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McDonald's Attempts Bakery Items: A 420 Calorie Mini Scone and A Multi-Grain Muffin

April 24, 2012   40 Comments

I know what you are thinking. What is she doing in McDonald's?

McDonalds Blueberry Muffin Nutrition Information

If you are like me, you pass a McDonald's a couple times a week and sometimes a couple times a day. There has been a photo of a LARGE cheese danish on the outside of the building.

Ummmm, what is going on in there? I just get so curious and I get questions from readers about the latest "Multi-Grain Berry Muffin". Yes, they are actually selling a multi-grain muffin!

It seems that McDonald's is baking stuff - and they advertise that it these products are served fresh all day. When I asked at the store, they said that they reheat them before serving (perhaps in a microwave). This is not the same as buying a freshly baked muffin - trust me.

So, I went and tried TWO of their offerings. Before I went, (and this is a good tip) I got my hands on the nutrition information from McD's themselves. The products are so new that they information wasn't on the website so I e-mailed and got them to send it to me (see below).

The shocker for me was the "Mini Vanilla Scones" - 420 calories! They are supposed to be MINI not MEGA!! What did you put in those confections? I got ahold of the ingredients list and found that the second ingredient (after flour) is sour cream. These puppies make donuts look healthy - which is really hard to do.

Here is a photo:

mcdonaldsvanillascones

Don't they look like they will just end up sticking to your butt? They should rename them "Mini Scone Butt Stickers". My taste test revealed that these don't even taste that good. How sad is that - 420 calories of tasteless goop?

I tried the Multi-Grain Berry Muffin and I had higher hopes for this muffin. The ingredient list got me excited:
Berries (blueberries and raspberries), whole grain rolled oats, cultured buttermilk, flour, brown sugar, applesauce, water, honey, wheat bran, eggs, soybean oil, oat flour, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), wheat germ, sugar, salt, natural flavor (botanical source).

Wow! And they served me organic coffee for $1! What I want to say is that these are a great choice for those who are on the run. But, 22 grams of sugar (more than 4 teaspoons), is not a good idea for breakfast. Even though it is multi-grain (oats and wheat) and does a good job with keeping saturated fat out of the muffin - the sugar is out of control.

How did it taste? Like sweetened rubber with some squishy berry stuff. It was really awful in my humble opinion. I just know that someone is going to comment about how much they like these - but I couldn't eat more than two bites.

Have you tried any of these new products? Please share.

Cheese Danish: Calories 380; Calories from Fat 210; Total Fat (g) 23; Saturated Fat (g) 14; Trans Fat (g) 0; Cholesterol (mg) 70; Sodium (mg) 390; Total Carbohydrates (g) 37; Dietary Fiber (g) 1; Sugars (g) 10; Protein (g) 6: 10 Points+

Banana Bread: Calories 380; Calories from Fat 130; Total Fat (g) 14; Saturated Fat (g) 9; Trans Fat (g) 0; Cholesterol (mg) 75; Sodium (mg) 390; Total Carbohydrates (g) 58; Dietary Fiber (g) 2; Sugars (g) 30; Protein (g) 5; 10 Points+

Mini Vanilla Scones: Calories 420; Calories from Fat 170; Total Fat (g) 19; Saturated Fat (g) 11; Trans Fat (g) 0; Cholesterol (mg) 50; Sodium (mg) 260; Total Carbohydrates (g) 59; Dietary Fiber (g) 1; Sugars (g) 28; Protein (g) 3; 11 Points+

Blueberry Muffin: Calories 390; Calories from Fat 140; Total Fat (g) 16; Saturated Fat (g) 9; Trans Fat (g) 0; Cholesterol (mg) 50; Sodium (mg) 290; Total Carbohydrates (g) 57; Dietary Fiber (g) 2; Sugars (g) 24; Protein (g) 5; 11 Points+

Multi-Grain Berry Muffin: Calories 280; Calories from Fat 50; Total Fat (g) 6; Saturated Fat (g) 1; Trans Fat (g) 0; Cholesterol (mg) 15; Sodium (mg) 290; Total Carbohydrates (g) 51; Dietary Fiber (g) 6; Sugars (g) 22; Protein (g) 7; 7 Points+


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40 Comments:

Those little mini things look awful. I haven't been to a McD's in a while. I wonder if the cheese danish is the same one they sold when I worked there as a teenager. Those things were good! Just not good for you. sigh

If I want a coffee and confection fix in the mornings I'll continue making them myself or going to Dunkin.

I had no idea they were going the bakery route! I'm not a huge Mc-y D's fan anyway and this does not add to their reputation. Might as well stick those lil scones on thighs, that's where they'll end up and the muffin...muffin top! :)

Does McDonald's actually serve organic coffee?

Hi, Lisa

I haven't been to McDonald's in about 2 years. I'm wondering if their organic coffee is really organic..LOL...

I'm not a fan of things McDonalds, and I haven't been there in a long time, but it doesn't sound appealing to me. I rarely eat muffins anyway, because they're almost always too fattening (unless you make them yourself). Cheese danish? Nah. Won't entice me to go in. But thanks for taking one for the team to check it out!

Atrocious! About the only thing McDs has done "right" for the health conscious on the run is their salads. The Southwestern is a life saver when necessary!

No way would I try one of there baked goods! If I wanted to be bad and have something like this, I'd go to a real bakery not McDonalds! Why waste calories on McDonalds?

There is almost nothing worse than a baked good reheated in a microwave... bleh... I don't care who does it or where. It just never comes out as anything better than a rubber tire.

Seriously, McD's?? I feel they should go in the other direction and work at providing more healthy options, not 400 calorie goo! It makes me frustrated that they advertise this as "healthy" and fresh! Yea right!

McD's only redeeming quality is their coffee - both the quality and price. That is the only thing I get there. I have no problem supporting Newman's Own Organics. But bakery items - nope. Not a chance!

Wasn't it McDonald's that also had the unhealthy oatmeal? They seem to be banking on people not checking the nutrition facts. Kind of sad, because most people don't look. They think "multi-grain? must be good" without looking at the amount of sugar that gets added to make it taste that way. I haven't been to a McDonald's in years and there really isn't much that they can do that would make me go. However, I believe that their coffee is Newman's Own Organic, at least that's what the one near me was advertising. Whether or not that's what they actually use... well, I don't drink coffee enough to go find out.

You made me laugh!!!

"Don't they look like they will just end up sticking to your butt? They should rename them "Mini Scone Butt Stickers"."

Ahahahahhahaha!!! LOL!

"Mini Scone Butt Stickers"! I almost snorted coffee out of my nose when I read this. Too funny. Moral of the story though, McDs isn't healthy, never will be, stay away. ;)

Thank you for taking one for the team and trying these! I am not at all surprised that they didn't taste great. We stopped to get my son some of their popcorn chicken awhile back and it was HORRIBLE. It didn't even taste like chicken and it tasted really... chemical? I don't know what they do to their food, but it's just awful.

Why, oh why, in this day of chefs and cooking channels can't McDonalds, and other fast-food places, make a decent baked good! There are so many ways to make healthy low sugar, low fat muffins that taste good! Come on,the public is waiting!

i, too, about died laughing on the "butt stickers" comment. that was awesome.

i don't do many pastries for breakfast - i do much better with fruit and/or vegs and protein to start my day off. i had a scrambled egg wrapped in an ezekiel bread tortilla this morning with some salsa. ole! it was yum-o.

i'd love to hear your thoughts on dunkin's breakfast options. i have one nearby but have never ventured over there. also subway has some awesome-looking breakfast options! sonic's breakfast burritos are good but have never been brave enough to look into the calorie count on them. if you have a chance to look into any of these i'd love to hear what you find out!

Butt stickers...LOL!

Fast food is and always will be junk.

It really is pretty gross. How many sweet ingredients in that muffin, again? Brown sugar, applesauce, honey and sugar? Did I get them all?

Honestly, if you are going to go for the sugar fix...make it a big hunk of cheesecake or something! LOL...

Not a sugar cake with a side of multi grain!

Blech!!

I didn't even know they were 'baking'. Oh wait, they aren't! ;-)

I was wondering if you had ever found a fruit and yogurt cake that would be healthy and good to serve for breakfast.

I also cracked up at the butt-sticker comment.

I've also been curious about these, so your reviews are very interesting to read.

Great review. As a lifetime WW Member and leader-in-training, this kind of information is so powerful. I still remember when I discovered that the bran muffins from Dunkin Donuts I thought were "healthy" weighed in at almost 500 calories!

I think the healthiest best tasting muffins are the kind you bake yourself. You can make a batch and then individually wrap them for the freezer and grab one on your way out the door in the morning.

They're a heck of a lot less expensive too!

I just made a yummy low fat vanilla buttermilk cake that was delicious and less than 200 calories per slice. Topped with strawberries, it's a great dessert or even decadent breakfast choice, especially with some high protein Greek yogurt dolloped on top.

Thanks for the review. How hard would it be to have a healthy muffin? Alas I am a true McDonald's fan but only for their wonderful (if fresh) coffee!

Hey there! Thanks for adding me on twitter! Your articles look really interesting... I'm definitely going to be cruising your site from now on!

my kids love mcdonalds, and hearing this info, we might as well go ahead and have the bacon, egg and cheese biscuit for those type of calories and fat...wow...just say no!!

25 years ago, McD's used to have a cheese danish that wasn't too bad. Has their coffee gotten better? I haven't tried the organic coffee, but their coffee used to be the worst in the world.

McDonald's does have one very good product--their iced tea is brewed and you can get it without sugar.

HORRID! And this is what is pushed at us to eat from the time we are just babes in arms. 59 carbs? Who needs that besides a tri-athlete?

The average person should eat 180-220 carbs per day to sustain a healthy body weight. 60 carbs is ONE THIRD of that number. I keep to 145 carbs a day as part of my living-it-and-loving-it-while-I-lose-weight-healthy lifestyle. That is nearly HALF of my day's intake. Holy cow. I would miss so many good things if I had to give up eating HALF of my food for the day ... great cheeses, crunchy crackers - sweet succulent strawberries, peanut butter on cinnamon bagels .... And for butt stickers, "scones" (that is a scandal right there to call it a scone!) and danish? NO, I really don't think so, Micky D's. That is it! A "D" for your offerings and and an "F" for failing to provide us with TRULY healthy alternatives.

I have actually avoided McDonald's for several years now, due to their horrifying business practices/impact on the world in general. But even I found myself surprised to read how bad these were, how terrible they were nutritionally, and how unappetizing they looked. With all the money and resources this corporation has they're still half-assing this stuff?

Wow, these are these are the exact pastries Starbucks has had for years. Its really sad that McDonald's has to copy another company's ideas just to stay relevant.

Those little scones do not even look good and the muffin gives new meaning to "looks are deceiving". Thanks for the reviews, I just don't even bother with McD's anymore.

I really like this website and I really dont know how to ask you what to judge but are subways tuna sandwiches even fresh????????

@V - Subway sandwiches are kinda fresh - some ingredients are premade and heating - and some are chopped on site. Thanks for the question!

the McDonald's bakery items are so delicious. I prefer them over anything DD has to offer. Great job McDonalds.

It is a rare occasion that I have to go to McD's, but today was one of those days & of course I tried to get something half healthy. I had the new multigrain berry muffin & it wasn't bad. Granted it is smaller than a dunkin donuts muffin; it certainly filled me up & it has a lot LESS calories than a D&D muffin! 280 vs 460 - I have to give them some credit on this. At least my caloric intake for breakfast was only a fraction of my allowed calories for the day vs most items on any fast food would be at least half of your caloric intake for the day

I think these new Breakfast items (muffins and scones) are great!! Yes, the sugar could be lower but, overall and compared to most of the other Breakfast items, these are much healthier and less fattening for sure!! I was quite impressed with the multi-grain muffin and the scones (but, I am shocked at the 420 calories for the scones??)!! I will stay with the Muffins for now - I am watching my weight!! Thanks for continuing to try to reach out to everyone of all ages and health-conscious people!! Keep up the good work!!

My niece worked for this company and told me that 2 "healthiest" things on the menu are the french fries (careful: the manufacturer tosses the fries in a mix of flour & corn starch so they don't stick together!) and the vanilla shake. The salads are washed in sugar water and once you add the dressing they contain more sugar than the shake! The bottled water is bad, too - it's specially formulated with a high sodium count (and NOT labeled!) to encourage overeating which is why the employees aren't allowed to drink it. Even the pre-packaged apple slices are soaked in a sugar/chemical bath to keep them from browning AND yet still palatable. Ew.

When did they come out with the blueberry and mutiberry muffind

I think the muffin is awesome. and although its being banned at a lot of sights its too much work for them and not cost effective for profit. how many calories ? fiber fat? is there a better drive through muffin ? maybe you should get that big fat coffee place muffin

My husband and I were at McDonalds for breakfast and they were giving away the muffins. I chose blueberry and I have to say it was really good. I believe that anything that really tastes yummy is VERY bad for you.

The bluberry muffin was too sweet and the artificial blueberries were fake blue goo! Not good at all.

Fat scone butt stickers would be the more appropriate lol lol ah ha ha hahahlol lol lol


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