I’m bringing back the “versus” post, because I thought about this as I was driving (uh…I mean WALKING…yeah) past McDonald’s this morning with a Clif Bar in my hand.
Which is a “better” breakfast?
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Double down with the sausage AND the ham…. Now that’s satisfying!
Egg Mcmuffin is actually pretty good for you, or so I tell myself… The question is whether 2 or 3 at a time are good for you.
The Egg McMuffin, easily. Just don’t eat the muffin.
The Clif Bar has 44(!!!!!) grams of carbs. 25 of those are sugar.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/magazine/mag-17Sugar-t.html?pagewanted=all
You’ve got a better shot at convincing me of the evils of the Oakhurst Family Dollar than you do of getting me to eat an Egg McMuffin without the muffin.
My thoughts exactly, TeeRuss
Depends on which guiding principles of nutrition you subscribe to. I don’t consider either one an especially good choice. The Clif Bar is too carb-heavy and too much of the carb content is from sugar. I’d rather eat grits or a doughnut. The McMuffin has too much fat and salt — why pay that price unless you’re actually eating bacon? That said, neither one will probably kill you as long as you don’t eat one every day.
Clif bars have good protein, but they also have a fair amount of carbs, and depending on the one you get, can be about 300 calories and up, there are a few better ones to tide you over til midmorning/lunch. If you have a few minutes in the morning to make something quick, a protein shake with a light coconut or almond milk gives you all the yummy goodness, plus they’re fortified with calcium. Of course, if you don’t stop in at McDonalds every morning when you walk by, it won’t kill you.
This isn’t for everyone, but I have been following the Paleo Solution and one of the ideas is intermittent fasting (from your last evening meal, to a predetermined time the following day) you don’t have to do it religiously if you’re unable to. I feel absolutely fantastic, and don’t miss eating breakfast. Eating something small seems to make me hungrier and think about food more than knowing I’m going to eat something delicious at 11 or 12.
Amen to no breakfast. I thought I was the only one. I do better without it, but you should hear the flack I get from those around me.
Same here. I’m not much of a breakfast eater; I’m most comfortable waiting until 11:30 and having an early lunch.
And you’re right about the “BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY” criers. Sigh. I thought I got rid of the food police when I moved out of my parents’ house.
I would not last a week on the Paleo diet because somebody would put me out of my misery when I became intolerably grumpy from low blood sugar. And they would be justified — I’m talking GRUMPY. For me, the best approach is exemplified by the Zone — balance carbs/protein/fat in every meal and every snack, and eat 5-6x/day (but fairly small quantities each time). When I do that, then I sleep better and have more energy and stay closer to my optimum weight with less effort and feel better all the way around. The fact that it’s hard to do it cnosistently over long periods of time is IMO a testament to both the power of nurture over nature (I grew up eating very dfiferently) and the power of advertising to influence even those of us who know better.
It’s fascinating to me that so many of us, even those whose overall tendency is to live and let live, can get so righteous about eating habits on an individual, personal level. Not even talking about social, environmental, ethical, economic aspects. I quit smoking tobacco 20+ years ago and have never been one to preach about it. But it takes all my willpower not to lecture breakfast-skippers about how acquiring nutritional wisdom changed my life and if they would only get on board, we could change the world.
This is a very interesting, early study (includes video) on the effects of eating throughout the day versus eating only during a limited time period. One group of mice could eat any time while a genetically equivalent group could only eat over 8 hours each day; in effect fasting for 16 hours a day. Both groups consumed the same number of high fat calories.
“After 100 days, the mice who ate fatty food frequently throughout the day gained weight and developed high cholesterol, high blood glucose, liver damage and diminished motor control, while the mice in the time-restricted feeding group weighed 28 percent less and showed no adverse health effects despite consuming the same amount of calories from the same fatty food. Further, the time-restricted mice outperformed the ad lib eaters and those on a normal diet when given an exercise test.”
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-drug-free-intervention-obesity-diabetes.html
Granted, it’s only mice.
I’ll stick with Java Monkey’s soysage/egg/cheese bagel sandwich…
that actually sounds delicious.
The day that soysausage even starts to sound delicious to me, I’m having my hearing checked by the best ear Dr. in the nation.
+1
Java Monkey over McDonald’s any day.
Well, yeah there are better alternatives. That’s the easy answer. But I’m talking about one or the other.
Which one grew up in a gestation crate? That’s the one I want to eat.
To each his/her own. I prefer to eat the one that kills more field mice per bite!
+1 to the cruelty-free choice.
If by “better”, you mean more satisfying, McD’s wins hands down.
False dichotomy. Even when they were newer and more cool, I never liked Cliff bars–they are too dry for my taste. My new favorite healthy bars are the Kind bars. I find them really yummy and they are 200 calories or less. My favorite flavors are Cranberry Almond or Macadamia + Apricot but all flavors have been good. And I don’t crave McDonald’s plastic egg dishes. The real choice for me would be Cranberry Almond Kind bar vs McDonald’s hash browns.
Don’t know which Cliff bar you had, but here’s the Nutritional Info for the McMuffin (with cheese).
Calories: 300
Protein: 18g
Fat: 12g (5g saturated, 0g trans)
Cholesterol: 260mg
Carbs: 30g (3g sugars, 2g fiber)
Sodium: 820g
Calcium: 290mg
“better” defined by me is classic breakfast ingredients eggs, ham, cheese, and muffin – the egg mcmuffin wins in a landslide of cholesterol, sodium and calories – its whats for breakfast!
McDs by a landslide. But my preferred is to find a fast food joint that serves their lunch menu at breakfast. Double cheeseburger, fries, and a coke for breakfast. Now that’s living the american dream!
Krystal will serve you a krystal at breakfast if you like.
Actually, a McMuffin — with the egg by itself, no ham, no cheese — is not that bad for you. However, it is incredibly difficult, apparently, for some McDonald’s to comply with a simple request to just put the egg on there and leave it at that.
Certain flavors of Clif Bars are fine by me but with others there is an artificial “protein-y” taste that I can’t explain that’s unpalatable.
I agree, to me some of those Clif Bars have a strange funky taste.
MMMMM…just started South Beach Diet and both sound tasty!
Another vote for EMcM. Can’t stand the taste of most bars. (Although I just found one I do like – Amazing Grass Green Superfood – Chocolate. No funky twang or chalky taste.)
Have you tried Kind Bars? They are real big out West, getting pretty big here too. If you like nuts and fruit in your bars, these are delicious.
This is your weirdest topic ever, DM. No opinion: I’ve not tried either. Just give me a large cafe au lait.
I eat both. Egg McMuffin is a working man’s eggs Benedict and very satisfying. Clif Bars are for when you’re on a long bike ride and you HAVE to eat something that you can quickly digest and give you immediate energy. Or, I suppose, a long run, which I don’t do. They’re far tastier than other energy bars I’ve ever had, but Clif Bars (named after the developer’s Dad, I believe) are NOT meant to replace a real meal.
Well the Cliff’s bar seems to be pretty good, but maybe not that filling. The egg mcmuffin would probably good, but that depends on whether there’s actual food in it rather than it being someone’s FDA/Monsanto science project with unknown GMO’s in it.
If I could eat pork, I’d be all over that Egg McMuffin like white on rice!