Did you guys hear about McDonalds?

PrincessSparkle5253
PrincessSparkle5253 Posts: 28
edited September 30 in Food and Nutrition
They're replacing their fries in kids meals, excuse me, "happy meals" with 1/2 apple slices and 1/2 fries, or all apple slices.


"New Happy Meal: McDonald’s will begin rolling out the new Happy Meal in September 2011, with the goal of having them available in all 14,000 restaurants during Q1 2012. The new Happy Meal will automatically include both produce (apple slices, a quarter cup or half serving) and a new smaller size French fries (1.1 ounces) along with the choice of a Hamburger, Cheeseburger or Chicken McNuggets, and choice of beverage, including new fat-free chocolate milk and 1% low fat white milk. For those customers who prefer a side choice of apples only, two bags of apple slices will be available, upon request.
By adding fruit in every Happy Meal, McDonald’s hopes to address a challenge children face in meeting the recommended daily consumption of produce. McDonald’s has offered apples as a requested choice in Happy Meals since 2004. And, while recent research found that on average, 88 percent of McDonald’s customers are aware of the option, apples are chosen in only 11 percent of Happy Meal purchases. "

http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/recent_news/corporate/commitments_to_offer_improved_nutrition_choices.html
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Replies

  • BethGorton
    BethGorton Posts: 38
    They already do this for Happy Meals in Australia! Have been doing it for a while! I think it's a great idea.
  • eillamarie
    eillamarie Posts: 862 Member
    This is all fine & dandy.....but just how old and injected with chemicals are these apple slices in a bag? They have to be pre-packaged. Ew.
  • loombeav
    loombeav Posts: 391 Member
    Hum, interesting. I've been a McDonald's manager for 13 years and I didn't know anything about this. I will say it is absolutely true that most customers don't choose apples, even if offered. And while I think it's great that they are trying to make a healthy change, a 1/4 of apple slices is not a serving of fruit and I wouldn't really call the processed slices they have healthy in the 1st place, although they are a better choice then fries.
  • Marazene
    Marazene Posts: 97
    Robbel roobbel:tongue:
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
    This is all fine & dandy.....but just how old and injected with chemicals are these apple slices in a bag? They have to be pre-packaged. Ew.
    This! I once bought pre-packaged apples from wawa and they had no taste whatsoever. I guess its whatever they treat them with to prevent browning. Either way it's still no justification to feed a kids a hamburger or chicken nugget that half filled with fillers and fake food.
  • clhiter
    clhiter Posts: 74
    They already do this for Happy Meals in Australia! Have been doing it for a while! I think it's a great idea.
    in japan you can get corn
  • PrincessSparkle5253
    PrincessSparkle5253 Posts: 28
    This is all fine & dandy.....but just how old and injected with chemicals are these apple slices in a bag? They have to be pre-packaged. Ew.

    Apple Dippers: Apples, calcium ascorbate (a blend of calcium and vitamin C added to maintain natural color). or Apples, ascorbic acid (vitamin C added to maintain natural color), calcium chloride. Low Fat Caramel Dip: Corn syrup, sweetened condensed whole milk, high fructose corn syrup, water, butter, sugar, salt, disodium phosphate, artificial flavors (ethyl vanillin, vanillin), caramel color, pectin, potassium sorbate as a preservative.

    thats what i came up with, i am not sure if it's an entirely credible source, i got it from dietfacts.com, i would research some more, because i myself am curious, but i have to get ready for a date ;) hehe
  • redheadmommy
    redheadmommy Posts: 908 Member
    You already have this option in Canada. Those apple slices taste funny, and it comes with a big caramel sauce, just to ensure they stuff a huge amount of sugar down with it.
    They suck me into buying this once, never again.
  • Schwiggity
    Schwiggity Posts: 1,449 Member
    Ah organic hipsters in this thread. Le sigh.
  • LeelaLosing
    LeelaLosing Posts: 237 Member
    it's strange but i feel about kid's eating habits the same way i do about my puppy. there is no excuse for them not to eat well or being overweight. i have control over what my puppy eats and i take it seriously. i would expect that parents are equally responsible for what goes in their kid's mouths.

    it's my dream to have someone take care of my meals and snacks and put it in front of me :-)

    and when i hear parents say he/she won't eat that....really? since when do you let kids dictate what they will/won't eat. there are so many choices, and cooking and meals are the best opportunity to get kid's introduced to good food in a positive way to save them from a life of struggle and poor health.
  • lsd007
    lsd007 Posts: 435
    This is all fine & dandy.....but just how old and injected with chemicals are these apple slices in a bag? They have to be pre-packaged. Ew.
    This! I once bought pre-packaged apples from wawa and they had no taste whatsoever. I guess its whatever they treat them with to prevent browning. Either way it's still no justification to feed a kids a hamburger or chicken nugget that half filled with fillers and fake food.

    I think b****ing about fast food being filled with fillers and "fake food" is pretty pointless. McDonald's isn't forcing people to buy their kids this junk. Apples with fillers are surely more healthy than fried potatoes with fillers. And the parents who do choose to feed it to their kids will probably let them get fries anyways.
  • jasondcooper
    jasondcooper Posts: 125
    I'm all for this. McDonald's has rightly taken a lot of heat for their calorie- and fat-laden menu choices over the years. I am reminded of Burger King's addition of a veggie whopper about a decade ago. As the big burger chains see demand for better food choices, I believe they will respond in kind.

    I'd be curious to see what you all have to say about eating fast food in general. I finally reached my goal weight last week and I attribute at least some of my success to not eating at these places. (What used to be a once or twice a week trip to the burger joints is now more like once or twice a month.) I was curious to read this story though, as I ordered a cheeseburger "happy meal" last week for lunch. I got the 1% milk but I didn't know that the apples were an option.
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    Robbel roobbel:tongue:

    Hahahahahaha!
  • anubis609
    anubis609 Posts: 3,966 Member
    Looks like the Hamburglar is winning.
  • Heather75
    Heather75 Posts: 3,386 Member
    And Grimace. He was the Snuffleupagus of McDonaldland.
  • chezmama
    chezmama Posts: 396 Member
    I have absolutely no problem with McDonalds. In fact I like it from time to time. But we went there this weekend and I looked at my nephew's Apple Dippers and they grossed me out. They looked all soft and soggy and....yuck! No wonder they need to serve them with caramel sauce!
  • Danahimself
    Danahimself Posts: 279 Member
    I heard Mcdonalds owns Chipotle not sure if thats true or not.
  • Bigmomma0u812
    Bigmomma0u812 Posts: 118
    They have been doing this in the town I live in for quite some time now. I live very close to Louisville Kentucky. Anyhow its weird. It was 3 chicken nuggets, a bag of apples and a tiny cute little thing of fries... but now sometimes she (my daughter) will get 4 chicken nuggets. I don't know if they're changing the amount or just can't count but there are always apples and a little box of fries that are smaller than the little bag of small fries. I love the idea because my daughter doesn't love fries anyhow.
  • Fleshandlace
    Fleshandlace Posts: 16 Member
    I babysat a 2 year old last month. In the morning, I sliced him up some bananas and got some cheerios for him. He shook his head and got out of his chair. I felt bad and tried several more times to try to get him to eat before his parents got back. I offered him scrambled eggs with some chopped up ham-steak and he shook his head and went and sat down. So i gave him juice and let him watch a movie. When his parents got back I apologized that I couldn't get him to eat.

    She says "Oh that's alright, he only eats McDonalds" and laughs like it was funny.

    O_o
  • clioandboy
    clioandboy Posts: 963 Member
    You want your kids to eat healthy food then you don't take them to mcdonalds.
  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
    For those of you finding it hard to give up or at least cut down on processed food, read this
    http://blackgirlsguidetoweightloss.com/food-101/the-chemical-processing-in-your-processed-foods/
  • SwtKittN
    SwtKittN Posts: 176 Member
    Hmm... I actually like the apples there, I don't eat the caramel sauce tho, extra calories and it's probably icky anyway :x
  • pickenslmc
    pickenslmc Posts: 47 Member
    We go to McDonalds every now and then. I sometimes order my boys happy meals, but usually just either nuggets or a hamburger. If we do get happy meals most of the side-apples or fries just get wasted. This is part of the problem with McDonalds and restaurants in general with children-especially young children, it is hard to pay for food that isn't eaten. In turn parents try to force children to finish all of the food. In my opinion food should be a non-issue, if they don't want to eat don't try to force them, if they get messy while eating don't rush to wipe mouths after every bite. Children are conditioned from an early age to overeat, bottles are forced as an easy way to calm babies down and exploration is limited in concern for cleanliness during meal time. Many babies don't even taste real food including fruits and vegetables, but are fed tons of processed purees with almost no taste. I am fortunate that my boys (both are still young at 2 and 4, so this may change as they age) won't eat unless hungry and even when given treats don't eat until overly stuffed. Both drink mostly water, not chocolate milk or juice. I think nursing both helped them to eat in this way as did the introduction of real fruits/veggies/meat instead of purees. If more importance was placed on providing babies with nutrition and comfort appropriately during the first year of life, I think eating habits as they grow would be more normal and an occasional trip to McDonalds less of an issue even if the entire side of a happy meal was fries.
  • sunnylv
    sunnylv Posts: 42 Member
    Ick. That child will not be very healthy. If that child was removed from the parents (say to grandma) he would learn to eat good food (provided Grandma fed him good food). My children no longer eat a lot of unhealthy options because I don't serve them in my home. We avoid mcdonalds because of all the fillers and chemicals and fat. Children will eat if they get hungry enough. Encourage those parents to see their pediatrician about this Mcdonald's diet. How awful for the child!
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    i think its a good idea for the littlies. a small fries is still a lot of fries for a little one, I prefer the idea of the half fries and half apples rather than full apples though. If i want apples i wont be going to mcdonalds for them
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,961 Member
    They're replacing their fries in kids meals, excuse me, "happy meals" with 1/2 apple slices and 1/2 fries, or all apple slices.


    "New Happy Meal: McDonald’s will begin rolling out the new Happy Meal in September 2011, with the goal of having them available in all 14,000 restaurants during Q1 2012. The new Happy Meal will automatically include both produce (apple slices, a quarter cup or half serving) and a new smaller size French fries (1.1 ounces) along with the choice of a Hamburger, Cheeseburger or Chicken McNuggets, and choice of beverage, including new fat-free chocolate milk and 1% low fat white milk. For those customers who prefer a side choice of apples only, two bags of apple slices will be available, upon request.
    By adding fruit in every Happy Meal, McDonald’s hopes to address a challenge children face in meeting the recommended daily consumption of produce. McDonald’s has offered apples as a requested choice in Happy Meals since 2004. And, while recent research found that on average, 88 percent of McDonald’s customers are aware of the option, apples are chosen in only 11 percent of Happy Meal purchases. "

    http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/media_center/recent_news/corporate/commitments_to_offer_improved_nutrition_choices.html
    Here in CA they give you a choice.
  • suzycreamcheese
    suzycreamcheese Posts: 1,766 Member
    im pretty sure here in the UK they give you a choice too, but its either or, and i never choose apples because my kids get loads of fruit and veg every day. If im going to mcdonalds its because we want burger and fries. I do always either get tropicana or milk as the drink though
  • clarech
    clarech Posts: 157 Member
    McDonald's Apple slices taste like soap yuck!!!!:sick: so do there carrot sticks. If you want your kids to eat healthy don't take them to McDonald's
  • littlemili
    littlemili Posts: 625 Member
    If a kid is going to McDonalds often enough that a small bag of apple will make a difference to their health, they are screwed anyway.
  • freeloaves
    freeloaves Posts: 281
    I think if you're going to eat McD's, you're going to eat McD's. Fries and all.

    Apples and healthy stuff if optional here. Even have WW points. But the salads are so foul and over priced. Give me a cheeseburger any day.
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