Not as They Appear

From time to time in this space I like to bring you updates on products that aren’t quite what they appear to be – low-priced products that are not actually economical for the user, time-savers that are actually time-sinks, medications that don’t cure what they were developed to cure, and such. I also enjoy bringing you gross-out stories about food items that are supposed to be healthy (and aren’t) or one that are supposed to be “acceptably” bad for your health and aren’t. But it is a rare and wondrous day when I find something that fits into both of these categories…

An article on the AP website today tells the story of the new breakfast product from Dunkin’ Donuts: The Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich. As far as I can make out from the linked article, it’s less hype than it is a glazed donut cut in half and used as a bun for a fried egg and bacon – rather like the breakfast sandwich available at most fast-food franchises, except that this one is housed on a doughnut instead of a bagel, muffin or biscuit…

This isn’t the first sandwich product to be offered using something other than bread, of course; we’ve seen everything from the infamous “Double-Down” from KFC (a sandwich using two pieces of chicken in place of a bun) to various restaurants and food stands around the country using two jelly doughnuts in place of a bun. But this is the first national donut chain to attempt such a thing, and all of the people who usually start expressing outrage at about this point in the release of a quick-serve industry food product that isn’t specifically healthy are raising cane as usual. What makes this story really interesting is that this time they’re wrong…

A quick check of the nutrition information on this new product reveals that the Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich has 360 calories per serving, which stacks up well against McDonald’s products like the Sausage McMuffin with Egg (450), the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Biscuit (460) or the Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bagel (630). In fact, this new product is actually 30 calories lower than the company’s own turkey sausage breakfast sandwich, which was specifically developed to appeal to people attempting to eat healthy – or at least select something healthier than a donut for breakfast…

Now, I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with putting an egg and bacon into any particular bakery product and calling it a breakfast sandwich. At this point in a life during which I have been forced to learn more about nutrition than I ever really wanted to know, I can honestly say that I can’t see anything wrong with anything you want to eat that conforms to your nutritional needs and does not contribute to any particular health problem. The Glazed Donut Breakfast Sandwich itself is no more problematic than many other breakfast offerings, and almost certainly offers more protein than you would get from just scarfing down glazed donuts on their own. One could even argue that if it keeps you from eating a large number of regular donuts (or other fried and/or sugary foods) in the morning it could actually be a superior choice…

Or, as I have often said in other contexts, the map is not the terrain – and you can’t judge a book by its glazed, sugary cover. Sometimes, things are not as they appear to be…