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America's Worst Restaurants For Kids RevealedMon Aug 4, 2008 11:52am EDT
Eat This, Not That! Authors Grade 43 National Chains; 6 Receive an "F"
NEW YORK, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Which kids' menus are most likely to make
your children fat? A year-long study of children's meals has revealed vast
dietary differences among America's favorite fast-food and sit-down chain
restaurants, according to the authors of the new book EAT THIS, NOT THAT! For
Kids. Co-authors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding calculated calories, fat
(trans- and saturated), and sodium, as well as the average number of calories
per children's entree, and discovered that many of America's most popular
chain restaurants are nutritional nightmares for America's children.
The authors compared children's entrees; credited restaurants for having
healthy adult options that would appeal to the young palate; evaluated healthy
vegetable and fruit sides and drink options that go beyond sugar-laden soda;
and docked points for restaurants still dishing out unhealthy trans fats or
for refusing to release any nutrition information to their customers.
The result is a Restaurant Report Card that holds each food chain accountable
for the fare they're serving up -- to moms, dads, kids, teens, and everybody
else -- along with a survival strategy for making it through any meal
unscathed.
Did your favorite restaurant make the grade? (For complete descriptions --
plus the best and worst meals at each -- please go to eatthis.com/restaurants)
A
Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A excels in every category we tested for. With a slew of low-calorie
sandwiches, the country's "healthiest" chicken nugget, a variety of solid
sides like fresh fruit and soup that can be substituted into any meal, and
nutritional brochures readily available for perusing at each location,
Chick-fil-A earns the award for America's Healthiest Chain Restaurant (for
kids, for the adults who drive them there, plus anybody else wise enough to
make it their fast food choice).
Your Survival Strategy: Even the smartest kid in the class can still fail a
test, so be on your toes at all times, even at Chik-fil-A. Limit salads with
ranch or Caesar dressings, any sandwich with bacon, and make milkshakes a
special treat, not an everyday beverage.
A-
Subway(Also: Wendy's)
A menu based on lean protein and vegetables is always going to score well in
our book. With more than half a dozen sandwiches under 300 calories, plus a
slew of soups and healthy sides to boot, Subway can satisfy even the pickiest
eater without breaking the caloric bank.
But, despite what Jared may want you to believe, Subway is not nutritionally
infallible: Those rosy calorie counts posted on the menu boards include
neither cheese nor mayo (add 160 calories per 6-inch sub) and some of the
toasted subs, like the Meatball Marinara, contain hefty doses of calories,
saturated fat, and sodium.
Your Survival Strategy: Cornell researchers have discovered a "health halo" at
Subway, which refers to the tendency to reward yourself or your kid with
chips, cookies, and large soft drinks because the entree is healthy. Avoid the
halo, and all will be well.
B+
Boston Market (Also: Fazioli's, Jamba Juice)
With more than a dozen healthy vegetable sides and lean meats like turkey and
roast sirloin on the menu, the low-cal, high-nutrient possibilities at Boston
Market are endless. But with nearly a dozen calorie-packed sides and fatty
meats like dark meat chicken and meat loaf (which contains an unfathomable 55
ingredients!), it's almost as easy to construct a lousy meal.
Your Survival Strategy: There are three simple steps to nutritional salvation:
1) Start with turkey, sirloin, or rotisserie chicken. 2) Add two noncreamy,
nonstarchy vegetable sides. 3) Ignore all special items, such as pot pie and
nearly all of the sandwiches.
B
McDonald's (Also: Arby's, KFC, Panera Bread)
Though not blessed with an abundance of healthy options, Mickey D's isn't
burdened with any major calorie bombs, either. Kid standards like McNuggets
and cheeseburgers are both in the acceptable 300-calorie range.
Your Survival Strategy: Apple Dippers and 2% milk with a small entree makes
for a pretty decent meal-on-the-go. McDonald's quintessential Happy Meal(R)
makes this possible -- just beware the usual French fries and soda pitfalls.
Adults should go for a Quarter Pounder without cheese.
B-
Bob Evans, Denny's
C+
Domino's (Also: Ben & Jerry's, Quizno's)
Domino's suffers the same pitfalls of any other pizza purveyor: too much
cheese, bread, and greasy toppings. If you don't order carefully, your child's
pizza might come laden with more than 350 calories per slice. To its credit,
Domino's does keep the trans fat out of the pizza, and it also offers the
lowest-calorie thin crust option out there.
Your Survival Strategy: Stick with the Crunchy Thin Crust pizzas sans sausage
and pepperoni. If your must order meat, ask for ham. And whenever possible,
try to sneak on a vegetable or two per pie.
C
Burger King (Also: Au Bon Pain, Cold Stone Creamery, Papa John's, Taco Bell)
BK has only four legitimate kids' entrees on the menu, and none of them --
French Toast Sticks, hamburger, mac and cheese, chicken tenders -- are
particularly healthy. And while the recent addition of Apple Fries provides a
much-needed healthy side alternative for kids, the menu is still sullied with
trans fats. BK pledged to follow in the wake of nearly every other chain
restaurant and remove trans fats from the menu by the end of 2008, but so far,
we've seen little action. In fact, a large order of Hash Browns has an
outrageous 13 grams of the heart-threatening fat, and even an order of
Cini-minis will add 4.5 grams of trans fats to your kid's breakfast.
Your Survival Strategy: Adults can sign on for the Whopper Junior and a Garden
Salad, and escape with only 365 calories. The best kids' meal? A 4-piece
Chicken Tenders(R), applesauce or Apple Fries, and water or milk. Beyond that,
there is little hope of escaping unscathed.
C-
Chili's, Chuck E. Cheese's, Dunkin' Donuts, Jack in the Box, Ruby Tuesday,
Starbucks, Uno Chicago Grill
D+
Baskin Robbins, Dairy Queen, P.F. Chang's
D
Chipotle(Also: Baja Fresh, Krispy Kreme, Pizza Hut, Romano's Macaroni Grill)
We applaud Chipotle's commitment to high-quality produce and fresh meats, but
even the most pristine ingredients can't limit the damage wrought by the
massive portion sizes the chain serves up. The lack of options for kids means
young eaters are forced to tussle with one of Chipotle's behemoth burritos or
taco platters, which can easily top 1,000 calories. Don't think you'll escape
by ordering up a salad, either -- even a leafy bowl at Chipotle can knock out
more than half a day's worth of calories.
Your Survival Strategy: Stick to the crispy tacos or burrito bowls, or saw a
burrito in thirds.
D-
Cosi, On the Border
F
Applebee's, IHOP, Olive Garden, Outback, Red Lobster, T.G.I. Friday's
These titans of the restaurant industry are among the last national chains
that don't provide nutritional information on their dishes. Even after years
of communication with their representatives, we still hear the same old
excuses: it's too pricey, it's too time-consuming, it's impossible to do
accurately because their food is so fresh. Our response is simple: If every
other chain restaurant in the country can do it, then why can't they? Recent
New York legislation requiring these restaurants to run calorie counts on
their menus gave diners a glimpse of what these establishments are hiding: At
Friday's, no fewer than nine sandwiches and ten appetizers topple the
1000-calorie barrier; at IHOP, the "healthiest" entree-size salad has a
staggering 1050 calories; and at Outback, even a simple order of salmon will
wipe out 75% of your day's caloric allotment.
Your Survival Strategy: Write letters, make phone calls, beg, scream, and
plead for these restaurants to provide nutritional information on all of their
products. Ask them why they refuse to tell us the truth!
For a comprehensive A-to-F breakdown on all 43 other chain restaurants -- plus
the best and worst meals at each -- see the complete Eat This, Not That! For
Kids Restaurant Report Card at eatthis.com/restaurants.
Eat This, Not That! For Kids is available nationwide on August 19th.
DAVID ZINCZENKO is the Editor-in-Chief of Men's Health magazine and the
editorial director of Women's Health and Best Life magazines, as well as the
author of New York Times bestsellers The Abs Diet and The Abs Diet for Women.
Once an overweight child, Zinczenko has become one of the nation's leading
experts on health and fitness. He is a regular contributor to the Today show
and has appeared on Oprah, Ellen, Good Morning America, and Primetime Live.
MATT GOULDING is the food and nutrition editor of Men's Health. He has cooked
and eaten his way around the world, touching down in Allentown, Pennsylvania,
where he divides most of his time between keyboard and stovetop.
SOURCE Rodale/Eat This, Not That!
Allison Falkenberry, +1-212-573-0524, Allison.Falkenberry@Rodale.com
