Healthy Fast Food Breakfast Choices

What to Look for in a Fast Food Breakfast

Looking for a fast food breakfast that’s healthy and won’t use up your entire calorie allotment for the day? First, you need to know what to look for in a healthy fast food breakfast. You should aim for 300-400 calories, depending on your total daily calorie intake. If you’re on a low calorie diet of 1200-1500 calories, try to stay around 300 calories. This is not absolute, but less calories can mean overeating at lunch, while more can pack on excessive calories. A healthy breakfast should provide a good protein and carbohydrate balance. This will maintain your blood sugar and give you lots of energy, helping you avoid a slump before lunch. Fruit has natural sugars for energy and plenty of vitamins and filling fiber. A healthy fast food breakfast will have less fat, along with a proper balance of nutrition. This is not an easy thing to find, as most fast food breakfast choices are full of fat, and are very high in calories. Here are some of the best choices out there.

Best Choices in Fast Food Breakfasts

McDonalds

Everybody’s favorite fast food restaurant has a lot of breakfast choices on the menu, but most are extremely high in both fat and calories. If you love McDonalds, go for an egg McMuffin. At 300 calories and 12 grams of fat, you’ll have carbs from the english muffin, and great protein sources in the cheese, Canadian bacon and eggs. Add a glass of 100% orange juice for a well-rounded breakfast.

Hardee’s or Carl’s Jr.

If you’re looking for something sweet, a cinnamon raisin biscuit might be just the thing for you. At 280 calories and 12 grams of fat, the cinnamon raisin biscuit is your best bet at Hardee’s, although it’s no nutritional powerhouse. It is lower in calories than the other choices here, and it’s a filling breakfast. Add low fat milk or coffee to finish this one off.

Chick Fil A

In the mood for a bagel? At Chick Fil A, you can have a sunflower multigrain bagel for a mere 220 calories and 3 grams of fat. You’ll even have extra calories to spare. A small fruit cup goes well with this healthy option. Another good choice is the chicken biscuit, with 420 calories. While the calorie count is a bit high, you’ll get 18 grams of protein. This is a breakfast that will stick with you till lunch.

Burger King

If you find yourself at Burger King, the ham omelet sandwich is a good bet. This one has 290 calories and 12 grams of fat. You’ll also get 13 grams of protein in this sandwich. Even better, you can get the ham omelet sandwich for $1, so it won’t break the bank.

A Final Note

Many restaurants have local offerings that can be healthier than the above options. For example, you might find oatmeal, grits, or yogurt and fruit cups at many fast food restaurants nationwide. Low sugar, high fiber, cold cereals, whole grain bagels, english muffins, and fresh fruits are all good choices if available. Whatever you choose, nutritional fact sheets should always be available at major restaurant chains. Use them to help you make smart choices, and you’ll find that healthy fast food breakfast choices are out there and yours for the asking.