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Monday, August 4, 2008
What Restaurants are the Worst for Kids?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE CHICK-FIL-A COWS CAN RELAX: THE FAST-FOOD CHAIN IS TOPS FOR KIDS ACCORDING TO A NEW BOOK
Photo: David Tulis
A new book, “Eat this! Not That! For Kids,” from two of the top editors at Men’s Health magazine, takes chain restaurants to task for the nutritional value of their offerings to kids (or lack thereof).
The authors, editor-in-chief David Zinczenko and food and nutrition editor Matt Goulding, graded 43 national chains, calculating the calories, fat (trans- and saturated) and sodium, as well as the average number of calories, in a child’s entree. They also took a look at healthier adult options that might appeal to children. (You can view the full report card here.
Chick-fil-A, with its offerings of low-cal sandwiches and solid side offerings of fresh fruit and soup scored an “A.”
Burger King gets graded a solid “C” and Chipotle gets applauded for its “pristine” ingredients, but knocked to a “D” for those gargantuan portion sizes.
And the “Fs” are …. Applebee’s, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback and TGI Friday’s — all get slammed for not providing nutritional info to the consumer.
The authors give tips they call “survival strategies,” that help you steer towards the right choices at each place. The book, published by the “Live Your Life” imprint of Rodale, Inc., will be available nationwide August 19, 2008.
So, how would you grade these chain restaurants for kids? Do you have healthier options for eating out?
By the way, my colleague, Liz Lee, is blogging similarly and her results for Chick-Fil-A rank a little differently. Check it out here.
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