Mornings can be hectic — getting the kids to school, trying to beat the traffic — and sometimes fast-food places seem like the only option for breakfast in a hurry. The key is to make the best choices.

"It's better to eat something in the morning than to skip breakfast entirely," says Lalita Kaul, an American Dietetic Association spokeswoman and professor of community and family medicine at Howard University.

If you must go the drive-through route, here are some guidelines:

MCDONALD'S

Try: The Egg McMuffin, the granddaddy of breakfast sandwiches, at 290 calories and 11 grams of fat. The Sausage McMuffin isn't too bad at 370 calories.

Avoid: The huge Deluxe Breakfast, which weighs in at a shocking 1,220 calories, 60 grams of fat and 1,900 milligrams of sodium, and the hotcakes and sausage at 770 calories. And definitely stay away from the Deluxe Cinnamon Roll at 590 sugary calories and no protein to keep you from getting hungry too soon.

STARBUCKS

Try: Remember this rule: the longer the drink name, the higher the calories. Get plain coffee, or a latte or cappuccino with skim milk (no whip). If you want something fancier, an Espresso Frappuccino Light (no whip) is only 140 calories.

Avoid: Topping any drink with whipped cream, which adds 100 fatty calories. The regular Frappuccino drinks all tend to have calories counts north of 200, some as high as 500 calories.