Men's Health magazine just released a List
of Best and Worst Kids' Meals 2009 available in restaurants today. My jaw
dropped as I read the report highlighting items that my kids ate regularly when
they were still ordering from the Kids' Menu. Looking at this from the
viewpoint of a parent, I was shocked and I felt somewhat misled by some of my
favorite restaurants. Some of these numbers are so staggering it's a wonder how
any company could offer these foods to children and still sleep at night!
Thinking back, I wonder if I knew then, what I know now, would I really change my mind about what I allowed my kid's to eat while dining out, or would I reluctantly give in to whatever choice made them happy so my wife and I could try to enjoy a pleasant dinner? Would I have to trade my quasi-sanity for nutrition...yikes...that is a tough choice. But that's the good news--the content of this report doesn't leave you feeling hopeless, but rather I feel hopeful as a parent. Healthy alternatives are available, and at least for every negative listed in the report, there is a positive menu choice item as well. I am sure restaurant execs are thanking their lucky stars for this...
While I was somewhat taken back at first, I think this report sheds some light on the fact that while something may not seem so bad, we really have to look a little deeper into what we are about to put into our mouths and into the mouths of our children to really know. Maybe we need to ask a few more questions regarding nutritionals before we assume a Baskin-Robbins Small Snickers Shake isn't probably that much worse than the candy bar itself. Think again, it has nearly 4 times the amount of fat and sugar as one regular Snickers candy bar.
Making healthier menu choices for our young children now will save us all time, money and heartache down the road. I think there's a reason they call it lifelong health problems--these problems begin when we are children, they don't just happen when we hit age 40 & over. Maybe if we all pay just a little more attention, we can wipe that term out all together.
Thinking back, I wonder if I knew then, what I know now, would I really change my mind about what I allowed my kid's to eat while dining out, or would I reluctantly give in to whatever choice made them happy so my wife and I could try to enjoy a pleasant dinner? Would I have to trade my quasi-sanity for nutrition...yikes...that is a tough choice. But that's the good news--the content of this report doesn't leave you feeling hopeless, but rather I feel hopeful as a parent. Healthy alternatives are available, and at least for every negative listed in the report, there is a positive menu choice item as well. I am sure restaurant execs are thanking their lucky stars for this...
While I was somewhat taken back at first, I think this report sheds some light on the fact that while something may not seem so bad, we really have to look a little deeper into what we are about to put into our mouths and into the mouths of our children to really know. Maybe we need to ask a few more questions regarding nutritionals before we assume a Baskin-Robbins Small Snickers Shake isn't probably that much worse than the candy bar itself. Think again, it has nearly 4 times the amount of fat and sugar as one regular Snickers candy bar.
Making healthier menu choices for our young children now will save us all time, money and heartache down the road. I think there's a reason they call it lifelong health problems--these problems begin when we are children, they don't just happen when we hit age 40 & over. Maybe if we all pay just a little more attention, we can wipe that term out all together.
I really don't think we're going to get healthy menus from a restaurant until we get food labeling. Honestly, restaurants have had their chance to clean up their act, and they've failed us.
My restaurant has healthy choices for kids, but that's not what they order. Parents are responsible for what their kids eat, not the restaurant owner. Bottom line is we sell what the public wants. If they can't get it from us they'll get it down the street.
There is not a restaurant in the southeast that has healthy choices. Fried or beef with hormones. Which one is the healthiest choice?
@Wheelis No, you'll get them when consumer's make up their mind to start eating more healthy then ordering more healthy food.
Sometimes, the idiocy that surrounds these issues is astounding - but only sometimes.
Jeffrey, the problem isn't that the public can't tell a french fry from an apple, the problem is we don't really know what's going into the fries (or the apples, for that matter). It's not so much the menu as how the menu is prepared. When the public rejected trans fats, restaurants got rid of them, but in many cases, they made up the difference with other disturbing ingredients. But they got to advertise "zero trans fats." Without labeling, you really don't know what's in your food. Almost every recipe can be made healthier, and it is the obligation of restaurants to do that. I mean, look at the sodium they are using unnecessarily. It's crazy.