As a busy parent, you don’t always have the time or energy to prepare a meal for your child at home. When rushing to get from one place to the next, sometimes fast food is the only reasonable way to feed your kid.
You may think you have to sacrifice nutrition for convenience and affordability, but this popular misconception isn’t always true. Plenty of fast food restaurants offer relatively healthy and affordable kids’ meals.
The experts at HealthGrove, a health and nutrition data site by Graphiq, researched nutrition information for kids' menu items at fast food restaurants. To make even comparisons, menu items were considered together to form complete meals. This includes either an entrée, side dish and drink or just an entrée and a side dish, based on whether the restaurant offers "kid-size" drinks.
Kids’ meals were then ranked from most to least caloric, with ties broken by the fat content of the meals. All nutritional information was pulled from the websites of each individual fast food chain.
Next time you need a quick and easy way to feed your little one, consider some of these kids’ meals.
Note: Images on each slide do not necessarily depict the exact menu item. Nutrition data is current as of Feb. 28, 2017 and prices are subject to change.
34. Dairy Queen: Kids’ Meal — Grilled Cheese Sandwich, Fries and Milk
- Calories: 830
- Fat: 39.5 grams
- Sodium: 2,035 milligrams
33. Dairy Queen: Kids’ Meal — Hot Dog, Fries and Milk
- Calories: 690
- Fat: 33.5 grams
- Sodium: 1,585 milligrams
32. Sonic: Whacky Pack — Grilled Cheese, Tots and Orange Juice
- Calories: 680
- Fat: 25 grams
- Sodium: 1,400 milligrams
31. Dairy Queen: Kids’ Meal — Hamburger, Fries and Milk
- Calories: 670
- Fat: 27.5 grams
- Sodium: 1,235 milligrams
30. Carl’s Jr.: Kids’ Cheeseburger with Natural-Cut Fries and Barq’s Root Beer
- Calories: 660
- Fat: 25 grams
- Sodium: 1,330 milligrams
29. Jack in the Box: Kids’ Chicken Sandwich with French Fries
- Calories: 640
- Fat: 31 grams
- Sodium: 1,290 milligrams
28. Arby’s: Kids’ Roast Beef n’ Cheese Slider with Curly Fries and Low-Fat Chocolate Milk
- Calories: 640
- Fat: 26 grams
- Sodium: 1,400 milligrams
27. Sonic: Whacky Pack — Plain Hot Dog, Tots and 1% Chocolate Milk
- Calories: 630
- Fat: 27.5 grams
- Sodium: 1,390 milligrams
26. Wendy’s: Kids’ Cheeseburger with Natural-Cut Fries and Coca-Cola
- Calories: 620
- Fat: 23 grams
- Sodium: 955 milligrams
25. The Habit: Grilled Cheese with 2.4 oz. Fries
- Calories: 600
- Fat: 29 grams
- Sodium: 1,270 milligrams
24. The Habit: Charburger with 2.4 oz. Fries
- Calories: 590
- Fat: 29 grams
- Sodium: 1,250 milligrams
23. The Habit: Chicken Nuggets with 2.4 oz. Fries
- Calories: 590
- Fat: 28 grams
- Sodium: 910 milligrams
22. McDonald’s: Happy Meal with Cheeseburger, Yoplait Go-GURT, Fat Free Chocolate Milk and Kids Fries
- Calories: 590
- Fat: 18 grams
- Sodium: 920 milligrams
21. Sonic: Whacky Pack — Jr. Burger, Natural-Cut Fries and Fruit Punch
- Calories: 580
- Fat: 22 grams
- Sodium: 830 milligrams
20. Carl’s Jr.: Chicken Stars (4 Piece) with Natural-Cut Fries and 2% Milk
- Calories: 560
- Fat: 25 grams
- Sodium: 1,020 milligrams
19. Jack in the Box: Kids’ Hamburger with Cheese with French Fries
- Calories: 550
- Fat: 24 grams
- Sodium: 1,290 milligrams
18. Burger King: Cheeseburger King Jr. Meal with Applesauce and Low Fat Chocolate Milk
- Calories: 480
- Fat: 14.5 grams
- Sodium: 790 milligrams
17. Sonic: Whacky Pack — Chicken Strips, Natural-Cut Fries and Apple Juice
- Calories: 440
- Fat: 17 grams
- Sodium: 605 milligrams
16. Subway: Roast Beef Mini for Kids with Apple Slices and Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk
- Calories: 435
- Fat: 8 grams
- Sodium: 590 milligrams
15. Dairy Queen: Kids’ Meal — Kids Live Well Grilled Chicken Wrap, Applesauce and Milk
- Calories: 410
- Fat: 17.5 grams
- Sodium: 885 milligrams
14. Sonic: Whacky Pack — Corn Dog, Applesauce and 1% Milk
- Calories: 405
- Fat: 17.5 grams
- Sodium: 730 milligrams
13. Dairy Queen: Kids’ Meal — 2 Chicken Strips, Applesauce and Milk
- Calories: 400
- Fat: 19.5 grams
- Sodium: 765 milligrams
12. Jack in the Box: Kids’ Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Apple Bites with Caramel
- Calories: 400
- Fat: 16 grams
- Sodium: 855 milligrams
11. McDonald’s: Happy Meal with 4 Piece Chicken McNuggets, Apple Slices, Minute Maid Apple Juice and Kids Fries
- Calories: 390
- Fat: 16 grams
- Sodium: 430 milligrams
10. Arby’s: Kids’ Prime-Cut Chicken Tenders with Applesauce and Low-Fat Milk
- Calories: 370
- Fat: 13 grams
- Sodium: 740 milligrams
9. Wendy’s: Kids’ Grilled Chicken Wrap with Apple Slices and Strawberry Tea
- Calories: 335
- Fat: 11 grams
- Sodium: 625 milligrams
8. Jack in the Box: Kids’ Grilled 2-Piece Chicken Strips with Seasoned Curly Fries
- Calories: 330
- Fat: 15 grams
- Sodium: 800 milligrams
7. Burger King: Chicken Nuggets King Jr. Meal (4 Piece) with Applesauce and Fat Free Milk
- Calories: 330
- Fat: 11 grams
- Sodium: 485 milligrams
6. Subway: Black Forest Ham Mini for Kids with Apple Slices and Juice Box
- Calories: 315
- Fat: 2.5 grams
- Sodium: 465 milligrams
5. Jack in the Box: 5-Piece Chicken Nuggets with Apple Bites with Caramel
- Calories: 310
- Fat: 17 grams
- Sodium: 655 milligrams
4. Burger King: Oatmeal King Jr. Meal with Applesauce and Fat Free Milk
- Calories: 310
- Fat: 3 grams
- Sodium: 385 milligrams
3. Subway: Veggie Delite Mini for Kids with Apple Slices and Low Fat Milk
- Calories: 285
- Fat: 4 grams
- Sodium: 310 milligrams
2. Wendy’s: 4-Piece Chicken Nuggets with Apple Slices and Strawberry Tea
- Calories: 245
- Fat: 13 grams
- Sodium: 395 milligrams
1. Chick-fil-A: Nuggets Kids’ Meal
- Calories: 130
- Fat: 6 grams
- Sodium: 490 milligrams
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