Your Healthiest Choices for a Fast Food Breakfast

McDonald's Egg McMuffin

At McDonald’s, order the regular Egg McMuffin without ham or cheese, adding an extra egg patty. Cain grabs this herself on occasion and has one added tip, “Sometimes I bring my own hot sauce and just dash it on there because once you take away the cheese and cured meat, it doesn’t taste as good.”

Basic nutrition: 300 calories, 12.5 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 400 mg sodium, 28 g carbs, 1 g sugar, and 19 g protein.

Starbucks Classic Whole-Grain Oatmeal

Libby Mills, dietician and Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, spoke with us via email and called oatmeal the “the original power breakfast.” As a whole grain, it has two types of fiber, which can make you feel full, help lower blood cholesterol, and keep you regular. The oatmeal at Starbucks has the added benefit of coming with the toppings on the side. Cain warns to stay away from the cranberries, which pack a lot of added sugar.

Basic nutrition: 160 calories, 2.5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg sodium, 28 g carbs, 0 g sugar, plus 4 g of fiber and 15 percent of your recommended iron intake.

Panera's Green Passion Power Smoothie

If you’re careful about them, smoothies can fall in the not-so-bad breakfast category. Mills says to set your sights on those that have spinach, kale, carrots, and other nutrient-packed vegetables mixed in. If you’re at Panera, consider the Green Passion Power Smoothie, which sneaks in some spinach, covered by peach and mango. Fair warning, this drink (and most smoothies) packs a lot of sugar. 

Basic nutrition: 200 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 30 mg sodium, 51 g carbs, and 47 g sugar but 100 percent of your daily vitamin A and 140 percent of your recommended vitamin C.

Burger King Sausage, Egg & Cheese Muffin

If you find yourself at Burger King for breakfast, this muffin is among the best options. You could order it the same way Cain recommends ordering a McMuffin — with no cheese or meat but two eggs — and have similar results but with more sodium. Another alternative is keeping just the sausage and the muffin. The sodium count would be high but there is a decent amount of protein in the processed meat (something the International Agency for Research on Cancer says to limit). Cain offers a realistic perspective for those who love these little patties: “That food, it’s not the best for you but you’re not going to die if you eat bacon or ham in one serving,” she says. She limits herself — an admitted lover of cured meats — to once a month.

Basic nutrition without cheese or egg: 300 calories, 16 g fat, 4.5 g saturated fat, 730 mg sodium, 26 g carbs, 1 g sugar, and 13 g protein.

Dunkin' Donuts Bacon, Egg & Cheese on English Muffin

When it comes to Dunkin’ Donuts, Cain says skip the namesake pastries and go for the sandwich (if you must). This offers some protein and will help keep you feeling fuller longer. Mills’s advice for whenever you’re selecting a sandwich is to choose English muffins over biscuits — bonus if you can get whole grain.

Basic nutrition: 300 calories, 12 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 630 mg sodium, 32 g carbs, 2 g sugar, plus 7 g of fiber and 16 g protein

Convenience Store Options

Don’t forget that convenience stores can live up to their name when it comes to superior alternatives for grab and go fare. Both Cain and Mills give a thumbs up to pre-packed hard-boiled eggs. Other thoughtful choices that are common at these small stores include cut fruits and veggies, canned nuts, and whole grain bread products. Just be sure to read the labels.

Wendy's Sausage and Egg Burrito

This one comes with not only cheese, egg, and meat but hot sauce too. The sodium is plentiful in this meal as with many others but the combined ingredients bring a good amount of protein and iron.

Basic nutrition: 280 calories, 20 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 770 mg sodium, 14 carbs, 3 g sugar, 25 percent of daily iron, and 12 g protein

Jack in the Box Breakfast Jack

The Breakfast Jack is made up of a cracked egg, ham, and American cheese on a burger bun. It’s not the most exciting choice on the Jack in the Box breakfast menu but it can offer nearly a third of the average recommended daily protein intake. It too suffers from the common sodium shortfall.

Basic nutrition: 283 calories, 11 g fat, 4 g saturated fat, 780 mg sodium, 30 carbs, 4 g sugar, and 16 g protein

White Castle Breakfast Sandwich

Thanks to their tiny portion sizes, a few of White Castle’s breakfast options meet our rough nutrition goals. The problem for most consumers, however, is these wee sliders won’t do much to curb hunger — but if you eat more than one (without modifications), you’ll go over 300 calories. 

A couple of the best choices are the breakfast toast sandwich with egg and cheese, and the breakfast slider with bacon, egg, and cheese.

• Basic nutrition for the breakfast sandwich: 230 calories, 9 g of fat, 3 g of saturated fat, 500 mg sodium, 29 carbs, 4 g sugar, 11 g protein, and 15 percent daily calcium
• Basic nutrition for the slider: 210 calories, 12 g fat, 5 g saturated fat, 510 g sodium, 13 carbs, 2 g sugar, 12 g protein, and 8 percent daily calcium

Subway Breakfast Sandwich

Subway is Cain’s top recommendation for fast food breakfast. “If I’m on the run and I’m going somewhere, I probably will pick Subway,” she says. The bread is problematic, but all the choices you have to modify the sandwich are an opportunity to increase the nutrients it contains while making it taste good, too.

A health-minded 6-inch sandwich idea: egg white, cucumber, green peppers, red onions, spinach, and tomatoes on their 9-grain wheat bread. (For an extra 60 calories, you can add avocado, which provides healthy fat.)

Basic nutrition: 300 calories, 4.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 710 g sodium, 47 carbs, 6 g sugar, 18 g protein, and 20 percent daily vitamin A, 20 percent daily vitamin C, 60 percent daily calcium, and 15 percent daily iron.