Here are the microwave instructions for the Weight Watchers Smart Ones Smart Beginnings Turkey Sausage English Muffin Sandwich:
1. Remove sandwich from carton and plastic wrapper.
2. Wrap sandwich in paper towel and microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 seconds.
3. Let sandwich stand in microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Flip sandwich over and cook on high for an additional 30 seconds.
5. Let stand 1 minute. Enjoy!
Maybe it’s just me, but if someone is trying to get ready for work or school in the morning, these instructions are bothersome. Who has time to stand by the microwave and flip their sandwich when there’s either a mustache to trim, mascara to put on, or morning quicky to squeeze in? I just want something I can stick in the microwave and walk away from so that I have time to stick something into something else — a trimmer up my nose to mow down long nose hairs.
Besides the microwave instructions, which is the only way to prepare the breakfast sandwich, I did not enjoy how much effort I had to put into tearing away a piece of the sandwich, thanks to the English muffins. Now I know how lions feel when the sinew gets in the way of ripping a gazelle’s flesh off its bones.
Normal English muffins can get tough and microwaving frozen bread can make it tough, so putting an English muffin in the microwave sounds like it could be the equivalent of wrapping leather around beef jerky.
Okay, it wasn’t that bad, but if I was old and had dentures, I’d double-check my Super Poligrip adhesive or curse this newfangled food technology and then cut the sandwich up with a fork and knife.
If you look at the parts of the Weight Watchers Smart Ones Smart Beginnings Turkey Sausage English Muffin Sandwich — English muffin with a perfectly round egg white patty that’s yellow, a perfectly round turkey sausage patty, and a slice of American cheese that’s not perfectly square — it sounds like Weight Watchers Smart Ones is trying to make a much healthier McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg.
Is it healthier? As you can see in the table below, which I created using HTML I learned in 1993, forgot in 1994, and just relearned seconds ago, the Smart Ones breakfast sandwich has significantly less fat, sodium, and calories than a Sausage McMuffin with Egg. So mission accomplished, if that was Smart Ones’ goal.
| Smart Ones Sandwich | Sausage McMuffin with Egg |
|---|---|
| 230 calories | 450 calories |
| 3 grams of saturated fat | 10 grams of saturated fat |
| 8 grams of fat | 27 grams of fat |
| 490 milligrams of sodium | 920 milligrams of sodium |
However, the Smart Ones breakfast sandwich is significantly less tasty than a McDonald’s Sausage McMuffin with Egg, but you probably already knew that. The egg patty has a slightly buttery flavor and the turkey sausage is mildly spicy, but, when combined with the English muffin and American cheese, it’s a mediocre breakfast sandwich. The sausage gets lost in the flavors of the egg and English muffin, which is sad since the turkey sausage should be the most flavorful ingredient of the sandwich. But it’s understandable since the sausage patty is thin and is dwarfed by the egg patty.
Overall, if you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, the Weight Watchers Smart Ones Smart Beginnings Turkey Sausage English Muffin Sandwich isn’t going to change your disposition. Its needy instructions will give you less time to pluck your eyebrows in the morning and its flavor will make you scoff at the “Smart Beginnings” part of the product’s name.
(Nutrition Facts – 1 sandwich – 230 calories, 70 calories from fat, 8 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 2 grams of polyunsaturated fat, 2 grams of monounsaturated fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 490 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 1 gram of sugar, 14 grams of protein, 4% vitamin A, 10% calcium, and 10% iron. 6 PointsPlus.)
Item: Weight Watchers Smart Ones Smart Beginnings Turkey Sausage English Muffin Sandwich
Price: $2.28 (on sale)
Size: 2 pack
Purchased at: Safeway
Rating: 5 out of 10
Pros: Comes in a 2-pack. Less fat, sodium, and calories than a Sausage McMuffin with Egg. Showing off my HTML skills by building a simple 2-column table.
Cons: Mediocre flavor. Thin and small sausage patty. Damn long name. Tough English muffin. Needy instructions. Can only be prepared in the microwave. Flavor of the sausage gets lost within the English muffin and egg.
Every once in awhile I’m prompted to leave a comment when I read a solid review – this is one of those times. Clear pictures and clear description. Humorous but to the point. A model review if you will.
As for the item itself, there still may be hope with Jimmy Dean http://jimmydean.com/products/delights-turkey-sausage-muffin.aspx
So you’re saying most of my other reviews aren’t solid?
Those low cal breakfast sandwiches can be so hit or miss. Have you tried the Jimmy Dean turkey ones? Those are pretty good.
I have and I agree.
I agree the Jimmy Dean ones are much better. Especially if you take the time to toast the muffin and heat the egg and sausage separate (per the instructions)
Marvo- I love this site and was thinking of starting my own. Can you give me some info and tips?
The smell of microwaved eggs in my apartment would make me barf.
The second picture of the sandwich is very unsettling.
I tried the basic one today, without any meat – just eggs and cheese. Although not amazing, still wasn’t bad and would have again (I will, 2 in a box!). I do agree the directions aren’t the best and aren’t as simple as throw in microwave, get out. Also my microwave melted some of the paper towel to the muffin so I had to chip that off. I’m going to try the Jimmy Dean ones. The truth is that I love the 7-11 ones so was looking for a lower calorie version. :/
Needy instructions? Seriously? That’s the problem with this country in the first place. Are we sooo lazy that we can’t take 2 seconds (literally) to flip the sandwich over??
Is it as good as a McDonalds Sausage McMuffin? Of course not – when have you ever known a low-cal, low-fat version of a food to be better than the original? But is it better tasting than egg whites and half a grapefruit? Absolutely. Is it easier to prepare? Damn straight.
If you’re eating healthy, McDonalds is not an option. Period. If you’re going to compare ease of preparation and flavor with this item, do it with other healthy eating choices. McDonalds will NEVER qualify for that.
I agree. I also happen to like the sandwich!
I must agree with your assessment. The breakfast Sandwich is a great survival food like a MRI. the Military (Meals Ready to Eat) and just about as tasty.
These are the worst product on the planet…heck, you can get a real egg McMuffin for just 90 calories more (they have and egg white version for only 40 calories more)!
I have been eating Jimmy Dean’s Delights (which are wonderful!) and thought I would try these because they were on sale. I don’t know how they can be so bad.
Grainy, chewy and the bread seemed full of fake stuff to try to whittle down the calories. Yuck yuck and yuck.
They are so bad I had to find some place to tell the world how bad they are. Thank you for providing me with that place!
I actually really enjoyed this sandwich. I can’t have eggs so I took it off and it was really good. Just trying to figure out how many points to take off for the egg.
But no one has mentioned the cheese!
I just ate one of these and was compelled to google it because I was so unsettled by the cheese. I thought it looked kind of weird when I stuck the sandwich in the microwave (not following those instructions, I just wrapped it in a paper towel and put it in for two minutes and flipped it halfway through). It was crumbly and fell apart as I tried to even out the sandwich before heating it. I assumed this was because it was frozen, but let’s be honest, I’ve had frozen foods with cheese before and the cheese never crumbled in my hands.
Heated the sandwich, took a bite that tasted OVERWHELMINGLY like fake cheese. Noticeably fake, too strong, canned-cheese type cheese. And I can tolerate some fake cheese because I never grew out of Kraft Mac and Cheese and I really appreciate Doritos. This was beyond me. It overwhelmed the entire sandwich, and it was soft and mushy and powdery. American cheese slices should not turn POWDERY.
These are nasty – I will not get them again, vastly prefer Special K flatbread breakfast sandwiches. With the WW sandwich, the english muffin portion was so tough after microwaving, it could not be bitten through, had to be torn. Too eggy, and just plain nasty. Only edible portion is the sausage, and the cheese just disappears. Very fussy cooking instructions, too, as the review points out.
Jesus Christ reading these comments y’all are so damn high maintenance like chill , you think they’d put real cheese and on frozen prepared meal, I mean you get what you pay for and yeah I’d much rather have mc Donald’s but if you trying to loose weight that is not gonna happen, and it only takes someone with half a brain to put in minimal effort to cook the thing and they taste fine and if you can’t bite through it either you cook it wrong or you seriously have some dental issues
Aw c’mon kids – these aren’t too terribly bad. I’m about to flip mine in the waver as I type. While not gourmet fare, these are reasonably tasty with a cup o’ joe for a quick bite.
I meant to mention that some of you may be over-cooking these; I cook 68 seconds, wait the 30 or so and (not bothering to flip) and final cook from 38-45 additional seconds.