Kid's Menu Choices

Monday, August 4, 2008

So I was skimming through the USA Today that we get under our door each day for being a Hilton Honors Member at the Hampton Inn we are staying at in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, (For more on that see my Somewhere Else Travel blog.) and I saw an interesting article about the calories in food on the children's menus of popular fast food or chain restaurants. A study revealed that kids' menu choices can top 1000 calories. Is anyone surprised? If you are you should not be. Look at a kid's menu next time you are in a restaurant. The adult menu usually has options for sides not to mention soups or salads but the kid's menu rarely has anything but a burger, chicken strips, fries maybe mac-n-cheese or another equally calorie laden option. One person quoted in the article offers the idea that restaurants should list the calories for each item on the menu. That is a brilliant idea but don't stop at the kids menu. How are we supposed to set a good example if we pick salads for the kids and burgers for ourselves? We need to put the nutritional information on all menu items. So we can all learn what the best choices are.
Now I do not expect every single dish to be made the exact same way every time of course one day there will be 150 calories and the next there will be 157 calories no two chefs make the dish exactly alike but with the calories on the menu I can get a better idea of what is good and what is bad and that is better than it is now.
Another option of course for all those people who order religiously off the kid's menu for their children is, Don't. Sure the kid's menu has bright colors and puzzle games on it and at times is a little less expensive than regular menu items but the nutritional value of ordering a salad and splitting it with your child is worth the extra expense.
I challenge everyone to do one thing, instead of fries or chips that come with your sandwich pay the extra dollar or two to get the veggie of the day. I did this while I was pregnant and I felt so much better for it, Today I am going to start doing it again. I can not expect my son to eat any better than I do, so I have to make the changes first.

Inspired by this article.