Saturday, 28 January 2012
-
Hey, Parents! Here are 6 Healthy Fast-Food Bites for Kids
I'm not a parent, but I know plenty of moms and dads, and I've seen how hard it can be to provide quick, healthy meals for children. Children are picky eaters to begin with, but throw a few vegetables on their plate and they're almost immediately turned off.
Well, RealAge.com has come up with a short list of healthy, fast-food bites that your kids will love. Let's say these meals are "kid tested, mother approved."
6. Panera: Kids Roast Beef Sandwich on whole grain bread (no cheese), fresh apple, reduced-fat milk
Calories: 450 (45 from sat fat); sodium: 650 mg.; healthy stuff: whole grains, fruit, calcium5. McDonald's: Plain hamburger, apple dippers (without the caramel sauce), low-fat milk
Calories: 385 (45 from sat fat); sodium: 645 mg ; healthy stuff: fruit, calcium4. Sonic: Corn dog, apple slices, low-fat milk
Calories: 355 (45 from sat fat); sodium: 660 mg ; healthy stuff: fruit, calcium3. KFC: Grilled chicken drumstick, corn on the cob, unsweetened tea, string cheese
Calories: 270 (23 from sat fat); sodium: 545 mg ; healthy stuff: vegetables, calcium2. Burger King: Kids macaroni and cheese, apple fries (skip the caramel sauce), fat-free milk
Calories: 285 (14 from sat fat); sodium: 490 mg; healthy stuff: calcium, fruitAnd the ultimate, kid-friendly fast-food?
1. Subway: Roast Beef Kids Meal; the sandwich (hold the cheese) on whole-wheat bread; apple slices; 100% juice
Calories: 335 (9 from sat fat); sodium: 515; healthy stuff: whole grains, fruit, calciumWhat do you think, parents? Do these meals sound healthy enough to you? What fast-food items do you allow your kids to eat?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to healthkicker's Healthkicker Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in healthkicker's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: msenergydrink
- About Me: While I tried to stay in college for as long as I possibly could, I picked up a Psychology minor, forcing myself to learn a little about mental health. What I didn't know was how closely linked mental and physical health, are to each other. Now that I've graduated, I've enjoyed writing about all different aspects of health for Healthkicker. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that there's no way to live healthy unless you're happy, too. I'm hoping to be able to give as much insight as I can, while picking up a few tips from everyone along the way!
 If there was one drink I could not live with, it'd be WATER. While I do thrive off of energy drinks, I drink about 15 glasses of water a day. As far as my favorite foods go, I'll eat anything with cheese, chicken, and asparagus. Also, ANY kind of fruit!
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 424 Views: 0 1019776 Comments: 0 11489 View all posts by msenergydrink
Comments (29)
Just look at the sodium intake in those. "
The Institute of Medicine sets the Adequate Intake for sodium at 1000 mg a day for children ages 2 to 3, 1200 mg for 4 to 8 and 1500 mg per day for boys and girls ages 9 to 18. "
I don't think I am going to let my children drink milk. Haven't fully decided yet, but milk is addictive and fattening and there are plenty of other ways for children to get strong bones. I was raised on "milk is healthy", but my mind has been changed by a lot of research I have seen since then. I guess I'll decide for sure when I actually have children. Nutrition research is constantly changing.
I will get them water at fast food places and at home, I want to have a juice to make fresh juices. :)
**Breast milk during infancy is an exception.
Sadly--around here BK doesn't carry the Mac and Cheese anymore :(
This stuff looks terrible for kids.... :/ Stick to Panera or Subway or Wawa or Au Bon Pain. But fast food like KFC (hey now, corn isn't a vegetable), McDonald's, Sonic, etc. is not healthy, no matter what the calories are. Take the time to make fresh meals for your kids, and if you have to stop for a quick bite, make it a quick snack with fruit/nuts and wait for a decent place to have a meal... No fast food for kids, please!!!
@wonderchica22@xanga - WHOA!!! Milk isnt healthy?! Damn, I missed a huge newflash! LOL Why isnt it? I know some people dont like it because of the antibotics & hormones the cows get but what else makes it bad? I drink it a few times a month straight (not counting cereal or coffee). I'm leaning more to rice, almond & soy milk but they're right up there in price so it doesnt really matter what I buy now.
"Children are picky eaters to begin with, but throw a few vegetables on their plate and they're almost immediately turned off."
My sisters and I always had vegetables we liked. Typically, carrots, cukes, tomatoes, bell peppers, peas, and even broccoli were well liked. Squashes and brussel sprouts didn't usually go over well, at least with me. I've grown out of cauliflower, into green beans and asparagus, but the three above and every kind of beans still don't grace my plate.
We ALL have taste preferences. Being under 18 doesn't make those preferences illegitimate.
ARE YOU KIDDING??? These are healthy???
6. Panera: Kids Roast Beef Sandwich on whole grain bread (no cheese), fresh apple, reduced-fat milk
Calories: 450 (45 from sat fat); sodium: 650 mg.; healthy stuff: whole grains, fruit, calcium
***Yeah right! Whole grains??? Really, that bread is just PRETENDING! It's all MARKETING!
5. McDonald's: Plain hamburger, apple dippers (without the caramel sauce), low-fat milk
Calories: 385 (45 from sat fat); sodium: 645 mg ; healthy stuff: fruit, calcium
***Uh that burger is processed GARBAGE made with grain fed beef... the caramel sauce is ALL sugar and that milk is full of hormones.
4. Sonic: Corn dog, apple slices, low-fat milk
Calories: 355 (45 from sat fat); sodium: 660 mg ; healthy stuff: fruit, calcium
***Fried hot dog, awesome. That's not healthy ONE BIT!
3. KFC: Grilled chicken drumstick, corn on the cob, unsweetened tea, string cheese
Calories: 270 (23 from sat fat); sodium: 545 mg ; healthy stuff: vegetables, calcium
*** Ditch the string cheese and this could be the healthiest meal on the list... de-skin that chicken too!
2. Burger King: Kids macaroni and cheese, apple fries (skip the caramel sauce), fat-free milk
Calories: 285 (14 from sat fat); sodium: 490 mg; healthy stuff: calcium, fruit
***HECK NO! HECK NO! OFF THE LIST RIGHT NOW. Mac & Cheese? Really, SO UNHEALTHY!
And the ultimate, kid-friendly fast-food?
1. Subway: Roast Beef Kids Meal; the sandwich (hold the cheese) on whole-wheat bread; apple slices; 100% juice
Calories: 335 (9 from sat fat); sodium: 515; healthy stuff: whole grains, fruit, calcium
***That bread is FAKE! FAKE! It's processed GARBAGE dyed brown to FOOL everyone!!!!!!! And that beef is grain-fed.
http://www.gigieatscelebrities.com
@wonderchica22@xanga - Fat free milk? I always drank 1% for the past six or seven years and it didn't fatten me up.
As for the post, though... I can't see any of these being healthy except maybe Subway. I haven't ever been to Panera to know for sure.
Obviously...the poster was not telling everyone to purchase these things for their kids every day. A burger every now and then won't hurt them.
You can prepare all you want, but if you've ever had/been/raised kids, you know things come up and you can't always have a healthy option ready. Having these numbers allows you to make a more sensible choice should you find yourself lacking options.
It's just common sense, so chill.
@Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga - Meh. Research is relative. A few years ago, eggs were AWFUL for people with heart disease, and now they encourage people who have those problems to eat them. Same thing with red wine. It's all about moderation, imo.
Not "healthy" enough to susbstitue "normal" meals, and I never trust Mc donalds food. (Do you know that specific smell your r gets when you've picked up sth from McDonalds? ...It's so gross! And I always feel hungry after eating from there). I also think there is chemistry in all of these save the subway thing and I do't trust that, plus the fats are unhealthy. Of course kids can eat that, just like they can eat chocolate and candy, but not every day.
what's with the roast beef?! why not turkey? haha.
They don't sound like the healthiest options to me, but hey... They may be more kid-friendly at least. :)
....
Or, you know, people could just skip the fast food all together and feed their kids stuff with actual nutrition and no empty calories.
@Xbeautifully_broken_downX@xanga - I agree, everything in moderation. Too much of anything (water included) is bad for you. I hate all the negative fast food campaigns. Eating it once or twice a week wont kill you. Eating it everyday then yeah...you'll have issues. Like this story on yahoo recently talking about how bad McNuggets are. What some people dont know is that's ALL she ate for years. Her mother's pisspoor excuse was that her daughter wouldnt eat anything else.
In my family, if you didnt eat what was cooked, you didnt eat at all unless maybe you had a bowl of cereal. Parents nowadays need to grow more of a backbone when it comes to food. I dont mean to sound rude or disrespectful but how will you let your child tell you what to cook? I was a kid too, I didnt like some things but I was always raised to try it before you decide you dont like it. Most of the time I've seen kids say they hate it because someone else said it was gross & whatnot. Some of my favorite foods are actually veggies & tofu! I wish we had more healthy fast food place but there isnt a market for it just yet.
My oldest niece once threw a fit because I made pasta & alfredo with tuna & she looked in the bowl & whined saying she didnt like it. I told her nicely she should try it before passing judgement because I didnt have to go in the kitchen & make her dinner & she had nerve to tell me "well you didnt have to cook". I dont think I made a meal for her ungrateful ass since. I blame her father's family for that attitude because they spoiled her so much, she has a sense of entitlement.
I'm not a parent, but those options don't sound that healthy. People who are truly concerned about their child's health will serve home cooked meals to their kids more often than wasting time looking for the healthiest kids' meals out. Eating out should be considered an occasional treat. I follow the "enjoy in moderation" rule, too. If we get so anal retentive about all the bad/goodness of food, we'd have to grow and raise, and slaughter all our food ourselves, and that is just not practical for most people.
@Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga - My parents were the same way! You either ate the meal mom prepared now (at mealtime) or later (when you were hungry) or, if mom was feeling nice, you can pour yourself a bowl of cereal or make a PB&J. Sometimes I wonder who is in charge when I see children throwing a tantrum, or when the parent basically gets down on their knees to ask what the kid wants to eat when ordering out. Don't blame you for not wanting to make your niece another meal, that was pretty rude of her!
@babybug329@xanga - That's because some people think discipline & child abuse are the same thing. Noooo, discipline is correcting bad behavior in a child. Child abuse is senseless, unneeded hitting, words & whatnot. I got popped as a kid when I did something bad but my parents didnt just wail on me just because. Plus some parents think they need to be a friend to have a good relationship with their kids. No you're a parent first & foremost.
You shouldnt force feed your kids because that doesnt help either. Compromise is good. Like telling them to eat atleast half of it or try to make the healthy foods more fun. Like fruit & veggie smoothies or desserts. Healthy food has gotten good the past decade. I find new recipes all the time! One of my favorite things is to take one cup of milk (I drink 2% but whatever you like it good) & one banana & make a shake. It's so yummy without all the syrup & sugar. The trick to keep it from getting watery is to chop the banana in to slices & freeze it. When you blend it, it's a thick shake without the chunks of ice in it!
Why would anyone go to Burger King for Mac n Cheese????
@G1G1626 - Because of your added comments, which seem to condemn bread, meat, milk and cheese, I'd like to know what you believe is/makes nutritious food.
@galliver@xanga - Fish of all types, poultry breast, omega-3 enriched eggs, veggies, fruits, grass-fed meats, whole grains, healthy fats (nuts, seeds, olives, avocado, nut/seed oils)... nothing with sugar & refined white flour, trans fatty acids, copious amounts of saturated fat, dairy products not from grass-fed/finished cows, canola oil and corn oil.
www.gigieatscelebrities.com
@Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga - Compromise is a great tool, especially when dealing with family members who do not like fruits and veggies, as is a great blender/food processor. (Puree/grate produce to add to meals not normally prepared with a lot of vegetables.) I agree that the prepared healthy options available for purchase really has improved in recent years--something more gourmet than just salads and veggie sticks. I just don't understand why some people find healthy foods to be disgusting. I grew up eating fruits and veggies, while I didn't like some of them, I didn't find them repulsive. The banana shake is tasty, even with variations of adding other fruits, or reducing the milk to a minimum and making banana "ice cream."
If you want your kids to eat healthily, I'd advise against taking them to fast food places.
@Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga - Basically, some research is saying that all animals are intended to drink only their mother's milk for the duration of the time they nurse because it is intended to pack in all the necessary protein and nutrients needed for a human to get through the biggest growth spurt of their life (infancy) and after that point no individual needs such a concentrated amount of nutrients. Plus, there is a lot of questionable practices involved in the dairy industry that can make milk contain icky things (i.e.- continuing to use diseased cows for milk and just "cooking out" the disease during pasteurization).
Once I thought about it.. it is a little weird to drink another animals milk that is intended for their young.
But, again, who knows what I will decide by the time I have a child. I mean, honestly, I drank milk and I turned out justttt fine. ;)
@Shinbi_Belldandy@xanga - I totally agree. When I was a kid, we sat at the table till our veggies were gone. It was a battle I couldn't win and I totally knew it. Also, I liked (most) veggies when I was growing up! When I went to my grandmother's for Sunday lunch or any other special meal, I'd hit up the broccoli, corn, tomato's, collards, and green beans before anything else. (EVERYTHING EXCEPT PEAS. OMG. I HATED THOSE THINGS. HAHA.). To this day, I'd much rather prefer a bowl of collards w/vinegar than a steak.
But you're right. I think eating now is largely about convenience and parents who work 8 hours a day and then come home, and have to fix a meal just don't want the fight they have with their kids about eating the veggies on their plate.