Sometimes you just can't eat breakfast at home. Maybe you are out of town or maybe your child has to be somewhere at some gosh awful early hour, "before dark -thirty" and you just can't see straight to whip up a breakfast. So, you head to a drive-thru. Normally, I would say, nooooooo. However, the fast foods have gotten on the bandwagon to offer healthier options on their menus. Thank heavens! About time!
If you find yourself wheeling in a drive-thru with breakfast in mind, I'm here to help. I've done a little research and even a taste test. Here is the low down.
In the winter I like to eat oatmeal. It's filling, warm, healthy and tasty. What's not to like? It's now on some of the fast food menus.
1. The first one I will look at is McDonald's. It is described as "a hearty blend of Steel-Cut Oatmeal with old-fashioned oats" available with choice of toppings.
Calories:150; Total Fat 2.5g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 0; Carbohydrate 27g; Fiber 4g; Sugars 0g; Protein 5g
Toppings included are fruit and maple, brown sugar, diced apples, cranberry raisin blend and light cream. Of course, the calories added will depend on the type and amount of topping you add to the oatmeal.
I will say I was pleasantly surprised with this oatmeal. I'll be honest and say I am not a big fan of McDonald's and this likely would not have been my first choice of places to grab a quick breakfast. I decided I had to try it to let you guys know, though!
2. Next is Chick fil a. This is described as a multigrain oatmeal and has limited toppings.
The calorie count included toppings. Calories 290; Fat 11gr; Fiber 6 gr; Sugars 20 gr and Protein 2 gr; Carbohydrates 50 gr and Sodium 70 mg.
I have to be honest here. I was disappointed. The consistency wasn't really good and it did not have a good taste. Maybe it was just a bad batch?
3. Last on my list is Starbucks. It is described as, "A hearty blend of steel-Cut Oatmeal with old-fashioned oats, available with your choice of toppings."
Nutrition facts are, Calories 150; Calories from Fat 25; Total Fat 2.5 gr; Cholesterol 0 mg; Sodium 0 mg; Carbohydrates 27 gr; Fiber 4 gr; Sugars 0 gr; Protein 5 gr.
Toppings included are dried cranberries, golden raisins and raisins, brown sugar and chopped nuts. They are each individually packaged so you can add what and how much you want. I added a little bit of each and it was plenty to flavor the oatmeal. Starbucks oatmeal was my favorite. I liked the consistency and taste. The portion size was generous and more than I could eat.
Therefore, IF I had to hit the drive-thru for a healthy breakfast, I'd go for an oatmeal from Starbucks. That's just me, though. I'd love to hear what you think.
What do you think? Have you tried them all? What's your fav? And shouldn't there be a rule against school functions on Saturday mornings that begin before 7 am?
(Disclaimer: This post is based solely on my own opinions and experiences. This is not a sponsored post.)
Whew, it's Friday already. How did happen? Having a Monday Holiday makes for a short week and also really messes with my scheduling. So, this week while I was doing my normal, nerdy health and fitness reading rambling I ran across an article that inspired this post. The article touched on the fact that when we think about health and wellness, we often fall into talking about weight and physical appearance. For example, look at the health magazines on the shelf. The cover models are sickeningly perfect in appearance (should I remind you that I recently posted on photoshopping?). The fact is, even the "health" and "fitness" magazines focus on an ideal of outer beauty and often neglect the inner health and well-being of persons.
I think of how often I have given a compliment with words like, "you look great"or "you are so skinny". Admit it, you have done the same thing. Also, I will admit that if you give me one of those compliments I will prance like a peacock! So, those types of words go right into feeding the media obsession with weight and looks.
I am around so many fantastic and inspiring women each week. I am so impressed with their accomplishments, strengths, intelligence, attitudes and natures! I am equally impressed with their outer strength, fitness and beauty. Everyone is different - whether in the amount of push-ups they can crank out, how flexible they are in touching their noses to the floor in a straddle split, how fast they can run their suicides or how quick witted they are to make me laugh.
This FRIDAY'S FIT TIP is to challenge you all to compliment another on anything OTHER THAN THEIR APPEARANCE. NO COMPLIMENTS ON WEIGHT LOST OR GAINED, SKINNINESS OR PRETTINESS. I'm sure those around you have so many other things going for them that make them healthy and fit. This exercise is about shifting our mindset about what is healthy. 2012 is about GETTING HEALTHY, BEING HEALTHY AND STAYING HEALTHY.
Now this is not to say I do not want to compliment someone on how great they look, how fit they are, but it made me think about also telling people all the things I am thinking about them! I know people have talents and qualities - so rather than just thinking them, I am going to say them. Let's see if we can make a week of looking past the outer appearance and get to the "real" strength and qualities of those around us - and tell them!
On another note, I had a really great breakfast this morning - so great, in fact, that at 3:00 pm I'm still not hungry! I had a little extra time mid-morning and I was starving so I knew I needed something filling. I wanted something warm as it cold and rainy here. I had kale for a soup tonight so I took a handful and sauteed it in olive oil. In the same pan I cooked two eggs (and yes I included both yolks. If you want to just do eggwhites, which I do at times, it will be just as good!) Can you get more healthy, good for you and filling?
Look at that, you know you want some! So, second FIT TIP: eat breakfast!
How do you compliment others? Will this make you rethink?
What is your filling breakfast?