese submarine

• Eggplant parmesan submarine

• Regular potato chips

Healthy meal suggestions

Meal A

6-inch ham-and-cheese submarine

Pretzels

Green salad with low-fat dressing

Diet soda

Total calories: 539

Total fat: 15 grams

Calories from fat: 25 percent

Total sodium: 1,322 mg

Meal B

6-inch roast beef submarine

Baked potato chips

Nonfat frozen yogurt

Iced tea

Total calories: 608

Total fat: 19 grams

Calories from fat: 28 percent

Total sodium: 1,359 mg

Meal C

6-inch fresh vegetable submarine

Fruit salad

Baked tortilla chips

Lemonade

Total calories: 439

Total fat: 6 grams

Calories from fat: 12 percent

Total sodium: 830 mg