Wow – Woo Hoo – McDonald’s has made the Happy Meal healthier. They cut down on the fries and added a cup of apple slices (4 I think) without the caramel dipping sauce.
The caramel dipping sauce being melted sugar with coloring.
A corporate behometh responding to the wants and needs of the people – taking proactive steps to contribute to the healthy and well being of the little ones that are our future.
Really…
Really…
Somebody help me…
So, a family of four walks into McD’s and orders 2 large Big Macs, a Mighty Meal, the new Happy Meal – oh and by the way, replace one of the large cokes with a large strawberry shake and 4 apple pies – plus add 2 strawberry sundaes.
But, gosh darn it – that new Happy Meal with apple sauces and no dipping sauce, it’s so healthy and good.
Here’s my truth – my little, uninformed opinion on what causes what.
That McDonald’s is adding a little fruit and taking away some fries, plus some fat free milk instead of soda is nice. But that ain’t the issue.
The issue is parents taking their kids to McDonald’s 2, 3 or even 5 times a week. It’s not one or 2 Happy Meals, it’s 6 or 7 a week that’s turning the kids into a tub of lard.
This little bone that McD’s is throwing to the public is just that – a little bone. It’s better than no bone (which is actually questionable), but let’s not get overly excited here – if anyone is, that is.
If you feed your children well and teach your children to eat well. If you spend lots of time with your kids at the park and at the library. If your kids are active in mind and in body.
Then…
One Happy Meal once in a while (say a month) will make no difference. On occasion we will buy our kids a Happy Meal and substitute the soda (no soda’s in our family) with apple juice for one and chocolate milk for the other. We do this about once or twice a month. We can live that. We won’t change because of some apple slices.
Besides, what “mass produced” apples slices shipped in tonnages to stores nationwide and “treated” to maintain its fresh look are gonna be good and healthy – I asks ya’s!
And besides, our kids already eat a couple of apples (fresh and organic – or so the claims go) a day.
McD’s is a choice and we need to make good choices every day.
On a larger point – and rant!
Most parent have a gamut of excuses for why their kids are fat.
But really…
An excuse is a choice by default. If a child eats candy bars and drinks sodas all day long and the parent’s excuse is that she or he can’t control what’s the child is eating all the day or at school or at whereever, then by default; the parent chose to let the kid eat and drink whatever. That’s still a choice.
As far as I am concerned, we as parents are 100% responsible for our children’s mental and physical well being until their are adults – or possibly forever (which is kinda twilight zonish and scary).
My point being that what McD’s does or not do with their meals is really irrelevant. And what they do is driven wholly by their need to survive as an entity (sustain profitability) not by any touchy-feely, do goody moves to shave 4 calories off a happy meal for the physical well being of little tykes worldwide.
But…
Yeah, the happy meal is healthy – er!
Not!
PS – There’s no reason not to look at healthy foods consumed by fitness experts as a baseline for what kids should be eating. More to the point, some foods actually help or boost the body’s metabolism. Wow. Foods that burn fat. In the words of Kurt Angle, “it’s true, it’s true.” Tom wrote a nice little piece – Healthy Foods That Burn Fat. Take a read- it’ll add to your knowledge.
