Best and Worst Breakfast Choices at Starbucks

By Deborah Dunham for Blisstree.com Christopher Furlong, Getty Images

As I stood in line to pay for my tall, decaf, non-fat, extra-hot mocha the other day at Starbucks, I was tempted by an orange-cranberry scone in the pastry case that seemed to be staring at me. "How bad can a scone be?" I wondered. "It's not like it's one of those glazed apple fritters or oversized blueberry muffins in there," I rationalized. But before I could make up my mind, the perky Starbucks girl was asking for my debit card. Lucky for me; when I got home, I decided to research that beckoning scone, and it turns out, it has a whopping 490 calories and 18 grams of fat. Crisis averted.

That led me to do a little more research on my favorite coffee/social networking/cool-to-sit-around-with-one-of-these-cups-in-my-hand chain. Here are the best and worst breakfast options at Starbucks that I uncovered:

Best Choices:

Egg-White, Spinach and Feta Wrap

With only 280 calories and 10 grams of fat, this wrap is a good source of carbs (33 grams), protein (18 grams) and Vitamin A (45 percent). Just be careful, it also includes 900 mg of sodium, so you'll want to lighten up on salt for the rest of the day.

Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon with Egg Whites on English Muffin

This is certainly healthier than other fast-food breakfast sandwiches. With 320 calories, it's a bit high, but it only has 7 grams of fat and 7 percent of your day's cholesterol. Plus, it boasts 18 grams of protein and 30 percent of your daily calcium.

Strawberry & Blueberry Yogurt Parfait

This does contain 300 calories, but it is topped with real fruit and contains only 3.5 grams of fat and zero cholesterol. Plus you get a healthy dose of Vitamin C and calcium.

Starbucks Perfect Oatmeal

We love this option. Only 180 calories, 2.5 grams of fat and zero cholesterol, this oatmeal will not only fill you up for the morning, but it also gives you a healthy dose of Vitamin A (25 percent) and iron (50 percent).

Worst Choices:

Bacon, Gouda Cheese & Egg Frittata on Artisan Roll

This breakfast sandwich packs 350 calories, 18 grams of fat, 170 mg of cholesterol and 840 mg of sodium. Plus, we're not a fan of anything with bacon. That practically guarantees it's going to be bad for you and your arteries.

Ham, Parmesan Frittata & Cheddar on Artisan Roll

This sandwich also has 350 calories, and with 62 percent of your day's cholesterol in a few bites, it's hardly worth it.

Veggie Artisan Breakfast Sandwich

This may sound healthy, but with 350 calories and 57 percent of your day's cholesterol, it's hardly on the must-have list.

Apple Bran Muffin

You may think of apples and bran as healthy (which they are), but ordering this muffin is not. It has 350 calories and 34 grams of sugar with virtually no nutritional value. Although it does offer 7 grams of fiber, which we can always use more of.

Cheese Danish

The worst offender. This tiny pasty packs 420 calories, 25 grams of fat and 38 percent of your day's cholesterol. Yikes!

What are your favorite healthy breakfast options?

More from Blisstree.com:
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The Healthy Breakfast of Champions Now That Big Breakfasts Are Out
Meatless Monday: 10 High-Protein Vegan Breakfast Recipes

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