What’s Really In That Happy Meal?

As most parents know, if you’re travelling long distances with kids in tow, the mealtime situation can get downright dire.

Last year, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released the first comprehensive report on kid’s meals at popular fast food restaurants, confirming what we have all long suspected: kid’s meals are not so healthy.

A few gems from the study include:

Despite the fact that obesity rates have tripled in children over the last two decades, chain restaurants continue to offer primarily high calorie meals for children. 45% of children’s meals exceed recommendations for saturated and trans fat. On average kids need to eat 430 calories in a sitting, but some kids’ meals contain a whopping 1,000 or more calories. (You can find the whole study here.)

So, short of strapping the fridge to the top of your car, how can you keep your kids eating healthy when you’re on the road (or just running around town)? Start by stashing a copy of Eat This, Not That! For Kids in your glove compartment. The comprehensive guide by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding is a follow-up to their best-seller, Eat This Not That.

The family-friendly version reads like a survival guide on how to avoid the many nutrition pitfalls facing kids today. It includes the best (and worst) meals at forty popular restaurants, a supermarket shopping guide, and the 8 unbreakable rules of kids’ nutrition. While some of the tips feel obvious (i.e. apple slices are healthier than French fries, no surprises there) others will you shock you. Who knew that Spaghetti-O’s are a better choice than Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese or that sometimes the “healthy” chicken sandwich has more calories than the cheeseburger? The book is filled with colorful photos and
has a direct, easy to follow approach so that as kids age, they can begin to
make their own healthier choices. And until then you can feel better about ordering them the roast beef sandwich (not the tuna sub).

-Lindsay Armstrong

Images taken from www.eatersregret.wordpress.com and www.campusi.com.