Road tripping, in my family at least, pretty much means fast food. Nothing too crazy but usually grabbing a sandwich from Subway, maybe ice cream from McDonald’s or drinks from Dunkin Donuts. It’s the only time we eat fast food and I used to love it. It makes road trips a lot more convenient and saves us a lot of time dealing with food until we arrive at our destination.

Then I became vegan.

This weekend we visited some family in Old Saybrook, CT. We also took a quick detour to the Berkshires first. I tried to plan well for this food-wise, and brought along some Vegan Banana Chocolate- Chip Muffins that I made and some hummus and tofu and stuff. Mainly, I steeled myself for all of the plain salads inevitably coming my way.

So lunchtime rolled around and we had been driving for about an hour. We wanted to keep lunch time to a minimum so we could get back on the road. I just prayed they had some kind of dairy-free egg-free salad dressing. As we were standing in line about to order, my dad noticed a small sign.

Picture from google images. I forgot to take one.

I present to you: the Malibu Garden! Subway’s new 100% Vegan sandwich! I was so so so excited about this for a couple of reasons. The first is that everyone says being vegan is so inconvenient- it takes too much effort, too much planning, not enough options, not enough protein etc. The second is that it’s price is not that much more than any other sandwich at Subway. At the one I was at, the footlong cost $7.25. The average Subway footlong ranges from $6.75 to $7.75.

I always stress the importance of making vegan food available and accessible. People eat fast food mainly for its cheap prices and its convenience. These factors contribute hugely to America’s obesity epidemic. Many families rely on fast food out of necessity. But fast food does NOT need to always mean junk food. Every slight improvement is a small step towards a healthier society. I can’t wait for the day that McDonald’s offers soy/almond milk.

Anyways, I am clearly very excited about this. So: how was the Malibu Garden?

It was great! After seeing it on the sign, my expectations were VERY high and I was not disappointed.

The “patty” is made of brown rice, rolled oats and vegetables pressed into a veggie burger consistency. It is then placed on Subway’s vegan Italian bread. Choose whatever vegetables you want (the works please!) and then it gets drizzled in vegan fire-roasted tomato sauce.

I actually got another 6-inch to take with me in case my parents wanted to get pizza for dinner or something.

Such a pleasant surprise. I hear Subway just released another Vegan option as well- a Black Bean sub. Can’t wait to try it. Subway, you have gained a devoted customer. Thank you for going the extra step to accommodate all kinds of eaters.