More people are eating fast food breakfasts now than ever. And although we at Healthy Living believe that a homemade healthy breakfast is the best, easiest way to get a nutritious start to the day, many people -- including some readers -- rely on food made outside the home in the morning hours.
Fast food restaurants know this and want to appeal to more health conscious customers, so they've been working on new breakfast items, including a trend in breakfast sandwiches featuring egg whites. In the latest example, on April 22, HuffPost reported, McDonald's introduced an egg-white only Egg McMuffin nationwide.
But are they actually healthier? On balance, the removed yolk wasn't enough to bring down sodium, saturated fat and processed ingredients. And some egg white sandwiches retained their bacon, cheese and oily parts. On the other hand, some of these offerings snuck in veggies and heart-healthy ingredients like whole grain bread and avocados.
Read on for five case studies -- sandwiches that bill themselves as healthier options (and sometimes live up to that) -- and tell us in the comments: Do you eat fast food breakfasts? Why or why not?
Starbucks' Turkey Bacon & White Cheddar Classic Breakfast Sandwich
<strong>Calories:</strong> 320 <strong>Protein:</strong> 18 grams <strong>Fat:</strong> 7 grams <strong>Saturated Fat</strong>: 2 grams <strong>Carbs:</strong> 43 grams <strong>Sodium:</strong> 700 milligrams This "artisinal" sandwich gets a few things right -- including high protein and low fat and saturated fat. But it also includes a long list of ingredients,<a href="http://www.starbucks.com/menu/food/hot-breakfast/turkey-bacon-white-cheddar-classic-breakfast-sandwich?foodZone=9999" target="_blank"> including 12 for the "egg white patty" alone</a>: <blockquote>egg whites, whey powder, unmodified corn starch, salt, nonfat dry milk, butter flavor [sunflower oil, natural flavors, medium chain triglycerides, palm kernal oil], xanthan gum, guar gum, liquid pepper extract</blockquote>
Au Bon Pain's Egg Whites, Cheddar And Avocado Breakfast Sandwich
<strong>Calories:</strong> 310 <strong>Protein:</strong> 20 grams <strong>Fat:</strong> 17 grams <strong>Saturated Fat</strong>: 6 grams <strong>Carbs:</strong> 26 grams <strong>Sodium:</strong> 610 milligrams Au Bon Pain's egg white sandwich is a bit more heart-healthy than the rest because it includes the monounsaturated fat of avocado. It also has less sodium and more dietary fiber (9 grams) than its egg white compatriots. That said, it's also a bit higher in saturated fat, perhaps due to the combination of cheese and lemon aioli.
Panera's Mediterranean Egg White On Ciabatta
<strong>Calories:</strong> 420 <strong>Protein:</strong> 20 grams <strong>Fat:</strong> 16 grams <strong>Saturated Fat</strong>: 6 grams <strong>Carbs:</strong> 47 grams <strong>Sodium:</strong> 840 milligrams Panera's entry into the yolkless genre has the added benefit of vegetables: Baby spinach and roasted tomatoes, to be exact. On the other hand, the Ciabatta makes for a whopping 47 grams of carbohydrates, with only 3 grams of fiber -- a sure sign of refined carbs.
Subway's Breakfast B.M.T. Melt
<strong>Calories:</strong> 490 <strong>Protein:</strong> 28 grams <strong>Fat:</strong> 22 grams <strong>Saturated Fat</strong>: 8 grams <strong>Carbs:</strong> 46 grams <strong>Sodium:</strong> 1,600 milligrams A reminder to stay away from processed deli meats: The egg whites, wheat English muffin and veggies are practically for naught if you've got ham, salami and pepperoni adding up to a whopping 1,600 mg of sodium -- which is 100 mg above the USDA's <em>daily</em> recommendation for salt-sensitive adults. The 22 grams of fat is also a cause for concern in a category that regularly sees single-digit fat counts.
McDonald's 'Egg White Delight' McMuffin
<strong>Calories:</strong> 250 <strong>Protein:</strong> 18 grams <strong>Fat:</strong> 7 grams <strong>Saturated Fat</strong>: 3 grams <strong>Carbs:</strong> 32 grams <strong>Sodium:</strong> 800 milligrams Although 50 calories fewer than the classic Egg McMuffin, this yolkless version still has pros and cons. Seven grams of fat and 18 grams of protein is very reasonable. But the sandwich contains bacon, laden with saturated fat, nitrates and sodium. And the egg white is cooked in liquid margarine -- a concoction of 14 ingredients, including hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils that are known heart health offenders. What's more, the 800 mg of salt accounts for 35 percent of the average adult's sodium intake.
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