Now that the winter temperatures have settled in with rain and snow making the coasts rather miserable, the thought of a warm beverage and toasty oatmeal is ever more appealing. This time of the year has the added advantage of quick service restaurants tripping over each other to get our attention. McDonald’s just added a new item to its lineup, the first new breakfast food since 2008: Fruit and maple oatmeal. Before you start worrying about the calories, they note that you can order it without brown sugar! Diced apples, raisins, and cranberries are the fruit contenders.
January is after all, National Oatmeal Month. The reality is that more oatmeal is consumed during January than any other month of the year. Plenty of coffee shops have figured out how to get on the oatmeal bandwagon after last year’s successful rollouts. Quick, to-go and hot: Oatmeal helps little shops increase their breakfast volume and research has consumers thinking about all the health benefits of oatmeal! Genius.
For some places, oatmeal is now one of the many choice contendas. This week Starbucks wants to awaken you to the new year with a special one week promotion: $2 breakfast sandwich with any beverage. The promotion runs from 1/4-1/10 and introduces customers to the new veggie, egg and Monterey Jack sandwich in addition to the other artisan sandwich offerings. They have a simple cost-saving suggestion: A tall Pike Place Roast ($1.50) as an economical pour.
For another breakfast option, Dunkin’ Donuts has come up with two new breakfast wraps: Egg White Turkey Sausage and Egg White Veggie. This year, at least, the non-meat-eating breakfast options have increased. These items also are part of the DD Smart Menu which focuses on fewer calorie or less sugar food and beverage options.
We can resolve to do better this year!
come.