Bacon versus Peanut Butter, a breakfast challenge

I went out to dinner with my family last night for my birthday. During the evening we started talking about my son and his standardized testing at school. One part of the conversation focused on his teacher recommending the students get some protein to help keep them through the day. My son then asked me if I could cook some bacon for him this morning. My mom went on to say, "just have some peanut butter, it's better for you". My sister supported, "yeah bacon is all fat which is bad for you". I have some serious disagreements with the last case as I think it's largely been proven that fat doesn't necessarily cause fatness, as opposed to sugar and other carbohydrates. Curious, I thought I'd do a label comparison of each and for kicks throw oatmeal and yogurt and eggs into the mix.

Contestant #1: Bacon

I selected Hormel black label bacon as it's common, especially up here in MN. 

Screenshot from http://www.hormel.com/Brands/Black-Label-Bacon/Black-Label-Bacon/HORMEL-BLACK-LABEL-Bacon.aspx

Here an 18g serving has 90 calories (kCal) with 6 grams of protein. The big warning light from a purely nutritional standpoint is the amount of Sodium 0,4g!  They throw some other stuff in the ingredients that the hippies may get concerned about, but I'm just looking at the numbered items here.

Contestant #2: Peanut Butter

Skippy peanut butter is the mainstay in my house as the kids like it and seems to go a little easier on sugar than other brands.

Screenshot from http://www.peanutbutter.com/product.php?id=3

You get a little more of a serving by mass, 32g. The calories go up a bit to 190 calories (kCal), while protein only modestly increases in a serving to 7g. There's more sugar, 3g, with sodium moderating a little to 0.15g. The ingredient list is small and pronounceable.  

Contestant #3: Oatmeal

Quaker old fashioned oats for me with some cinnamon and a little Splenda, mmmm.

Screenshot from http://www.quakeroats.com/products/hot-cereals/old-fashioned-oats.aspx

This is an interesting/different beast. Calories are right in the middle at 150 calories (kCal). There's 5g of protein, not too shabby for a grain. Only 1g of non-added sugar, no sodium and a ton of fiber. This will get you and your system going in the morning. In my, all things in moderation approach Oatmeal seems to be moderation++.

Contestant #4: Yogurt

I'll go greek on this one, with strawberries as I'm trying to envision tolerable flavors.

Screenshot from: http://www.oikosyogurt.com/products/traditional-greek-yogurt-single-serve/strawberry/

The only thing longer than the link from Danon is the ingredient list. Again, we're moderate on calories at 160 kCal. There's a whopping 11g of protein. Sodium and fat are moderate. The big problem here is the sugar: 18g! This is roughly a half a can of CocaCola's worth of sugar and would cause a little high and crash in anyone especially kids.

Contestant #5: Eggs

The incredible, edible...

From Google.

1 egg, 78 kCal, 6g protein, <1g sugar, 0.062g sodium. Delicious.

Summary

I tried to present some information, based purely on labels comparing protein content across a few breakfast foods. If sugar and salt are of huge concern it looks like peanutbutter and oatmeal can get you some to get you through testing. Avoid flavored yogurts if possible, but as I'm about moderation and not abstinance an occasional fruit on the bottom strawberry won't kill you.

It looks like an egg and some oatmeal, maybe with some fruit and a coffee would be ideal. I made bacon for the boy though...