Breakfast in 8 Minutes

Actually, it was 7:58.58

A lot of people love to hit the drive-thru for breakfast. Sure it seems quick and easy. But is it really? I can make myself a satisfying breakfast in 8 minutes, get to the freeway in 5, and still be able to eat on the go. Or, I can do the drive-thru and spend 14-29 minutes:

Times from my house	Minimum	Maximum
Drive to the drive-thru	5	7
Drive-thru wait time	4	15
Drive to the freeway	5	7
Time total	14	29

You might be thinking to yourself “that’s not a huge time savings if the drive-thru is quick today.” You’re absolutely right. But I have more arguments, so please keep reading.

$0.93
Yup. $0.93. It’s SO MUCH CHEAPER. Last time I picked up a McBreakfast, the cost was around $7 for the meal with a juice. Just for one person. If I take my family on this trip, that translates to $21 in breakfast foods. Total costs for this homemade egg sandwich?

1 egg	$0.42
2 slices of bread	$0.20
1 tiny pat of butter	$0.05
2 slices of cheese (1 oz)	$0.25
Pepper	$0.01
Total	$0.93

7 Dishes
Most people complain that they don’t want a mess. But really, is this a big mess? It’s 7 measly dishes if you put your sandwich in a napkin to eat on-the-go. We all know that we simply need to rinse the dishes off and load them into the dishwasher. I took the liberty of timing this as well! A whole minute and a half clean-up. I even wiped the counter and stove.

Sodium Alarm
The recommended daily allowance of sodium in your diet? 1500-2300 mg.

The amount the average American takes in? 3400 mg.

Many restaurants and pre-packaged food distributors use salt to make flavor. You don’ t have to say “yes” to all that sodium. Little changes can help, like making your own breakfast. Make it on wheat bread to up the nutrition value and cut out more sodium. You don’t even need to salt the egg, just put a dash of pepper on it!

And if you go to that drive-thru, you know you’re going to ask for a hash-brown (320 mg sodium or 13% RDA) and sugary drink to go with that sandwich! Fill up a to-go cup at home with some milk or grab a water. I promise, you will survive!

Popular Breakfast Sandwich Breakdown

Sodium	mg	% RDA
Homemade Egg & Cheese on Toast	504 mg	22%
Egg McMuffin	710mg	31%
Bacon Egg & Cheese Biscuit	1290mg	56%
Sausage Egg & Cheese Croissant	890 mg	39%

Homemade Egg & Cheese on Toast

Sodium	mg	% RDA
Egg	62 mg	2%
Cheese	170 mg	7%
Bread	270 mg	11%
Butter	2 mg	0%
Total	504 mg	20%

Better Breakfast
Let’s get real. I know that doctors and nutritionists like to tell you to eat high fiber cereals and yogurts, oatmeal and fruits, and a lot of other healthy things for breakfast. As a society of busy people, this is not what we’re doing. We’re serving sugar filled cereals, toaster waffles with syrup, or drive-thru loaded with alarming amounts of sodium. I personally can only gag down yogurt for a couple days in a row before I need a break. Greek yogurt is even harder to gag down.

Sometimes we can’t resist the allure of an already prepared hot breakfast, and that’s ok. But for most of those days, why not just make an egg and cheese on toast? It will fill you up and keep you satisfied until lunch. You won’t even miss the hashbrown. And if you want breakfast meat, throw some ham lunch meat in that sandwich. Cause, um, YUM!

Eggs Really Are Good for You
Really. Studies have shown that cholesterol in egg yolks do not effect blood cholesterol as much as previously thought– your saturated fat intake certainly does. So enjoy an egg a day! And read all about it here: Good Eggs: For Nutrition, They’re Hard to Beat

Almost Anyone Can Make an Egg
All you really need to know? Cook it over medium heat.