Eating Healthy in the Morning

Yes, breakfast can be both healthy and fast!

How healthy is your breakfast? Once upon a time, mine consisted primarily of a cigarette and a Mt. Dew. Around age 35, I (finally) started turning it around and began an actual exercise program and paid more attention to what I ate. As I rapidly approach half a century, I’m finally turning things around healthwise – hey, better late than never, right?

For me, at least, the decision has been the right one. Since beginning this experiment, I have much more energy throughout the day, and my lunchtime hunger pangs can now be quieted by a healthy snack rather than a full meal that tended to drag me down by 2pm.

Fast and Healthy at Home

Most days, I opt for the at-home option which includes an egg, 2 slices of bacon, and a slice of whole wheat toast with butter. I’m not the swiftest person at 5am, so I only trust myself to use the toaster and microwave.

Consequently, the eggs are hardboiled on Sunday evening for the entire week. Breakfast takes about 4 minutes to prepare (timed it), and around 10 minutes total including prep, eating, and cleanup, i.e., throwing the paper plates in the trash.

Fast and Healthy in the Car

I also decided that twice each week I’d give myself a break and choose the fast food option. Fortunately, my 30 minute drive to work provides a cornucopia of choices, both good and bad. I consider my standard at-home breakfast a pretty decent balance healthwise, so I decided to stay with this.

Through a time consuming process of taste testing and on-line research, I’ve narrowed down my top three fast food breakfasts. I’m pleased to say that many of the on-line health sites such as Men’s Health and WebMD also include these high on their lists:

#3 Dunkin’ Donuts Egg Cheese English Muffin Sandwich

I like the taste even though there’s no meat included. More importantly, my local restaurant doesn’t have drive-thru, so this drops to the bottom due to laziness/logistics.

320 calories, 15 g fat, 34 g carbs, 14 g protein, 1 g fiber, 820 mg sodium

#2 Subway Egg White and Cheese Muffin Melt

A little ‘blah’ as advertised, but Subway provides numerous veggies to ramp up the taste. This provides a lot of combinations to keep it interesting. Also has the least amount of sodium of the three.

150 calories, 3.5 g fat, 18 g carbs, 12 g protein, 490 mg sodium

#1 McDonalds Egg McMuffin

My absolute favorite! Tasty with the best combo of meat, egg, cheese, and muffin. Additionally, the girl at the drive-through likes to flirt with me, so as long as Judy is working the window, this will stay at the top of my list.

300 calories, 12 g fat, 30 g carbs, 18 g protein, 820 mg sodium

So no more excuses! In the time it takes to have a cigarette and soda in the morning, you can be eating healthy