The words "McDonald's" and "healthy" are rarely uttered in the same sentence, but that doesn't mean everything on the menu is bad, per se. And when it comes to breakfast under the Golden Arches, you can find a number of items that provide a surprisingly balanced meal.
Category
🛠️
LifestyleTranscript
00:00The words McDonald's and healthy are rarely uttered in the same sentence, but that doesn't
00:05mean everything on the menu is bad, per se. And when it comes to breakfast under the Golden
00:09Arches, you can find a number of items that provide a surprisingly balanced meal.
00:14We would go as far as to say that the Egg McMuffin is the quintessential McDonald's
00:18breakfast menu item. First invented by Herb Peterson in 1972, the goal was to create an
00:24homage to Eggs Benedict by slapping together melted cheese, a thin slice of lean Canadian
00:29bacon, and an egg between two slices of an English muffin.
00:32What's my Egg McMuffin?
00:34Breakfast is over at 10.30.
00:36While the Egg McMuffin, or any of the other items on this list, aren't as good as eating
00:40an apple for breakfast, they're the least unhealthy breakfast option from McDonald's.
00:45That said, each Egg McMuffin contains an impressive 17 grams of protein and 13 grams of fat, six
00:51grams of which are saturated. The protein content is the standout detail to us, helping
00:56to keep you feeling full throughout the morning. An Egg McMuffin also provides a respectable
01:01310 calories and 15 percent of your daily recommended calcium intake.
01:06And just when you thought the Egg McMuffin couldn't be topped, McDonald's swapped out
01:09the Canadian bacon and added a round pork patty to create the Sausage Egg McMuffin.
01:15Like its sausage-free counterpart, this menu item comes with the usual nutritional perks
01:19of morning eggs, plus an upgraded dose of protein at 20 grams per McMuffin.
01:24The combination of egg and meat also works wonders for the iron content. Each Sausage
01:29Egg McMuffin also contains 3 milligrams of iron. Iron plays a huge role in supporting
01:34your immune system, boosting your memory, and keeping fatigue at bay. But it can also
01:38be tricky to nail 100 percent of your recommended intake. So it's always handy to find things
01:43like the Sausage Egg McMuffin, which will get you 20 percent of the way to your goal.
01:47Finally, there's the Sausage McMuffin. The Sausage McMuffin is exactly what it sounds
01:52like, stripping away the eggs from the Sausage Egg McMuffin to give you a straightforward
01:56combination of pork sausage, cheese, and the usual sliced English muffin. By removing the
02:01eggs, you do lose some of the nutritional perks. A Sausage McMuffin contains 14 grams
02:06of protein, which is 6 grams less than the Sausage Egg McMuffin's impressive 20 grams
02:10total, and may mean you feel slightly less full after eating.
02:14The silver lining, however, is that the Sausage McMuffin is lower in calories and sodium.
02:19It's also still strong in iron, with 2.5 milligrams per McMuffin, which equals 15 percent
02:24of your daily recommended values. Furthermore, removing both the cheese and butter will get
02:29you a Sausage McMuffin that contains a respectable total of 330 calories. Not too shabby for
02:34a filling fast food breakfast.
02:38McDonald's Sausage Burrito piles on the scrambled egg, pork sausage, cheese, green chilies,
02:43and onions, and wraps them in a soft flour tortilla. To provide a relatively balanced
02:48meal well worth picking up on your morning commute.
02:51Protein is the Sausage Burrito's biggest selling point. Thanks to the combo of eggs and sausage,
02:56each burrito contains 13 grams of filling protein. The calorie count is also surprisingly
03:00low at 310 calories per burrito.
03:03It also doesn't hurt that the Sausage Burrito is the only McDonald's breakfast menu item
03:08to contain actual vegetables. While it may not be overflowing with chilies and onion,
03:13some degree of veggies is better than nothing, and there are enough chilies in there to give
03:16each burrito a bit of a kick. The only thing that lets it down slightly is its 800 milligrams
03:21of sodium, so you may want to watch your salt intake for the rest of the day post-burrito.
03:26Technically, the McDonald's hash browns are intended as a side, but we'd be lying if we
03:31said we've never ordered one as a light breakfast. They've been a staple on the McDonald's national
03:36breakfast menu since its inception in the 1970s.
03:38"'McDonald's hash browns may be a little funny-looking, but they sure taste great with your favorite
03:43breakfast."
03:44And there's good reason they've been on the menu for so long. Each patty is composed of
03:48shredded potato, fried to perfection so they're crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside,
03:53and just generally a tiny slice of breakfast joy. Thanks, in part, to their relatively
03:57small size, each hash brown contains just 140 calories and 1 gram of saturated fat.
04:03You'll also get 2 grams of protein and 2 grams of dietary fiber, as well as zero added sugar.
04:08While this isn't really enough to stand alone as a nutritious meal, it does make a valuable
04:12addition to one of the more protein-heavy items on the breakfast menu.
04:17Oatmeal is generally a strong breakfast choice thanks to the high concentration of fiber
04:21and antioxidants, low concentration of cholesterol, and oats' natural ability to stabilize blood
04:26sugar levels. What typically drags down oatmeal's health benefits is all the stuff we tend to
04:31add to our bowl, such as syrups, dried fruits, or chocolate chips.
04:35That's the case for McDonald's fruit and maple oatmeal, which sends its sugar levels soaring
04:40with the inclusion of brown sugar. And despite the name, you won't find any mention of maple
04:44in the entire ingredients list. Overlooking the sugar content for a moment, its nutritional
04:48profile is otherwise pretty strong. Each bowl contains 4 grams of fiber, which can help
04:53regulate your sugar, as well as 6 grams of protein. It's also far lower in sodium than
04:58most of the McDonald's breakfast menu at just 150 milligrams. Plus, it contains just 320
05:04calories.
05:05Like the veggies in the sausage burrito, the portion of fruit atop your oatmeal isn't sizable
05:09enough to massively contribute to your daily intake. However, even a small amount of diced
05:13apples, cranberries, and raisins is better than nothing. We'd recommend just keeping
05:17an eye on the amount of added sugar you consume through snacks and other meals throughout
05:21the day to counterbalance the 18 grams found in this oatmeal. You can also forgo the cranberries
05:27and raisins to bring down the sugar levels. As an added note, this is one of the few vegan
05:31items at McDonald's.