Bittman: McDonald's Oatmeal Has More Sugar Than a Snickers Bar

By
February 24, 2011
11 comments
in_oatmeal
It tastes like a sin. (theimpuslivebuy/Creative Commons)

Mark Bittman's new column on the New York Times' Opinionator page has trained its critical focus on the Golden Arches: "From a marketing perspective, [McDonald's] can do almost nothing wrong; from a nutritional perspective, they can do almost nothing right."

The editorial, "How to Make Oatmeal...Wrong," runs through the many reasons (including a list of 21 ingredients, many of them chemical) that McDonald's new fruit and maple oatmeal is not the healthy option the franchise insinuates it is.

The mush contains more sugar than a Snickers Bar and has only 10 fewer calories than a cheeseburger—hardly evidence of a nutritious new option. Get the nutritional info for the oatmeal here (pdf).

"Why would McDonald’s, which appears every now and then to try to persuade us that it is adding 'healthier' foods to its menu, take a venerable ingredient like oatmeal and turn it into expensive junk food?" Bittman fumes. "Why create a hideous concoction of 21 ingredients, many of them chemical and/or unnecessary? Why not try, for once, to keep it honest?"

Bittman asked that same question to McDonald's via email. The corporate answer, like its oatmeal, leaves a lot to be desired. Read the full article here.

Photo: theimpulsivebuy/Creative Commons via Flickr

Comments

11
Anyone ever hear of Steel Cut Oats? :) Nothing at McDonalds will ever be healthy....it's called fast food for a reason. However it's your choice to eat there - no one forces you to eat or not eat there....just remember down the road when you are trying to lose weight, or are battling type II diabetes, fatigue, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or any other issues associated with poor food choices - that MCDonalds probably isn't the best choice.
LGouley
posted on Mar 4, 2011
it's processed fruit...so there is nothing "natural" about it. Just sayin!
LGouley
posted on Mar 4, 2011
Of course it's full of sugar - most Americans have trained their taste buds to reject anything that's not sickly sweet, and oatmeal certainly falls into that category. Yes, you can order it without brown sugar, but when I went to try it out they didn't even ask if I wanted that option. Much better to make it yourself at home and add your own sweetener, as Bittman suggests. Here's a 100% organic version for less than a third of the McDonald's cost: http://www.organic-antics.com/2011/03/100-organic-mcdonalds-fruit-and-maple.html
diana626
posted on Mar 3, 2011
do you really think MCDs cares about what we eat..they care about their bottom line..MONEY..so heres the answer you have a brain use it..DONT BUY MCDs FOOD..NONE OF IT..AND NEWMAN SHOULD PULL ITS COFFEE FROM THIS CORP.
dvolpe
posted on Feb 26, 2011
Oh and added to "grand-dad's breakfast" was a bowl (cereal bowl) of grits. Now I like mine with a little cheese but his was filled with butter and sugar. Lots of pure sugar. EEK.
kcufo
posted on Feb 25, 2011
2 words. "Screw", "Critics". McDonalds is America's FAVORITE restaurant for ... eternity. If it makes you happy then jump on the slogan. "I'm lovin' it". Also, when people make oatmeal at home ... ask them how much crap they put in it. Brown sugar, cane sugar, cinnamon, maple syrup(made from sugar). NO ONE eats just "oatmeal". And think back about 60 years. When your great-great-great grandad was waking up at "o-dark-thirty" and eating a slab of bacon, 4 eggs, biscuits with gravy made from the bacon grease, fried "taters" and 4 cups of coffee. How long did HE live?! Mine died when he was like 90yo. Do you REALLY want to live past that point?! (By the way, my great g'dad was climbing fence posts to wave "bye" to me when he was 80) This isn't a rant to YOU specifically. But your review does fit the category. This is what I will say to all the McDonald's haters. I mean "Look, people .. you aren't going to oust McD's. You can't make a coup to tear down a global restaurant chain. They are here to stay. Either eat it or don't. But shut the hell up with the criticism. A BigMac is something around 700 calories. So eat 3 BigMacs a day and you are 100 calories over the recommended diet. OR, just watch the labels and trade a BigMac for 2 Banquet™ frozen dinners. It's really simple. But don't try to build a hatred for McD's. They are only selling what you are buying.
kcufo
posted on Feb 25, 2011
the American Heart association recommends that adult women only consume 21 grams of sugar daily, not leaving much after 18 grams that you consumed in your processed Mcdonald's oatmeal not a very wise choice with or without the brown sugar....I'm just sayin
rygmama
posted on Feb 25, 2011
yall can't be serious? The fruit that is in this oatmeal is processed which means added sugar, not natural sugar, the oatmeal is processed and there are 21 ingredients....with or without the brown sugar it is extremely unhealthy processed junk food! if you want oatmeal, make your own at home. Personally, I choose to only consume foods that contain ingredients that I can pronounce.
rygmama
posted on Feb 25, 2011
What this article fails to mention is 1) there is an option to get the oatmeal without brown sugar and 2) the oatmeal also contains fruit, which is where the majority of the sugar (natural sugar) comes from.
dawnee76
posted on Feb 25, 2011
one thing I'd like to point out is that the 30g of sugar is ONLY if you add the brownsugar, if you ask for it without the brownsugar it is only 18g of sugar....in comparison a packet of Quaker instant oatmeal (brown sugar & maple flavored) is 13g sugars. A packet of plain instant oatmeal has 0 sugars.
ruthven78
posted on Feb 25, 2011
Gotta read the fine print to make sure what you are eating is healthy
marcgoldstein
posted on Feb 25, 2011