Fast Food Chains Offer Healthy Choices, but Do Consumers Make Them?

In an effort to promote healthier eating, fast food giant McDonald's is changing the face of their popular kiddie meals.

Starting this fall, the company will add sliced apples to every Happy Meal, while cutting down on the size of the french fry portions. The company's Happy Meal change has garnered praise from first lady Michelle Obama, who has long been on a mission to end childhood obesity.

But is McDonald's change really that big of a deal? A look at rival fast food chains show that they all offer apple slices or some sort of fruit cup.

The difference is that McDonald's is no longer giving customers a choice. The apple slices will be included automatically, thus eliminating that nail-biter of a choice between fries or apple slices (don't kids always pick the fries?)

Meanwhile, what are the other fast food chains doing to promote healthier eating? Here's a look at some of their offerings:

In 2007, Burger King announced plans to roll out a new kids menu that included fresh cut apples (served in a french fry container) and flame-broiled chicken tenders. But the apple “fries” (which are peeled apples slices and not fried) are still just an option at the chain.

In an effort to encourage the apple fries and milk over french fries and soda, BK employees will now ask customers if they would like apple fries or low-fat milk with their meal. The ball is then in the customer's court.

Wendy's has long touted that kids can choose what they want. In addition to the usual burger and fry fare, the company's kids meals options include apple slices and milk that doesn't have added growth hormones. Wendy's also offers baked potatoes, salads and chicken wrap sandwiches, although not on its kids menu.

Sonic Drive-In may offer Coney hot dogs and chili cheese fries, but the kids meal options include apple slices and juice slushies.

Meanwhile, Subway has a Fresh fit menu that includes kid-sized turkey or veggie sandwiches along with — you guessed it — apple slices.

KFC may be the home for finger lickin' good fried chicken, but you can also order sides like green beans and corn on the cob. The kids meals also offer a light string cheese snack option.

And Chick fil-A also gives kids options on their kids menu, with the main decision being a choice between waffle fries or a fruit cup.

Decisions, decisions. That seems to be the problem for consumers. Because the fruit option has always been there, even at McDonald's.

Oh, one more thing about the McDonald's Happy Meal change up: The apple slices will come without the old dipping standby, caramel dip.

Did that just ruin it for you?

Victoria Leigh Miller is a freelance writer. She has been writing about parenting topics since 2001.

19 Fast Food Joints Offering Healthy Kid Choices May Be Small Potatoes

COMMENTARY | Who says fast food has to be fatty for kids?

Across the United States, 19 fast food and family restaurant chains have unveiled plans to introduce more health-friendly children's menu choices. The changes come with a National Restaurant Association program to improve dining-out diets for children in America.

Good Morning America served up the story today, along with scary U.S. government statistics claiming the US has more than 2 million obese kids.

What fast foods will become more fit?

Participating restaurants include these dine-in and take-out spots: Au Bon Pain, Bonefish Grill, Burger King, Burgerville, Carrabba's Italian Grill, Chevy's Fresh Mex, Chili's, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny's, El Pollo Loco, Friendly's, IHOP, Joe's Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, Sizzler, T-Bones Great American Eatery and Z Pizza.

To qualify, each healthy kids menu choice must offer at least one package deal totaling no more than 600 calories. The side dish included cannot exceed 200 calories. Children's new fast food options are supposed to incorporate fruits, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, vegetables and whole grains.

Will these alternative food choices help to trim the bulging child obesity statistics in America? Physicians and health-minded parents may welcome the change, but fitness will only follow, if kids actually choose and consume the healthier foods.

What if Mom and Dad keep loading up on super-sized fat attacks? Won't kids reach across the table, skipping those carrot sticks and apple slices, and grab fistfuls of fries?

And just how many fast food meals do children need each week? What happened to bag lunches, picnic baskets or eating at home?

Just for fun, consider a couple of good, old-fashioned kid-friendly favorites. A basic peanut butter and jelly sandwich totals about 330 calories. A bologna and cheese sandwich could max out just less than 500. Which choices are best for healthy kids?

These healthier fast food alternatives for kids may be small potatoes, but this is a start. Hey, Arby's, Culver's, McDonald's, Sonic, Taco Bell or Wendy's Wanna make it an even 25?

Linda Ann Nickerson brings decades of reporting and a globally minded Midwestern perspective to a host of topics, balancing human interest with history, hard facts and often humor.

Healthy Food Choices For Toddlers

Healthy Food Choices For Toddlers

If you have ever spent any time in the company of a toddler, then you know they can be very picky about what they eat. Encouraging healthy eating when your child is young helps foster healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Even the pickiest eaters can be tempted with healthy food choices -just don’t be surprised if they want the same snack for days in a row

The best thing you can do to encourage your toddler to eat a healthy diet is to offer a wide range of choices. Toddlers tend to be very fickle- and just because they refused a particular food today, doesn’t mean they won’t absolutely love it when you offer it next week. When your toddler is used to the flavors and textures of things like vegetables and naturally sweet foods like fruit, they will turn to these items first when they are hungry, instead of filling up on greasy chips or candy.

One of the best ways to encourage your toddler to eat a healthy diet is to do so yourself. It is hard to convince a child of any age to eat apples and grapes if you fill your own diet with fast food and sweets. Children are natural born mimics, and they to be just like their parents and the “big kids” in the family. Toddlers want to eat what they see the rest of the family enjoying, so take the opportunity to set a great example, and let your toddler watch you enjoy a healthy variety of snacks.

When you are choosing snacks for your toddler, try to avoid anything containing refined sugar. Stick to things like applesauce, yogurts, and diced fresh fruits. Babies are not born with a need for sugary snacks, but can quickly develop the taste for refined sugar as they get older. Fresh fruits have the ability to meet that sweet craving without having the harmful effects of large amounts of refined sugar. Fruits also provide your little one with a daily dose of vitamins and fiber as well.

Look for snacks that provide some calcium, low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt, low fat cheese and calcium fortified juices. As your child grows from an infant to a toddler they need lots of calcium to ensure healthy bones and growth. Consider offering real ice cream or frozen yogurt in place of sugary popsicles or frozen treats, both of these items are rich in calcium, and have some protein as well.

Toddlers also need a good supply of iron to be healthy, so consider serving snacks or meals rich in iron. You can add broccoli to macaroni and cheese, or sneak some iron rich meats into pizza sauce. Don’t forget beans, dried fruits and iron-fortified cereals-you can serve these on their own, or use as ingredients for making other foods.

In a hurry? Forget fast food–there are some great prepackaged products that offer completely organic options for your child. While these may e a little more expensive, they do ensure that your child gets the nutrients they need. You can combine these premade items with fresh fruit and milk for a well rounded but quickly made meal.

By planning ahead and knowing what nutrients your child needs most, you can be sure that your toddler is eating a well rounded, healthy diet.

Healthy Food Choices For Toddlers

Kids Eating Healthy

Fast food is a big part of modern life these days, making it very hard to teach a child how he or she should eat healthy. The cheapest and easiest foods are those that are normally the least healthy. If you give your child the choice between healthy food and junk food, you normally won’t like the results.

Even though it isn’t possible to get a child to like all healthy foods, there are some ways to get your child to try and hopefully like at least a few of them. You can be as creative as you like, as getting kids to eat healthy foods can be a little harder than you may think.

- Sneak the healthy food in. Even though it would be great if your kid understood the importance of fruits and vegetables, this isn’t always possible. If you can’t get them to eat good food willingly, there are ways to sneak them in, such as making muffins out of bananas or apples, or pizza with spinach on it.

- Call fruits and vegetables by funny names. You can refer to broccoli as “trees”, making them more fun to eat. There are many different names you can call fruits and vegetables, even making up your own if you prefer. Most kids prefer to eat foods that sound fun.

- Make the foods taste better. Ranch dressing is great for broccoli, while peanut butter is a great topping for celery. There are several combinations for vegetables that can make them taste much better. You can let your child pick a topping for a vegetable, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally like yourself.

- Dress the vegetables up. Just as much as calling them names help kids eat healthy foods, making them look funny also helps. You can do this by making funny designs on the plate, or setting them up to look like people. Although some parents don’t like their kids playing with their food, sometimes it helps to get them to eat healthier.

There are several ways to make your kids eat healthier, but to make them enjoy it also has to be fun as well. This isn’t always an easy task, because kids normally don’t like foods that are good for them. It can however, be done with a bit of creativity. Hopefully, doing this will help your child develop a love of healthy foods for the
rest of their lives.