McDonald’s McMuffin

I love fast-food restaurants. They all provide nutrition specifics on their websites so we can make informed decisions. We might not make the best decisions when faced with all their tempting choices, but they can be informed ones.

My favorite fast-food breakfast, by far, is the McDonald’s Egg McMuffin. With only 300 calories, it’s certainly not the worst choice you can make in the morning when you’re feeling stressed and hungry. With plain black coffee, you can continue your day relatively guilt-free. Just compensate for the sodium (840 mg!) and fat (12g, 5 of them saturated). It’s got a total of 27 g net carb, so combined with the egg and slice of Canadian bacon, it doesn’t spike my blood sugar.

However, I try to do better. I love the taste of an Egg McMuffin, and with the Western Alternative English muffin, I can re-create the McDonald’s version and freeze them for easy grabbing on my way to work. The sodium is still high because I like to use Kraft 2% slices to emulate the McDonald’s taste, but it’s not quite as bad as the original. If you use a Western Alternative English muffin (or substitute the Thomas Lights), one egg white with a streak of yolk, one Kraft 2% cheese slice, and one slice Canadian bacon, here’s the approximate nutritional breakdown: Calories 182, fat 4g, sodium 650mg (yikes), net carb 18g, fiber 5g.