McDonald’s and health-conscious people are often found on the opposite sides of the table. A common perception about McDonald’s exists that they do not serve healthy food options on their menu. However, it’s doesn’t seem to fit in because if you scroll down the menu of McDonald’s, there are several better food options.
Some people argue that the calories of McDonald’s menu items are too high to make them healthy. However, such people need to understand that more calories always doesn’t mean an unhealthier option. If you’re getting more calories from healthy food, such calories are good for your body.
One such option at McDonald’s is oatmeal. It’s often argued to be not a healthy option as the calorie count is comparable to McMuffin. But what is the truth?
Is McDonald’s oatmeal healthy or unhealthy? What is included in the oatmeal? What nutrients are you getting from Mcdonald’s? And a lot more questions about McDonald’s breakfast options are there in the mind of citizens.
This blog article explores everything about McDonald’s breakfast options and, more specifically, McDonald’s oatmeal. So let’s get into it without further ado.
Breakfast Options At McDonald’s
McDonald’s breakfast options are very diverse, and you can get anything you are thinking of. If you’re a person who loves to have McDonald’s at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, here are some breakfast options to explore at McDonald’s.
- Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit –A 460 calories treat comprising smoked bacon, McDonald’s biscuit, folded egg, American pasteurized cheese, salted butter, and clarified butter.
- Sausage McMuffin with Egg – 480 calories packed with the goodness of English Muffin, Pasteurized American cheese, egg, sausage patty, and salted butter.
- Sausage McMuffin – It contains 410 calories and ingredients like English Muffin, Pasteurized American cheese, Sausage patty, and salted butter.
- Egg McMuffin –You get English Muffin paired up with egg, Canadian bacon, Pasteurized American cheese, salted butter, and clarified butter in a treat of 310 calories.
- Sausage Burritos – A 310 calories treat having scrambled egg sausage & vegetable mix combined with pasteurized American cheese and flour tortilla.
- Sausage Biscuit – A major meal of 460 calories comprising of McDonald’s signature biscuit and sausage patty seasoned with salted butter.
- Sausage Biscuit with Egg – A major meal of 530 calories comprising of McDonald’s signature biscuit, egg, and sausage patty seasoned with salted butter.
- Sausage McGriddles –430 calories McGriddles comprises griddles cake and sausage patty.
- Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McGriddles – 430 calories McGriddles comprises griddles cake, folded egg, pasteurized American cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and clarified butter.
- Sausage, Egg, and Cheese McGriddles –550 calories McGriddles contain sausage, folded egg, cheese, griddles cake, pasteurized American cheese.
- Big Breakfast with Hotcakes –For those who love to have a big breakfast, this option has 760 calories. The items included are crispy hash browns, McDonald’s biscuits, sausage patty, and fluffy scrambled egg
- Hotcakes –580 calories in hotcakes combined with hotcake syrup and salted butter.
- Hotcakes and sausage –You get 770 calories out of this combination of hotcakes and sausage seasoned with hotcake syrup and salted butter.
- Hash Browns –140 calories
- Fruit & Maple Oatmeal –Talk of the town fruit and maple oatmeal is a 320 calories coming from apples, oatmeal, light cream, and cranberry raisin blend
History Of McDonald’s Oatmeal
Fruit and maple oatmeal is not as old as McDonald’s itself. They started off with their basic menu of nine items that mostly comprised of burgers, fries, chicken nuggets, etc. They added the first oatmeal to the menu in the year 2011, and it was advertised as a “bowl full of wholesome” but received a backlash due to added sugar.
However, it is still a good choice when you’re looking to take a break from fast food. If you’re conscious about sugars in your diet, you would probably say a big no to McDonald’s oatmeal.
Ingredients Of McDonald’s Oatmeal
The fruit and maple oatmeal have the following ingredients:
- Oatmeal contains water, brown sugar, natural flavor, barley malt extract, modified food starch, caramel color, and whole grain rolled oats
- Diced apples contain apples and calcium ascorbate to keep the apple’s color intact.
- Cranberry Raisin blend comprises sweetened dried cranberries, golden raisins, sunflower oil, California raisins, and sulfur dioxide as preservatives.
- Light cream has milk, cream, DATEM, sodium citrate, carrageenan, and sodium stearoyl lactylate.
How Many Calories In McDonald’s Oatmeal?
Let’s break down the nutrients and calories you will get from a single serving of McDonald’s oatmeal.
Calories: 320 calories
The detailed nutritional content is as follows:
- Fat content is 4.5 grams which is 6% of daily dietary values
- Carbohydrates are 64 grams which is 23% of daily dietary values
- The protein amount is 6 g, equivalent to 12% of the daily dietary value
- Dietary fiber: 4g, equivalent to 16% of daily dietary values
- Sugar: 31 grams
- Iron: 10% of daily dietary value
- Cholesterol: 2% of dietary value
- Potassium: 8% of daily dietary value
- Sodium: 7% of daily dietary value
- Calcium: 6% of daily dietary value
Is McDonald’s Oatmeal Healthy?
When the question about McDonald’s oatmeal being healthy or unhealthy is a technical one. There is a divided point of view about the fruit and maple oatmeal.
The opponents of McDonald’s call it an unhealthy option due to the higher number of calories. Another argument that comes from the critiques is that the amount of added sugar is very high in McDonald’s oatmeal. Therefore, it might not be categorized as a healthy food option.
However, the truth is that McDonald’s oatmeal is the healthiest and fullest food option available on the McDonald’s menu. It might not be a good option for certain groups of people, but categorizing it as a scam or unhealthy option doesn’t make sense.
So our final verdict is:
Yes, McDonald’s Oatmeal is a healthy option for people looking to have a full breakfast at McDonald’s.
Alternatives Of McDonald’s Oatmeal
You might want to try out healthier oatmeal options, and you can try them out at home. The best thing about these oatmeals will be the flavoring, and you can avoid the tablespoon full of sugar that is often criticized for McDonald’s oatmeal.
Here are some options that you might want to try:
- Cosi Steel Cut Oats
- Chik-Fil-A Multigrain Oatmeal With Toppings
- Panera Steel Cut Oatmeal With Strawberries
- Starbucks Hearty Blueberry Oatmeal
- Au Bon Pain Superfood
- Jamba Juice Organic Steel Cut Oatmeal
FAQs
What does McDonald’s add to oatmeal?
The ingredients of the McDonald’s oatmeal are as follows: oatmeal, apples, raisins, maple syrup, cranberries, sugar. It’s the healthiest food option available on McDonald’s breakfast menu.
How much sugar does McDonald’s oatmeal have?
A single serving of oatmeal at McDonald’s contains around 32 grams of added sugar which is equal to eight sugar packets. It’s one of the reasons why McDonald’s oatmeal is often criticized by dietitians.
Are McDonald’s menu items high in sodium?
You might go for occasional dine-outs at McDonald’s. McDonald’s is notorious for serving too many low-sodium items. Their food items have a lot of sodium content, making them an unhealthy option for regular consumption.
What is the healthiest thing on McDonald’s menu?
Surprisingly, there are a lot of food items on McDonald’s menu that can be graded as healthy. Some of the most popular healthy options are McChicken, oatmeal, egg McMuffin, apple slices, fruit ‘n yogurt parfait, artisan grilled chicken sandwich, chicken salad, and filet-o-fish.
Wrap Up
We have discussed everything you need to know about McDonald’s famous fruit and maple oatmeal. You have got everything from ingredients to nutrients, critiques, and our point of view. We hope you can decide now if the McDonald’s oatmeal is a healthy option or not.
We want to emphasize again that it is a healthy food option in general. However, McDonald’s oatmeal might not be suitable for some people due to high amounts of added sugars.