Walmart has now become the Khan of retail corporations. To this day, Walmart still embraces the ideals that launched an empire of retail shops throughout the globe; the lowest prices, anytime, anywhere.
Walmart’s retail empire sells almost everything, from fresh produce to clothing; hardware and electronic gadgets to power equipment. However, Walmart’s Deli is still one of the pillar’s in Walmart’s success. It caters to the market’s demand for cost-efficient, fresh and healthy food. Positive reviews from nutritionists, as well as the wave of internet reviews currently found online, are proof of how Walmart has taken care of their customers.
However, having skeptical and critical minds, one must examine and find out whether or not Walmart’s retail of healthy food products are true. To have an objective gauge on this, a calorie counter is called for. Among the food product niches that Walmart has, its deli sandwiches are one of the most sought after and will provide the perfect subjects for this little experiment.
As a premise for this experiment, any sandwich that falls within 300 calories is healthy and those that go above are unhealthy. We will choose to dissect 3 of Walmart’s best-selling sandwiches with 3 different meat bases; the ham and cheese sandwich, chunky chicken salad sandwich and the turkey and cheese sandwich.
Ham and Cheese
The ham and cheese sandwich weighed in at 114g. Out of the 114, 18g is protein, 32g of good carbohydrates, since it’s whole-grain bread and only 8g of fat. So the percentages are as follows; 16% is protein, 28% is carbohydrates and fat is at 7%. So far so good for this sandwich.
Now for the calories. It was computed that this sandwich has 260 calories per serving. With our premise of not going over 300 calories and the fat content kept to a minimum, we can safely conclude that the Ham and Cheese sandwich is indeed healthy.
The chunky chicken salad sandwich was weighed at 113g. Protein was calculated at 9g while carbohydrates and fat were calculated to be at 40g and 9g respectively. This gives us percentages following respective percentages of protein, carbohydrates and fat: 8% protein, 35% carbohydrates and 8% fat. The results for protein and fat content are to be expected from chicken when compared to leaner cuts of pork, which were the ones used for the ham and cheese.
Given the values, the calorie per serving of a chunky chicken salad sandwich is at 280. Although higher than the ham and cheese, this still falls below the 300 calorie mark. However, it is important to note that the spike in the fat content of this sandwich was likely caused by a generous serving of mayonnaise. Still, with our premise, this sandwich is still healthy.
Turkey and Cheese Sandwich
The turkey and cheese sandwich weighed in at 114g. Protein was computed at 17g, carbohydrates at 26g and fat at 9.5g. Thus, we derive the following percentages: 15%, 23% and 8%.
The calorie amount was calculated at 250. With less than 10% fat content and a calorie going under the premise, it can safely be said that turkey and cheese sandwich from Walmart is healthy. And with all three of the sandwiches passing, Walmart is proven to indeed distribute healthy food products.
