Sub Sandwich Fail

Homemade Sub

It's fast, it's easy, it's sandwich lover heaven, but when it comes to costs, the homemade sub is a fail.

We tried it anyhow: meat, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, a nice, soft hoagie bun, and bread spread of your choice. It assembles in seconds, no directions required. Leftovers are easy to use up. I used the hydroponic lettuce that comes with roots attached because it lasts longer. Lettuce left after a night of sandwiches can be used in a salad or grab a leaf and wrap up leftover lunchmeat in it for a quick lettuce wrap snack. If you resist eating the rest of the tomato in one sitting, make toasted tomato sandwiches for a late-night snack. Freeze remaining buns to use later.

But now let's look at the cost. If you're usually a 12-inch sub eater, you'll make two of these subs. Two buns are 36 cents, lettuce and tomato for both would be about $2.50, two cheese slices 54 cents, and a half package of mesquite smoked turkey divided between the two sandwiches $2.30 for a grand total of $6.10 That's not counting the cost of the unused buns, cheese, and meat because that can be used later. A 12-inch turkey sub at Subway costs $6.00, and you can have them add pickles, green pepper, peppers, olives, and cucumber for free. An 8-inch turkey and ham sub at Jimmie Johns is $5.25. The sub places win this round, but only if you can walk out their door without a pop or chips or a cookie. Well, maybe with a cookie.

Still, if you have all the ingredients waiting for you in your kitchen, it's nice to come straight home from work without any parking and standing in line. Might be worth a try.