12 Of The Unhealthiest Frozen Breakfast Foods You Can Buy
We really love frozen food -- and by "we," we mean all of us. 94% of Americans are more likely to buy food options that have a longer shelf life, according to a survey conducted by the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association, which also found that 77% of parents turn to frozen goods for dinner at least once per week. As a result, the appeal of frozen breakfast foods remains strong: They offer us the ability to get a hot meal on the table in minutes, first thing in the morning. The cost of that, though, is that you're often preparing foods that are high in saturated fats, sodium, and added sugar, as well as ingredients you'd probably rather not be eating.
Much of the time, frozen breakfast foods are unhealthy because they have to offer big flavor to wake up your tastebuds . They do this by adding sugar, loads of additives, and other iffy ingredients that nevertheless create maximum flavor. You might be surprised by just how unhealthy some of these foods are, even if you consider yourself an informed eater. In this article, we primarily examine ultra-processed options that have high amounts of either sodium, saturated fat, or added sugar (and in some cases, all three). We also looked at key ingredients, like high fructose corn syrup and enriched flour, that can be considered unhealthy, especially in excess. From pancakes to sausage patties, these are the unhealthiest frozen breakfast foods you can buy.
Read more: The 18 Unhealthiest Store-Bought Sliced Breads You Can Buy
Field Roast Classic Style Sausage, Egg & Cheese Plant-Based Breakfast Sandwich
It's always disappointing when frozen breakfast sandwiches turn out to be unhealthy, but it's even more disappointing when they're plant-based. What's surprising, though, is that the Field Roast Classic Style Sausage, Egg & Cheese Plant-Based Sandwich isn't just unhealthy -- it's far less healthy than pretty much any other meat-based sandwich out there. This sandwich is a sodium bomb, packing 1,170 milligrams into its 208 gram serving size. In a few quick bites, you're covering over half of your daily sodium intake. What's more, this sandwich is laden with saturated fat, containing 5.5 grams per serving (28% of your daily value). It also has a small amount of added sugars -- at 2 grams, this isn't a massive quantity, but it is unusual in a savory breakfast item.
The poor nutritional profiles of plant-based options is nothing new. A study conducted by Pro Veg International, which looked at the nutritional levels of plant-based meats in the Netherlands, found that the majority of meat substitutes are saltier than their equivalent meat versions. This isn't just exclusive to the Netherlands, though, and it speaks to the importance of checking the sodium contents of "healthy" food options. It's best to make your own breakfast sandwich, so you can be absolutely sure what's going into it.
Jimmy Dean Meat Lovers Breakfast Burrito
Jimmy Dean is one of the biggest brand names in the frozen breakfast world -- but it didn't get there by making healthy foods. Indeed, the brand got there by offering easy-to-prepare items that often get their flavor through an abundance of additives, like sodium and saturated fat. This is pretty clear with its Meat Lovers Breakfast Burrito. Each burrito (which weighs in at a mere 119 grams) has 920 milligrams of sodium and a whopping 7 grams of saturated fat.
That's a lot for such a small item, and the salt content is particularly worrying. Almost half of all adults in the United States have hypertension, according to the CDC, and only a quarter of those experiencing high blood pressure are managing it correctly. High sodium intake is one of the biggest factors when it comes to developing hypertension, and addressing it is one of the simplest ways to reduce your risk. Instead of grabbing one of these in the morning, it's far healthier to make your own freezer breakfast burrito, allowing you to control the amount of salt you put in.
Kellogg's Eggo Chocolatey Chip Waffles
We probably don't really need to state the obvious here, but we'll do it anyway: Chocolate chip waffles aren't exactly the healthiest food out there. We all know it. What you may not know, though, is just how unhealthy Kellogg's Eggo Chocolatey Chip Waffles are. As you might expect from such a sweet treat, these waffles are full of sugar; they have 9 grams of added sugar per serving. They also have a curious amount of sodium, with 350 milligrams in every two waffles. It's worth bearing in mind, too, that these waffles are small, weighing in at just 35 grams each.
There are some other things that we're concerned about in these waffles, too, like the 2.5 grams of saturated fat and minimal amount of fiber per serving. But the sugar's the thing we need to discuss here. Added sugars, like the ones in these waffles, are the type that we should be most concerned about, due to their potential to contribute to poor health and tooth decay. It's recommended that adults eat no more than 30 grams per day, meaning that a portion of Chocolatey Chip Waffles covers almost a third of your allowance. ?
Pillsbury Cream Cheese And Strawberry Toaster Strudel
We can understand the desire to eat toaster strudel for breakfast: It's pretty delicious, very convenient, and ready in just a few minutes. If you're opting for Pillsbury's Cream Cheese and Strawberry Toaster Strudel, though, you should be prepared for a hefty dose of sugar. This toaster strudel is almost shockingly high in added sugars, with every portion containing 17 grams. The product's ingredients are also a picture of unhealthiness. Take a glance, and you'll likely be stunned by the lack of whole ingredients. And then there's the long list of preservatives, flavorings, colorings (including artificial colorings) that go into it, to say nothing of other unappealing items like high fructose corn syrup and enriched flour.
One of the main issues with ultra-processed foods like this one is that they take up valuable space in our diets. Instead of consuming whole foods that are full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, we give up our meal and snack slots to foods that are immediately tasty, but lacking any real nutrition. Over time, this can seriously deteriorate our diet, and lead to poorer health -- not least because these foods are often laden with salt, fat, and sugar.
Jimmy Dean Bacon Breakfast Bowl
It's hard to deny the appeal of the humble breakfast bowl, particularly when it's savory and crammed with high-protein ingredients that set you up for the day. Thus, people are drawn to Jimmy Dean's Bacon Breakfast Bowl. This product stuffs eggs, bacon, potatoes and cheese into one easy-to-heat bowl, providing 26 grams of protein and a surprisingly good amount of calcium.
Unfortunately, that's where its positive qualities end. The Jimmy Dean Bacon Breakfast Bowl is a salt bomb, containing 910 milligrams of sodium, 40% of your daily value. Its fat levels are also seriously high; every bowl has 10 grams of saturated fat, and a massive 295 milligrams of cholesterol -- 98% of the amount you should be eating each day if you're not at risk for heart disease. If you do have risk factors for cardiovascular health, however, this quantity goes way over the 200 milligram limit you should be sticking to. Given that sodium intake also impacts heart health, you should think twice about your ticker before putting this bowl in your cart.
Eggo Buttermilk Pancakes
When we think of pancakes being unhealthy, we usually pin it down to the toppings -- chocolate chips, syrup, whipped cream -- instead of the pancakes themselves. If you're choosing Eggo Buttermilk Pancakes, however, prepare for them to be pretty bad for you. These pancakes are made from enriched flour, and while this does give them a fair vitamin and mineral content, it also results in them being very low in fiber. Additionally, these pancakes are incredibly sugary, with 10 grams of added sugar per serving and 520 milligrams of sodium to close it all off.
It's the lack of fiber that gets to us most of all here. Fiber is important at any time of the day, but at breakfast it's especially crucial. Getting enough fiber first thing in the morning aids your digestion and also keeps your appetite at bay, which then allows you to make healthier choices for the rest of the day. It also helps to control the amount of sugar that gets into your bloodstream, preventing a blood sugar crash. With no fiber and lots of sugar, however, your energy will spike and drop rapidly.
Banquet Brown 'N Serve Original Fully Cooked Sausage Patties
Sausage patties hit the spot no matter what day of the week it is -- and when they're already cooked, they're even better. So we can understand the appeal of Banquet Brown 'N Serve Original Fully Cooked Sausage Patties, which offer meaty goodness with minimal fuss. All you have to do to prepare these pre-cooked frozen patties is pop them in your skillet or microwave for a few minutes, and they're good to go.
The compromise for this convenience, though, is a pretty poor nutritional profile. Each small 45 gram serving of two patties has 350 milligrams of sodium and 4.5 grams of saturated fat. The latter is surprising, as pork and turkey -- typically lean meats -- make up each piece of food. We've also got to say that they're not as protein-rich as you'd think they'd be, with every serving providing just 6 grams. Above all, though, there's no escaping the fact that these patties are a processed meat product. Consuming processed meat regularly has been associated with a range of chronic diseases, like stomach and bowel cancer, heart disease, and COPD. Limiting your intake of processed meat to around three portions a week is a smart move to keep your diet on the healthy side.
Eggo Cinnamon French Toast Sticks
Cinnamon French toast: The very combination of words is enough to make you drool. So imagine having a bunch of it, in stick form, in your freezer, ready to go at a moment's notice. Sounds too good to be true, right? In the case of Eggo Cinnamon French Toast Sticks, it is, thanks to the product's less-than-desirable ingredients. Eating a portion of these toast sticks means you'll have to consume a lot of added sugar -- 14 grams of it, to be precise. These Cinnamon French toast sticks are also eyebrow-raisingly salty, with 490 milligrams of sodium in each portion. This is all assuming you're eating them on their own, too. Any toppings or dips you have alongside them will likely only raise your breakfast's sugar, salt, or fat levels even more.
This added sugar content may be sweet, but it won't sweeten up your health. Eating added sugars can raise the risk of a range of health issues, including obesity, liver disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia. Refined white sugar is also devoid of any other nutrition, and doesn't supply any vitamins, minerals, or fiber, all of which you need for a healthy and balanced diet. Save yourself the worry, and make your own French toast at home. It's quicker and easier than you think.
Jimmy Dean Sausage, Egg And Cheese Croissant
We hope that no one's fooling themselves into thinking that a frozen croissant sandwich stuffed with sausage, egg and cheese is healthy. However, in case you needed reminding, we're here to tell you that you should probably be eating something else if you want nutritional goodness. Jimmy Dean's Sausage Egg & Cheese Croissant Sandwich is, as you might expect, full of saturated fat. With 10 grams per serving, it covers 50% of your daily value -- a huge amount for a 128 gram portion. This sandwich is also fairly salty, providing 610 milligrams of sodium in each serving, and 4 grams of added sugar to tie it all together.
The combo of added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat isn't great, but all that saturated fat is especially concerning. Saturated fat is well-known for its ability to raise bad cholesterol. Wherever possible, you should consider replacing saturated fats with a healthier alternative. In the case of a croissant sandwich that contains cheese, eggs, and butter, this is pretty hard to do. However, that doesn't mean you should never eat foods containing saturated fats, or treats like this product. Just make sure that you're not having them every day. ?
Ore-Ida Golden Crispy Potato Crowns
Not all of us have the energy to stand over a skillet making expert, restaurant-level hash browns after just getting out of bed. So for the bleary-eyed amongst us, Ore-Ida's Golden Crispy Potato Crowns feel like they're sent from the gods. These little nuggets take the work out of making hash browns, and are ready in a matter of minutes when put in your air fryer, baked, or deep fried. They're flavorful, too -- but that's thanks to the high levels of salt in each serving. Every 11 pieces of Crispy Potato Crowns delivers 430 milligrams of sodium. When you consider that other frozen shredded hash browns come with virtually no sodium in them, this is even more shocking.
You don't need us to tell you that sodium intake is a pretty major problem in the United States. A lot of dietary sodium comes from processed foods like this one, and once it's added to your items, it's pretty much impossible to get rid of. That's why we would always recommend picking an alternative hash brown product, or taking a few minutes to make them. It may be more work, but you'll be able to avoid spiking your diet with salt unnecessarily. ?
Jimmy Dean Biscuits & Gravy
Boy oh boy. We've never thought frozen biscuits and gravy are particularly healthy, but we weren't quite prepared for Jimmy Dean's take on the classic breakfast dish. Jimmy Dean Biscuits & Gravy are soaked in fat and spiked with sodium, making them one of the unhealthiest frozen breakfast items out there. A portion of these biscuits and gravy (which isn't exactly huge, at just 215 grams) delivers 14 grams of saturated fat, 70% of your daily value. This singular serving also has 1,160 milligrams of sodium, covering half of your daily limit, and a somewhat bizarre 3 grams of added sugar.
If that wasn't bad enough, just check out that ingredients list. These biscuits and gravy cram an eye-popping amount of ingredients into a small package, making them one of the most processed foods we've ever seen. This processing isn't great for your health. Research published in Cureus has pointed to the link between ultra-processed foods and inflammation, with inflammation being a significant factor in the development of chronic diseases. Unfortunately, until ultra-processed foods have a complete overhaul to include healthier ingredients and higher amounts of fiber, the best course of action is to limit them as much as possible. ?
Jimmy Dean Sausage & Three Cheese Egg Bites
How much harm can an egg bite do? As it turns out, quite a lot. Jimmy Dean's Sausage & Three Cheese Egg Bites look innocent enough. They're also pretty impressive on the protein front, containing 17 grams of it per two egg bites. However, they're also incredibly fatty. In each portion, you get 8 grams of saturated fat, 40% of your daily value. There's also a high amount of cholesterol, at 210 milligrams and 500 milligrams of sodium. To top it all off, there's no fiber to be seen anywhere, and aside from 15% of your daily value for protein, not a lot of vitamins and minerals.
In short, there are loads of things wrong with these unassuming bites, and the saturated fat levels are something you should really look out for, due to their impact on blood cholesterol. It's important to remember that saturated fat has more of an effect on blood cholesterol than dietary cholesterol does, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't keep an eye on it too -- especially if you're at risk of heart disease.
Read the original article on The Daily Meal.
