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Breakfast Adventures at Panera

It wasn't until recently that I figured out something REALLY important -- there's a Panera RIGHT ON MY WAY TO WORK! It's hard to explain how exciting this development is. No matter that it took me 9 months to realize it. The point is that I *did* figure it out and IT IS FANTASTIC.

Obviously, I'm a Panera fan. I have been for a very long time. In fact, I think I loved Panera before anybody in Pittsburgh did because I loved it when I lived in Ohio in college. I'm relatively certain Panera opened in Pittsburgh after Ohio.

Anyway. I first fell in love with the place because of the fast food that doesn't come with a "fast food" feel. The staff is friendly. The food is fresh. The menu is fantastic.

Fast forward a decade (::cough:: or more ::cough::)  and I'm still a fan. Now, though, I have a new favorite thing about Panera. Now I love that the menu clearly notes nutrition information. See also: I care about that stuff now. See also also: I am a grown up and stuff.

Seriously, I love having nutrition information in front of my face because it helps me make smarter decisions.

For example, when I stop into Panera to grab breakfast on my way to work, my first thought is to get a Cinnamon Crunch Bagel with Wild Blueberry Cream Cheese. If you've never had the pleasure, DO IT. They are so good. SO GOOD.

They're also over 500 calories. So.

That means that they are a sometimes breakfast. They're not an every day breakfast, although they are so good that very easily could eat one every day.

If I'm feeling that I might need to go a little more conservative with the calorie count, I go for the Chocolate Pastry. It's another favorite, one which I will get just about anywhere, but which is always best at Panera.

A little over 400 calories. Worth it.

If I'm fully aware that it's a good morning to keep things light, I get a Breakfast Power sandwich. I tell Panera to save the ham for someone else, so the sandwich ends up around 300 calories. Totally acceptable.

No matter which direction I go in, I win because I get a delicious breakfast that's the right fit for my day.

Now Panera is introducing another way to win with the Panera Breakfast Backstory Challenge for MyPanera® members. You have a chance to win a Breville Juice Fountain Elite, a Breville Barista Espresson maker, a KitchenAid Professional Stand Mixer, or a trip to New York City for two. All you have to do to enter is sign up for MyPanera (it's free and they give you free stuff just for signing up) and then complete the challenges here. The challenges are things like "read this" or "watch this" or "drool over this recipe."

I completed the challenge in under ten minutes. It's easy. Also, there is some interesting content there, such as this video:

To celebrate the fun that is the Panera Breakfast Backstory Challenge, Panera and BlogHer have teamed up to give away a $100 Panera gift card. In the comments below, please tell me your favorite way to start the day and you'll be entered to win.

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments. 

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner  will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 11/13/13 – 12/8/13.

Be sure to visit the Panera Bread's page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!