If you're grabbing breakfast on the go, consider these healthy options, determined by Consumer Reports, from six major chains including McDonald's and Starbucks.
WASHINGTON — It’s the most important meal of the day, but if you’re grabbing breakfast on the go, you may want to think twice about your menu item choice.
“It can be tricky to find a breakfast item that’s reasonable in calories, fat, sodium and sugars while high in valuable nutrients,” said Consumer Reports nutritionist Amy Keating.
In its August issue, Consumer Reports examined items from Au Bon Pain, Dunkin’ Donuts, Jamba Juice, Panera Bread, McDonald’s and Starbucks to determine the most nutritious breakfast choices in each menu.
Au Bon PainThe Egg Whites & Cheddar on Skinny Wheat Bagel comes packed with 19 grams of protein and only 210 calories.
Au Bon Pain’s Classic Oatmeal comes with raisins, almonds and brown sugar. It has 6 grams of fiber, 10 grams of protein and only 338 calories.
As a general rule of thumb when it comes to oatmeal, Keating recommends ordering the unsweetened variety and adding your own toppings and sweeteners to control your sugar intake. The Classic Oatmeal at Au Bon Pain contains 22 grams of sugar.
(AP Photo/David Goldman)
AP Photo/David Goldman
Dunkin’ Donuts
The doughnut and coffee giant fared the worst out of all the chains, offering the least healthy options of all. But if you must indulge, the Whole Grain Oatmeal comes with dried fruit topping and has 310 calories and 7 grams of fiber. The meal will, however, set you back with 35 grams of sugar.
The Veggie Egg White on English Muffin packs in 18 grams of protein and 14 grams of fat. The “bland … spongy” egg white sandwich, as Consumer Reports describes it, also has a whopping 570 milligrams of sodium with 330 calories.
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File
Jamba Juice
Jamba Juice’s oatmeal comes with strawberries and a brown sugar crumble. With only 250 calories and 9 grams of protein, the oats offer 5.5 grams of fiber.
The Fruit and Greek Yogurt Energy Bowl offered at Jamba Juice was the only bowl or smoothie recommended from all the chains. It’s loaded with fresh fruit and offered 42 grams of sugar — the least amount compared to other chains’ offerings of similar items.
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
McDonald’s
Though there were healthy options to be found at McDonald’s, the two most nutritious items were also the most sodium-laden of all the Consumer Reports’ picks.
The Egg White Delight McMuffin comes with Canadian bacon and offers 16 grams of protein in a 280-calorie sandwich. It will, however, set you back 680 mg of sodium.
The popular Egg McMuffin is a similar sandwich, only it includes the egg yolk. It has 300 calories, 12 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein and 730 mg of sodium.
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File
Panera Bread
Consumer Reports’ Panera Bread picks ranked the healthiest.
The Steel Cut Oatmeal With Strawberries & Pecans only contains 340 calories, 14 grams of fat and 9 grams of fiber.
Consumer Reports said the Avocado, Egg White and Spinach on Sprouted Grain Bagel Flat was fresh-tasting and flavorful. It’s packed with 21 grams of protein and 410 calories.
(AP Photo/Steven Senne)
AP Photo/Steven Senne
Starbucks
At Starbucks, the Hearty Blueberry Oatmeal ranked the healthiest. It’s served with fruit, nuts, seeds and agave syrup and only has 271 calories.
The hearty Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon sandwich has 210 calories and 18 grams of protein. The sandwich comes with egg whites and mild cheddar for a total of only 5 grams of fat.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File
Now, here are some breakfasts to beware, according to Consumer Reports.
McDonald’s Big Breakfast with Hotcakes contains 1,350 calories and 2,100 milligrams of sodium, which is near the daily recommended amount.
Dunkin’ Donuts’ sausage, egg and cheese on a croissant clocks in at 700 calories and nearly 49 percent of the recommended daily maximum of sodium.
Au Bon Pain’s two eggs, sausage and cheddar on an Asiago cheese bagel contains 16 grams of saturated fat, which is about 80 percent of the maximum amount you should eat in an entire day.
Panera Bread’s spinach and artichoke souffle contains 33 grams of fat and 890 milligrams of sodium.
The banana berry classic smoothie at Jamba Juice has 106 grams of sugar (including both added and natural).
Starbucks’ chicken, sausage and bacon biscuit contains 1,160 milligrams of sodium.
(Getty Images/iStockphoto/StephanieFrey)
