Do you want a Salad with your Big Mac®?
No fries with that Big Mac®?
McDonald’s now offers alternatives.
The other day, I was busy running errands, and became extremely thirsty. While at a stop sign, I looked across the street and saw a McDonald’s.
In the window they had a sign advertising $.99 for a 44oz. beverage. I promptly went to the drive-through to purchase one. (I know Diet Coke isn’t the healthiest beverage, but I do enjoy it occasionally.)
On the drive-thru menu, there was a sign I had never seen at McDonald’s. Although it’s been years since I’ve been to one, they feature “Your choice of sides” and “At no additional cost.”
What side choices were available with their value meals?
1. French Fries
2. A fruit parfait
3. Apple Dippers
4. And a side salad
So I ordered a Grilled Chicken with a side salad topped with Newman's Own® Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing. The meal was extremely filling, in fact, I couldn’t eat the whole sandwich and I only used half the dressing. The salad consisted of lettuce, cabbage, carrots, and baby tomatoes.
Here is its nutritional data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Newman's Own® Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing |
90 |
2.5 |
0 |
0 |
740 |
15 |
0 |
1 |
||||||||
Side Salad |
20 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
10 |
4 |
1 |
1 |
||||||||
Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich |
420 |
10 |
2 |
70 |
1190 |
51 |
3 |
32 |
||||||||
Total: |
530 |
13 |
2.5 |
70 |
1940 |
70 |
5 |
34 |
||||||||
% Daily Value |
- |
19 |
12 |
23 |
81 |
23 |
19 |
- |
The sodium amount is too high, but otherwise this meal wasn’t too bad. The nutritional analysis was provided via McDonald’s website.
But what would the nutritional analysis be with French Fries?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich |
420 |
10 |
2 |
70 |
1190 |
51 |
3 |
32 |
||||||||
Medium French Fries |
380 |
19 |
2.5 |
0 |
270 |
48 |
5 |
4 |
||||||||
Total: |
800 |
29 |
4.5 |
70 |
1460 |
99 |
8 |
36 |
||||||||
% Daily Value: |
- |
44 |
24 |
23 |
61 |
33 |
33 |
- |
That’s quite a difference.
Will the addition of side salads lead you to McDonald’s more often? Does the idea of having a salad with your Big Mac® make it more appealing? Or will you be tempted to purchase Fries—or anything else fatty--just by going?
It’s your choice to make, because
After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!
Tags: big_mac, calories, fast_food, fat, mcdonalds, nutrition, salad
Comment
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Comment by Susanna on July 18, 2008 at 1:04pm - Not too bad. You probably did not even crack 500 if you did not use all the dressing on the salad.
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Comment by Andy Stanton on July 18, 2008 at 11:02am -
I'm a type 1 diabetic with an insulin pump. I'm also a father of three children under the age of 8. Needless to say, we hit Mickey Dees a few times each month. My favorite thing to eat there is the Asian Chicken Salad - it is tasty and I don't have to bolus huge amounts of insulin to cover my carb intake. I also love McDonalds in the fact that their nutritional guide is on the back of EVERY tray liner (at least in Kansas). It allows me to figure out what I'm eating and how much insulin I need to take.
Although McDonald's isn't my favorite place to eat, at least I have some healthy choices.
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