TORONTO – While fast food chains scramble to bring healthy offerings to consumers, Dunkin Donuts’ latest menu addition is a controversial breakfast sandwich in a glazed donut form.
For patrons who want all breakfast staples in a single sitting, the sandwich covers all your bases: cherrywood-smoked bacon and fried eggs sandwiched in a split glazed donut.
It’s joining the rankings of the infamous KFC Double Down to Taco Bell’s Locos Tacos – made in a Doritos taco shell – to Burger King’s bacon ice cream sundae. They’re all crazy concoctions, gaining attention for their unapologetic share of sugar, fat and salt.
The donut sandwich is garnering some media attention for its calorie content, though: the breakfast sets diners back by 360 calories. That’s less than than many of the donut giant’s other morning options.
A Dunkin’ Donuts bacon, egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel clocks in at 460 calories, meanwhile its Big N’ Toasted sandwich sets you back 530 calories before you’ve even made it in to work. (Its disclaimer is in its “Big N’ Toasted” trademark name.)
A blueberry crumb donut from the chain offers 500 calories, as another example.
Keep in mind, an average Canadian man should be eating about 2,300 calories a day, while an average woman should be consuming about 1,800 calories to maintain a healthy weight, according to Health Canada standards.
Some of these menu items make up a quarter of that total.
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Even then, obesity expert and health specialist Dr. Ali Zentner tells Global News that not all calories are made equally and these calorie counts differ from person to person.
“500 calories of fruits and vegetables is a lot different than 500 calories in a Big Mac,” she said, pointing to valuable concerns such as saturated fat, carbohydrates and sodium intake.
“I would caution the consumer to look into more detail than the calories,” she said.
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Two slices of whole wheat toast with peanut butter would be a 300 calorie breakfast as well, but it’d offer more energy for the body than empty calories, Zentner uses as an example.
“A donut is not a breakfast food, it’s a pastry you have as a treat,” she said.
Registered nutritionist Marisa Falconi tells consumers that while the caloric damage isn’t too bad, consumers shouldn’t convince themselves that what they’re eating is breakfast.
“The individual may eat the sandwich and stay under their caloric intake, but they will not be feeding their bodies healthy foods, and will therefore be negatively affecting their health,” she said.
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The sandwich will join Dunkin’ Donuts’ permanent menu starting June 7 at participating locations in the U.S.
The Canton, Mass.-company tested the product in select stores in April and received much fanfare, it said on its website.
“The Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich was able to move fairly quickly because we are using ingredients that are currently on our menu. We had to train our crew members on constructing the sandwich – slicing the donut, adding the fried egg and bacon,” the story said.
Fast food companies appear to be waffling between introducing healthy menu options – salads, wraps, smaller portions – and creating fatty, indulgent treats to lure customers in.
Earlier this year, a report by the Hudson Institute found that lower-calorie options were a key indicator of growth at restaurant chains between 2006 and 2011.
The chains that expanded such options saw customer traffic rise by 11 per cent, while those that didn’t saw traffic fall by 15 per cent, the Associated press reported.
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carmen.chai@globalnews.ca
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With files from the Associated Press
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