How to Make Your Own Healthy Egg “McGriddle”

Have you ever had a McGriddle breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s? The soft maple-flavored pancake “buns” sandwiching crispy bacon or sausage, egg and cheese creates a sweet and savory fast food breakfast. Mmm, I really enjoyed these sandwiches back in my “ignorant to how food is made” days. Now...not so much.


Glad to be free of food ignorance now, I see through the "M" branded griddle cakes stuffed with fluffy egg and crispy bacon.  I only see low-quality, non-nutritional ingredients like enriched flour, artificial flavors designed in a science lab, and cheese that is anything but. Starting from the top, lets break down the ingredients in one of these sandwiches from McD’s. This info is straight from their site here.

Who brands their buns anyway?

One Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle (source) packs a whopping 420 calorie handheld heart attack served neatly in colored paper wrap. You get a substantial (not in a good way) 18g of fat, 240mg of cholesterol, 1110mg of sodium, 2g fiber, and 15g of sugar. Still sound good? Lets keep going….

The top-level ingredients for a Bacon, Egg & Cheese McGriddles® are:

Griddle Cakes, Folded Egg, Pasteurized Process American Cheese, Bacon, Liquid Margarine


Seems somewhat safe, but dig deeper and we find the Griddle Cakes have a little more than you or I would use to make pancakes:

Water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar, dextrose, palm oil, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), brown sugar, salt, soybean oil, rice flour, whey powder, modified tapioca starch, buttermilk powder, caramel color, natural (dairy and botanical source) and artificial flavors, soy lecithin, corn oil (processing aid).


Surely there’s nothing in the Folded Egg besides "egg"….right?....wrong:

Pasteurized whole eggs, food starch-modified, soybean oil, natural flavors (botanical source), sodium acid pyrophosphate, carrageenan, flavor enhancer [salt, maltodextrin, natural flavor (plant source), spices, herb, turmeric (color)], monosodium phosphate, citric acid, soy lecithin (release agent).

And the topping on (and in) the “cake” is Liquid Margarine:

Liquid soybean oil and hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, soy lecithin, mono-and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color).

This is an example of why I cook at home. You can find many places that provide fresh, healthy ingredients, but the fact that I just don’t have control of what I'm eating bothers me. Plus, I don’t want to pay a premium because someone else prepared my meal when I can do the same from the comfort of home; and I’ll tip myself, thank you.

My version is actually what you would expect an egg sandwich with pancake buns to be; two pancakes with a cooked egg in the middle. Wow, shocker!! I cooked a batch of pumpkin pancakes using less liquid in my crepe recipe on this post, but you can use your favorite pancake recipe if you choose.

The fluffy white one was my weapon egg of choice for the pics.

For the egg, I had this bright idea to microwave it in a small, circular glass dish to make the perfect round egg patty. As you can see, I did this 4 times and the egg just expanded into a miniature Leaning Tower of Pisa. Fail. I made do with the best rounded one of the bunch and just saved the other eggs to put on salad. Since my pancakes were too big, I trimmed around them a little; not necessary, but I wanted to make it look good!

Topped with a drizzle of honey, sprinkle of cayenne, and dash of pepper, this was a delectably sweet and spicy sandwich I devoured right after the last picture. I was so excited when the idea to make this sandwich came to mind, and I’m glad I did. I no longer crave a McGriddle after seeing the extensive list of crap for ingredients, but my non-McGriddles are a delightful (and healthy) way to start or end the day.

I think it's smiling at me...

Egg sandwiches are just awesome, and I recall having many homemade scrambled egg and ketchup sandwiches on white bread as a kid. Not all that healthy, but better than McD’s. I'll just have these instead from now on.


Q: Have you ever made your own fast food version into something healthier?


Q2: Do you like egg sandwiches with ketchup?

Low-Fat Peanut Butter Banana Bread...No Need for Sandwiches

If I could only have one sandwich the rest of my life, it would be a peanut butter and banana sandwich. This sandwich would provide instant comfort like it’s a dessert, but be nutritious enough for a quick and healthy meal. If I could, I’d make it crunchy peanut butter because, well, I love the added crunch!

Hmmmm, maybe some cinnamon too…..yes, cinnamon would be awesome!

This works for me!



But what if we had bread with peanut butter, banana, and cinnamon baked into it? Then, instead of making a mess by having to arduously smear your own peanut butter and add your own banana on bread, you can easily just grab and eat a slice……or two or three…..ok, the loaf.

No dealing with peanut butter jars or any banana that’s leftover, just the bread with all of its parts baked in. Sure, I sound lazy, but this would certainly save time since I usually peel, slice, chop, and dice multiple foods while cooking. Plus, I’d spend more time with Kelley, the number one person in my life and reason I work to make healthy food for us.

I’d like to thank Katie for posting a similar recipe on her blog, Chocolate-Covered Katie, for the inspiration to make this fabulous peanut butter banana bread. There are so many amazing recipes I want to make from her blog; it’s hard to keep up!

Make this bread to grab and go or sit down at home without having to add anything else that could result in a mess. I made the recipe low fat by using peanut flour (I use 12% Light Peanut Flour from Byrd Mill) which supplies an awesome peanut butter taste with less fat. Avoid the jars of low fat peanut butter, those usually have more ingredients than just peanuts and always have added sugar……bleh. Have a few slices of this easy bread and know its all good in taste and in health.

No-Mess Low-Fat Peanut Butter Banana Bread

1 cup whole grain spelt, whole-wheat, or brown rice flour (I used whole grain spelt)

1 cup unflavored or vanilla protein powder (I used whey, but other types would work)

1/2 cup peanut flour (or another nut flour of choice)

2 tbsp natural peanut butter (or other nut butter of choice); make sure it’s creamy enough to mix

1/4 cup mashed banana (applesauce or pumpkin puree would be good, but you’ll have to change the name)

1/4 tsp liquid stevia extract (or use 1/4 cup sugar/honey/agave if you don’t have or like stevia, but beware of extra calories)

2 - 4 packets of stevia powder (I used NuNaturals White Stevia; use more for a sweeter bread and less for not as sweet...duh)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 ½ tsp cinnamon

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups milk of choice (reduce by 1/4 cup if using honey or agave)

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients to combine well, and then mix in the wet. Pour into a lightly oiled or non-stick loaf pan (a muffin pan would be great too!) and bake 40-45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 10 to 20 minutes. If you made a loaf, slice as thin or thick as you want; for muffins, just remove from pan.

I haven’t made them yet, but muffins would be perfect as a portable breakfast or snack when travelling.

Of course, you can always add more peanut butter if desired…..I just couldn’t resist!

Q: What would be your sandwich of choice if you could only have one the rest of your life?

Something savory like this...

.....or maybe a delicious PB & Banana Chocolate Protein Pancake Sandwich?

Yes, this is my choice!