Fast Food Oatmeal… Healthy?!
Oatmeal being available at fast food restaurants might seem like an answer to your dieting prayers but when you dig into the nutrition info, it might not deliver what is promised.
It might not be shocking that fast food oatmeal isn’t HEALTHY. However, you might also pay attention to the advertising and decide that by picking it, you are going with the healthiest fast food breakfast option. Before you jump to a conclusion one way or the other, take a look at the info below detailing the nutrition info of the new fast food breakfast craze, oatmeal.
“The aspect one cannot argue is nutrition: Incredibly, the McDonald’s product contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald’scheeseburger or Egg McMuffin,” New York Times food writer and author Mark Bittmansaid. “Even without the brown sugar, it has more calories than a McDonald’s hamburger.”
Our Fruit & Maple Oatmeal:
- Has 290 calories with brown sugar and 260 calories without brown sugar.
- Is an excellent source (translation: at least 20% of the Daily Value) of fiber.
- The sugar comes from brown sugar, naturally occurring sugars found in the fresh apples and raisins, as well as natural and added sugars from the dried cranberries.
For 10 more calories, you can have an Egg McMuffin and 18g of protein which will surely last you much longer than the oatmeal. Remember, it’s not just about the numbers, it’s about how long it will keep you feeling full before you have to eat again. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I LOVE the sausage biscuit with cheese and treat myself to it on occasion. It has a ton of calories (500!!), sodium (gulp – 1100!) and everything else bad BUT it keeps me full for ~6 hrs. This is the equivalent to 2 meals for me so whenever I have a road/plane trip or have to be energized in the early hours, I grab one of these and feel fantastic. Plus, all that sodium keeps me drinking water throughout the whole day!
Eating whole grain oatmeal (or some nice hard-boiled eggs) from home is surely your best option but if it’s not possible, then maybe fast food oatmeal is the best option for you. It has less fat than a traditional breakfast sandwich, contains a serving of whole grains and some fruit. Although we are picking on McDonald’s oatmeal, Starbuck’s oatmeal has become widely available as well and their numbers are a bit more diet friendly. In the end, making the right choice for you might be based on time or location but knowing what you’re getting and not buying into healthy hype will help to make you a wiser, thinner consumer!
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