Breakfast may be the most important meal of the day - but until recently, it had been pretty hard to get a good-tasting, moderate-calorie, high-fiber option on the go. Two ubiquitous outlets - Subway and Starbucks - now have high-fiber breakfast offerings that nutritionally outperform almost everything else in their market.
When choosing a breakfast item, the two key nutrients are fiber and protein. These are the "satiety-inducing" nutrients - those that will help keep you fuller for longer than say, eating a high-carbohydrate, low-protein, low-fiber breakfast.
Subway
Subway, "What were you waiting for?!" Your breakfast sandwiches are genius (at least the Egg White Muffin Melts are). For somewhere around 200 calories you get 12-16 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. And at $2.50 for a sandwich and coffee combo, you're spending less than you would for a sandwich alone at Starbucks. You can read more about the nutrition information for the breakfast sandwiches here.
A word to the weight-watchers: stay away from the flatbread versions. Even though Subway doesn't post nutrition info for those breakfast sandwiches, judging by their size and weight and other info on Subway's website, they likely have about 100 calories more than the ones on English muffins.
Starbucks
These sandwiches are a bit pricier, from both a monetary and caloric standpoint - but they do keep you fuller for longer than do Subway's. The two best breakfast sandwich options at Starbucks:
- Reduced fat turkey bacon sandwich: 340 calories, 10 g fat, 22 g protein and 3 g fiber
- Spinach, roasted tomato, feta & egg white wrap: 280 calories, 10 g fat, 18 g protein and 6 g fiber
Depending upon your location, a Starbucks breakfast sandwich sets you back about $3.50. And Starbucks also has instant oatmeal (avoid the oatmeal condiments) - featured in a previous post.
