Healthier fast food breakfasts

Healthier fast food breakfasts

We all know the importance of a healthy breakfast, but it’s also the meal we usually have the least time for. And even though fast food isn’t the healthiest option, it can be the most convenient one when you’re running late for work or school.

However, many fast food breakfasts deliver a full day’s worth of fat and enough saturated fat for three days. Many breakfast items are also obscenely high in sugar and sodium. And that’s to say nothing of calories, which can top 1,000. But you can find healthier choices on most menus. The key is to look for items with both fiber and protein—which makes them more filling and satisfying—but not too much sugar.

Tips for making smarter fast food breakfast choices:

• Avoid sausage and bacon. These processed meats are high in fat and low in nutrients. Healthier breakfast meat choices include turkey or steak.
• Beware of meals labeled “low-fat”.In many cases, these foods have traded fat for added sugar to maintain taste—but the extra sugar can be worse for your health than the fat.
• Order oatmeal with fruit instead of sugar. The taste won’t suffer—and neither will your heart or waistline. Ordering McDonald’s Fruit and Maple oatmeal without brown sugar, for example, can cut down on the total added sugar in the meal by a whopping 14 grams.
• Be careful when it comes to baked goods. Not only are most breakfast pastries, loafs, and muffins high in sugar, they also tend to be high in sodium and dangerous trans fat.
• Focus on fiber. Good choices include oatmeal and granola. Again, just watch out for excess sugar.
• Go easy on the cheese and breakfast sauces. Ask for the sauce on the side to keep the sugar and calories down.
• Say no to the breakfast burrito. These diet-busters tend to be loaded with carbs, calories, sodium, and fat.
• Choose toast or English muffins over biscuits. Biscuits are usually higher in calories, sugar, and fat than toast or English muffins.

Healthier breakfast fast food options
INSTEAD OF…	TRY…
Bagel	English muffin
Egg on a biscuit	Egg on wheat toast
Donut or pastry	Granola and fruit
Smoothie	Yogurt with fruit
French toast sticks or cinnamon roll	Oatmeal

Top 10 fast food breakfast choices

• Au Bon Pain Classic Oatmeal: 370 calories, 9 grams of fiber, 11 grams of healthy protein and just 1 gram of sugar
• Burger King Fruit Topped Maple Flavored QUAKER Oatmeal: 270 calories, 4 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated fat), 290 mg sodium, 12 grams sugar
• Dunkin’ Donuts Bacon Egg and Cheese on English Muffin: 300 calories, 12 grams fat (5 grams saturated fat), 630 mg sodium, 16 grams protein, 2 grams sugar
• Einstein Bros Nova Lox & Bagel Sandwich on a Whole Wheat Bagel with Whipped Light Cream Cheese Schmear: 313 calories, 12 grams of fat, 5 grams sugar
• Jack in the Box Breakfast Jack: 290 calories, 12 grams fat (4.5 grams saturated fat), 760 mg sodium, 4 grams sugar
• Jamba Juice Fruit and Greek Yogurt Bowl: 360 calories, 4 grams of fat, 5 grams of fiber, 24 grams protein
• McDonald’s Egg McMuffin: 300 calories, 12 grams fat (6 grams saturated fat), 730 mg sodium, 2 grams sugar
• Panera Bread Strawberry Granola Parfait: 310 calories, 11 grams fat, 100 mg sodium, 3 grams fiber, 9 grams protein
• Starbucks Protein Bistro Box: 380 calories, 19 grams fat, 5 grams fiber, 13 grams protein
• Subway Egg White Sandwich: 180 calories, 5 grams fat, 11 grams of protein, 6 grams of fiber, 5 grams sugar

Worst fast food breakfast choices

• Au Bon Pain Sausage, Egg and Cheddar on Plain Bagel: 650 calories, 30 grams fat (12g saturated fat), 1000 mg sodium, 5 grams sugar
• Burger King Ultimate Breakfast Platter: 1230 calories, 66 grams fat (15 grams saturated fat, 0.5 grams trans fat), 2470 mg sodium, 38 grams sugar
• Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Crumb Cake Donut: 450 calories, 23 grams fat (10 grams saturated fat), 390 mg sodium, 35 grams sugar
• Einstein Bros French Toast Egg Sandwich: 770 calories, 36 grams fat (16 grams saturated fat, 1 gram trans fat), , mg sodium, 21 grams sugar
• Jack in the Box Grande Sausage Breakfast Burrito: 1040 calories, 70 grams fat (20 grams saturated fat, 0.5 grams trans fat), 2130 mg sodium, 36 grams sugar
• Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd Power Smoothie (28 fl oz): 740 calories, 7 grams fat, 134 grams sugar
• McDonald’s Cinnamon Melts: 460 calories, 19 grams fat (9 grams saturated fat), 370 mg sodium, 32 grams sugar
• Panera Bread Bacon, Egg & Cheese on Asiago Cheese Bagel: 610 calories, 28 grams fat, 1350 mg sodium, 3 grams sugar
• Starbucks Double Chocolaty Chip Frappuccino Blended Crème with whipped cream (Venti 20 oz.): 800 calories, 25 grams fat, 69 grams sugar
• Subway Omelet Sandwich 6" Breakfast B.M.T. Melt: 490 calories, 22 grams fat (8 grams saturated fat), 1600 mg sodium, 7 grams sugar

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