Breakfast On the Go

Traveling this holiday season?  Who isn’t up for a fast food breakfast?  My favorite is a McDonald’s Egg McMuffin, orange juice and black coffee.  Are there healthier breakfast choices at fast food establishments?  What are the not so healthy choices? The ones loaded with fat, sugar and calories?
WebMD has a great slide show, Better Best for Fast-Food Breakfast.
McDonald’s
Healthier Breakfast Options
Egg McMuffin – only 300 calories, 12 grams of fat and 6 grams of saturated fat.  Yes, there is bacon but it’s lean Canadian bacon so more protein and less fat. 
Egg White Delight McMuffin – if you want less cholesterol – 250 calories, 8 grams fat and 4.5 grams saturated fat

Breakfasts to pass on
Big Breakfast with Hotcakes – a whopping 1050 calories with lots of fat (56 grams) and lots of saturated fat (19 grams) and loaded with sodium, 1960 mg.
Burger King
Healthier Breakfast Options
Egg & Cheese Croissan’wich - like the Egg McMuffin this sandwich has only 300 calories.  Not so much fat at 15 grams and less saturated fat at 7 grams.  A less than half the sodium at 580 mg.  A good thing about this sandwich is the protein, 11 grams of protein. This will give you some “staying power” until lunch time. 

Breakfasts to pass on
King Croissan’wich with Sausage and Bacon – 580 calories and loaded with fat (39 grams) and saturated fat (16 grams).  Plus a whopping 1,370 mg of sodium.  Sounds tasty with a sausage patty, thick bacon, double cheese and eggs on a croissant.
King Croissan’ich with Double Sausage – even more calories at 700 calories, 51 grams of fat and 20 grams of saturated fat along with 1410 mg sodium.  Not a heart healthy choice.
Starbucks
Healthier Breakfast Options
Choose the Spinach & Feta Breakfast Wrap.  Only 290 calories with 10 grams fat and only 3.5 grams saturated fat.  And it will have “staying power” as it provides 19 grams of protein.  Even some fiber (6 grams) which so many Americans are lacking in their diets. 
For a super nutrition boost, choose Classic Whole-Grain Oatmeal – always a heart healthy choice. Very low in calories at 160 calories, before the toppings you add. 
Greek Yogurt Parfait – yogurt is always a healthy choice with the probiotics it provides and a healthy protein.  It has some fresh berries and some honey for 250 calories.

Breakfasts to pass on
Sausage & Cheddar Breakfast Sandwich – has 500 calories, 28 grams of fat and 9 grams of saturated fat.  Does provide some protein, 15 grams but along with it is all that fat and saturated fat.
Subway
Healthier Breakfast Options
Choose the 3” Egg and Cheese with only 170 calories, it would fit into anyone’s diet.  It has only 5 grams of fat and only 1.5 grams of saturated fat.  For some, this won’t be enough calories, for others it would fit well into their diet plan.  It also offers a good amount of protein at 9 grams.  To boost the nutrition of this breakfast choice, add tomatoes, green peppers, onions and other low calorie veggies. 

Breakfasts to pass on
Not really too bad a choice, the 6” Bacon, Egg, and Cheese.  It will have “staying power” as it packs a good 25 grams of protein.  Not too high in calories at 440 calories.  It does have 17 grams of fat, and 6 grams of saturated fat.  Because of the bacon and other ingredients it does pack a sodium punch at 1290 mg sodium. But overall, not too bad a choice.

Before going out for breakfast, take some time to look at the nutrition tables online.  Most fast food places have very detailed nutrition information on their website.  Check out the total calories, fat grams, saturated fat grams and sodium of your fast food menu item.  You also should think about the protein in breakfast as protein will have the “staying power” to help you keep off the hunger pains until lunch time.

Sources:  Better Best for Fast-Food Breakfast   Image source: Breakfast












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