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DEL.ICIO.USWhat 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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Comments
By MyOpinion
August 4, 2008 2:53 PM | Link to this
If I’m paying $10-$20 for a meal, I want a gargantuan portion, I don’t have to eat it all there but I do want my monies worth.
By Penguinmom
August 4, 2008 5:42 PM | Link to this
We probably eat at CFA the most of any fast food restaurants. I hate paying extra for the fruit with the kids meal so I get one with fruit and one with fries. Then my two youngest split the fruit and the fries between them.
It’s expensive enough buying the kids meals in the first place without having to pay extra just for something a little healthier.
By R. Sennick
August 4, 2008 6:37 PM | Link to this
So, MyOpinion, how fat are you and your kids ? And, Penguinmom, I’d think my kids health was worth something, wouldn’t you ?
By Lucia
August 5, 2008 9:51 AM | Link to this
I agree that it’s ridiculous to pay extra for the fruit at CFA, but I do it anyway, because my kids would really rather eat fruit than fries. Three big gripes about kids’ meals in fast food and family style restaurants - (1) large “kid-size” sodas. I don’t mind my kids having a 6 or 8 oz drink, because we don’t keep sodas at home, but 12 to 16 oz. for a child is ridiculous! (2) The ubiquitous french fry as the all-purpose side item. What parent wants to feed their kids mac and cheese with a side of deep-fried potatoes? (3) Portion sizes that are way out of line for small children’s appetites. No wonder parents don’t know what and how to feed their kids, if they use restaurant meals as a guide.
By charlie309
August 5, 2008 10:28 AM | Link to this
Who cares! People with children need to feed their children freshly prepared meals AT HOME!
By FCM
August 5, 2008 6:44 PM | Link to this
For my opinion the the worst kid menu out there see the Smart Eating blog. I do the fruit at CFA for both the kids and then get my meal large sized and split the fries out….OK, I used to do that…Mom has is doing lifestyle change in food arena. I actually went to CFA today for lunch, I kept thinking how good the chicken strip salad would (and it is good)….I heard “Chargrilled Chicken Salad please” come out of my mouth… I was so stunned I forgot to order my large sweet tea…..apparently thinking about what I eat is working (I haven’t touched the candy in my desk for 10 days!)….
Anyway back to kids food: I usually order an adult meal with healthy sides and split it between two kids. Or I get one kid meal and split mine. Cracker Barrel seems to be a good choice for veggies. I do the green beans at KFC if we go there (rare).
What I would REALLY like to see is something more than broccoli or broccoli/carrots/cauliflower on the menu….There are pleanty of other delicious veggies out there…..I had pea pods for a snack today…very filling and lots of fiber.
Last night we did pizza (with the pepperoni being the bad part of that since we did ultra thin crust another thing I am getting used too)….First we split a huge salad…the entree kind….it had beans, artichoke hearts, lettuces, olives, tomatoes. peppers, and onions in it. We were so full we only had one slice each….I put the others up….eventually I plan to get where I freeze it and eat it days later, but today its calling to me.
What is with all the fruit being oranges or apples? There are other good fruits out there too.
In answer to your questions, either a stirfry at that the Japanese place in the mall or CFA is our prime choice for ‘fast food’ other than pizza. Yes, I am all for healthy eating for kids and adults when we go out….that does not mean we don’t do a splurge here and there (fried pickles?)…..but the kids really do not like fries as much as they like the healthy stuff.
IHOP is an exception (and rare treat)…..but truthfully other than eggs what healthy stuff is there for breakfast the most BORING meal of the day.
By Paddy
August 7, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this
Applebees and IHOP are never going to give you nutrition info. Having asked corporate sources (IHOP ownes Applebees)for this info am told it is on our web pages( it is not) or it will be coming out soon, (18 months and waiting).