The 310-Yen Equation

Miko, what do you think about McDonald’s breakfast?

…The morning menu at McDonald’s, nya.

Onii-chan was like, “Sausage McMuffin combo with milk, 310 yen. Pretty solid”

…Fast food for breakfast, nya?

That’s what I thought too. Eating at McDonald’s first thing in the morning feels kinda…

…Greasy and heavy, nya. The stomach hasn’t woken up yet, nya.

But when someone says “surprisingly good,” you gotta check, right? So I did

First, I didn’t even know what “combo” meant in this context. McDonald’s Japan has three ways to order breakfast

A la carte, combo, and value set. A “combo” is just your item plus a small drink for +60 yen

…60 yen, nya? A drink by itself costs over 120 yen, nya.

Wait, you know drink prices off the top of your head? (乇∀乇)

…Not checking prices when shopping is like not measuring ingredients when cooking, nya.

A Sausage McMuffin is 180 yen a la carte. Add a combo drink and it’s 240 yen. Normal so far. The key is choosing milk as your drink

Milk costs an extra 70 yen on top of the combo price, so 240 + 70 = 310 yen

…Milk alone is 270 yen, nya. Going through the combo is cheaper, nya.

Buy them separately and it’s 450 yen. Through the combo, 310 yen. You save 140 yen (≧∇≦)

OK so here’s the real deal. I lined up McDonald’s breakfast items against convenience store grab-and-go stuff — rice balls, sandwiches, the kind of thing you just grab on the way to work

Oh, and for reference — 150 yen is roughly $1 USD. Yeah. Japanese McDonald’s is kinda ridiculously cheap

…The muffin and rice ball are both about 180 yen, nya. But protein is 3 times different, nya.

A Sausage McMuffin is 180 yen — that’s about $1.20. Same price as a rice ball, but 15.5g of protein

…But look at the fat, nya. Sausage McMuffin has 25.5g. Heaviest of all, nya.

If fat’s a concern, the Bacon Egg McSandwich has 12.6g. Less than half

…Look at the hash brown, nya. 1.4g protein, 10.2g fat.

In the value set, that comes automatically. Pair it with a Sausage McMuffin and you’re at 35.7g of fat. Way over the recommended amount for one meal

…Thinking that adding more makes things better is amateur thinking, nya. Knowing what to leave out is what makes a cook, nya.

That’s why the combo is the right call. By not adding the hash brown, you keep the balance

…By the way, look at the calcium column, nya. None of them have enough, nya.

Daily requirement is 650mg. Even the Sausage McMuffin only has 158mg. Not even close

…That’s why milk, nya.

Exactly! That’s why Onii-chan adds milk. 200ml of milk gives you +227mg calcium and +6.8g protein

McMuffin + milk brings calcium to 385mg. That’s 59% of daily needs. Protein hits 22.3g, more than three eggs’ worth. All for 310 yen through the combo

…Calcium from milk has a high absorption rate, nya. It enters the body more efficiently than calcium from small fish or vegetables, nya.

Plus there’s the second meal effect

…When you have dairy in the morning, it moderates blood sugar spikes after lunch, nya. Whey and casein digest at different speeds, so the feeling of fullness lasts longer, nya.

One glass in the morning carries you all the way to lunch. THAT’s what Onii-chan meant by “surprisingly good”

…Miso soup does the same thing, nya. Soy protein suppresses rapid blood sugar rise, nya.

But Miko, miso soup means you’re making it from scratch in the morning, right?

…Obviously, nya.

So here’s a fun pattern I noticed. At McDonald’s, the food is cheap but the milk is expensive. Sausage McMuffin 180 yen, milk alone 270 yen

Convenience stores are the opposite. The food is expensive but the milk is cheap. Rice balls start around 180 yen, sandwiches from 300 yen, but milk is only about 110 yen

…Completely opposite, nya.

Through the combo, milk effectively costs 130 yen. The gap with convenience store milk is just 20 yen, and only the cheaper food price remains

Two rice balls + milk from the convenience store: about 470 yen. McMuffin + milk combo: 310 yen. 160 yen difference

…Miko would buy the muffin at McDonald’s and the milk at the convenience store, nya.

You’d go to two different stores?! (乇∀乇)

…20 yen, nya. Every day, that’s 7,300 yen a year, nya. Ten years, 73,000 yen, nya.

Miko, but the hassle of stopping at two places every morning…

…Numbers don’t lie, nya.

Miko, could you make breakfast for 310 yen?

…Miso soup, rolled omelette, and pickles. Ingredients cost under 200 yen, nya.

Cheaper than 310 yen! (乇∀乇)

…But it takes 30 minutes, nya.

McDonald’s has your order ready in three minutes

…Nya.

…Maybe 310 yen isn’t the price of breakfast

…What, nya.

It’s the price of 27 minutes. Making it yourself takes 30. Ordering takes 3. You’re buying that 27-minute gap for 310 yen

…

…That’s correct, nya. You can win on ingredient cost, but you can’t win on time, nya.

So McDonald’s breakfast is an equation: 310 yen buys you time on a busy morning. Plus 22g of protein and 385mg of calcium on top

…That nutrition is no bonus, nya.

And you can switch it up! Cost-focused day: Sausage McMuffin + milk for 310 yen. Watching fat: Bacon Egg McSandwich + coffee for 330 yen. Weekend treat: Egg McMuffin + milk for 390 yen

…A system that doesn’t get boring, nya.

…Hey, Miko. What’s for breakfast tomorrow?

…Grilled salmon and miso soup, nya.

How much do the ingredients cost?

…Under 300 yen, nya.

And the 30 minutes?

…That doesn’t have a price, nya.

…I think I want Miko’s breakfast tomorrow too (〃´∪｀〃)

…You just said McDonald’s was the best deal, nya.

The cost-performance is the best. But Miko’s breakfast can’t be measured by cost-performance

…

…I’ll wake you at six, nya.