Diet Tips: 5 Lowest Calorie Breakfast at McDonald’s
McDonald’s remains one of the world’s most successful fast food restaurants, thanks to its relentless advertising, value pricing, and continuous franchising. However, the ‘fast food’ tag makes some people reluctant to order its food, fearing that it might cause them to add weight.
But the restaurant has continuously updated its menus to include low-calorie foods that will help you maintain the right body weight. This article offers you the lowest-calorie breakfast at McDonald’s.
What’s McDonald’s?
McDonald’s Corporation is a popular American multinational fast food chain established in 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald in San Bernardino, California, United States. It started as a hamburger stand and then developed into a global franchise. Its conspicuous Golden Arches logo was added to the business in 1953 in Phoenix, Arizona.
In 1955, Ray Kroc, a prominent American businessman, partnered with McDonald’s as a franchise agent and later purchased the chain from the McDonald brothers. Previously, McDonald’s was headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, but these offices were moved to Chicago in 2018. Today, McDonald’s is the largest fast-food restaurant chain in the world by revenue. It serves more than 69 million customers every day in over 100 countries.
5 Lowest Calorie Breakfasts at McDonald’s
When you have an important business meeting or event to attend in the morning, you’ll probably prefer grabbing something from a local McDonald’s instead of preparing your own breakfast at home.
But even as rush to McDonald’s or place an online order, the thought of eating healthy food will always be at the back of your mind. You’ll want to know if you can get a low-calorie breakfast at McDonald’s. The answer to this concern is yes, and here are the lowest-calorie breakfast options you’ll find at McDonald’s.
1. Egg McMuffin (300 Calories)
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An Egg McMuffin is made with a cracked grade A egg placed on a toasted English muffin. It’s then topped with butter and a piece of lean Canadian bacon. Then molten cheese is added to give it the right taste and look.
This muffin packs 2 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 17 grams of protein, and 300 calories. You can even lower the number of calories in your Egg McMuffin by asking the chef not to add cheese. That way, you can cut out more than 30 calories from your breakfast.
2. Sausage Burrito (310 Calories)
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Sausage Burrito is a popular breakfast choice sold at any McDonald’s. It’s made with fluffy eggs, pork sausage, a chopped onion, a chopped green pepper, a chopped mushroom, butter, shredded cheddar cheese, a flour tortilla, and Salsa (optional). Although this McDonald’s sausage burrito comprises a white tortilla, it only has 310 calories.
This is significantly low considering that it offers you 13 grams of protein. Furthermore, you can lower the number of calories in your sausage burrito by ordering one without the cheese. This can reduce the number of calories to 260.
3. Fruit and Maple Oatmeal (320 Calories)
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If you love oatmeal, you can choose this McDonald’s fruit and maple oatmeal. This dish contains two full servings of whole-grain oats with traces of cream and brown sugar. It also comes with loads of red and green fruits like cranberries, apples, and various raisins.
It’s a hearty whole-meal breakfast that provides you with the right amount of energy you need to start your day. This meal will provide you with 320 calories, 4 grams of fiber, and 6 grams of protein. However, it’ll also give you 31 grams of brown sugar. But you can lower the number of calories in this meal by ordering one with no sugar and dried cranberries.
4. Sausage McMuffin without Cheese (350 Calories)
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Sausage McMuffin features a freshly toasted English muffin topped with a tasty hot sausage patty and a slice of melted American cheese. The original sausage McMuffin will give you 400 calories. But when you remove the cheese from it, you can cut out 50 calories.
Sausage McMuffin with no cheese offers you 12 grams of protein, 26 grams of fat, and 29 grams of carbohydrates. This makes it a healthier choice for your breakfast.
5. Sausage McMuffin with No Muffin (260 Calories)
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This is a normal sausage McMuffin without the English muffin. This is a perfect breakfast choice for you if you’re on a keto diet. But you have to order the complete sausage muffin and throw away the muffin.
By doing away with the muffin, you cut out 90 calories. You also get rid of the 1 gram of sugar and 27 grams of carbohydrates in the muffin. A sausage McMuffin without a muffin will give you 9 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar, 10 grams of saturated fat, 24 grams of fat, and 510 mg of sodium. This makes it a healthy package for your breakfast.
5 McDonald’s Breakfast Items to Avoid
If you’re watching your weight and you want to enjoy a delicious breakfast at McDonald’s, here are some of the high-calorie breakfast items to avoid.
1. Hotcakes (590 Calories)
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McDonald’s hotcakes are made with pancakes, oil, sugar, and enriched wheat flour. This hotcake will give you 590 calories, 16 grams of fat, and 46 grams of sugar. So, it’s nothing more than sugar. Loading your body with almost 600 calories in the morning might not be a very good idea, especially if you’re going to spend the entire day seated at the office or driving.
2. Hashbrowns (140 Calories)
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McDonald’s hashbrowns are nothing more than mashed potatoes, vegetable oil, and salt. One hashbrown will give you 140 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber. So, it’s not a good choice if you want to lose weight.
3. Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Bagel (550 Calories)
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While this bagel will give you a few grams of protein and fat, it’s loaded with calories, sugar, and carbs that aren’t good for your weight. It may sound innocent but the bagel alone has 250 calories (all carbohydrates). So, when you add butter to it, it becomes a dangerous choice for you.
4. Sausage Biscuit with Eggs (530 Calories)
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If you don’t want to be overweight, avoid biscuits for breakfast. The biscuits alone have 260 calories. When you mix that with cheese, the number of calories in the whole package goes through the roof.
5. Medium Caramel or Mocha Frappe (510 Calories)
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If you thought you would shed off extra kilos by skipping breakfast and grabbing a medium McDonald’s Frappe, you’re wrong. This cup of coffee has over 500 calories. It’s made up of coffee with sugar. The safer alternative is a medium cappuccino, which has 160 calories, or a medium iced latter, which has 120 calories.
