McD's Forcing "Healthier" Happy Meals?

[Paige]

A facebook friend "liked" this article and I didn't want to vent on her page but thought I'd see what you all thought. Now, McDonalds will be putting smaller fries and apples in every happy meal instead of offering parents the choice. This has been going on where I live for quite a while already and it really irritates me! I think it is glaringly contradictory to say that they are "bowing to consumer pressure" in doing this yet only 11% of consumers requested apples in the first place. I think if the consumers wanted apples, they'd ask for apples. The people who are pressuring them for healthier happy meals are probably not their customers and most wouldn't go there no matter what they offer on principle.

 

On the other hand, we always asked for apples. We liked them and my DS hates fries. Now, our happy meals are significantly less healthy because even though we always asked for apples, we have been getting fewer apples and a half pack of fries! My other kids were happy with the apples but will eat the fries, and with my DS the fries would be in the trash if he didn't have his sisters to pass them off to. I wonder how many apples are going to be tossed now? So wasteful. I am happy to see they may be offering a wider variety of fruit and veggies in the future but I am so annoyed by them throwing fries into every happy meal when we were thrilled to not see them anymore.

 

And please, no flames for going to McDs...it's not like it's every week and my kids are perfectly fine. Everything in moderation....The food is legal and I am capable of making educated choices.

 

Article Here

[Mrs Mungo]

My son is allergic to apples. So, that would be seriously annoying.

[Annie G]

I wonder if you could request that you receive 2 portions of apple slices but no fries.

[Mergath]

Will customers be able to request either fries or apples, instead?

[Dmmetler]

I agree-my DD likes the apples, and is used to ordering apples (or whatever the fruit choice is) instead of fries. She's downright disappointed when she gets fries instead of apples because they mess it up or don't have them. Getting both fries and apples is NOT what I want for her-and since I'll usually order a happy meal as well because it's a reasonable quantity of food, it's not what I want, either! I want the apples, hold the caramel sauce!

[BarbecueMom]

We eat McDonald's once every three weeks or so. We don't order happy meals for the boys; they split a burger and *gasp* fries!

 

Why don't I order apples? I buy 6 pounds of apples a week, in addition to a melon, two types of berries, 10 pounds of bananas, and whatever other fruit is on sale. By the time we get to McD's, we're sick of apples and haven't eaten anything fried in three weeks.

 

From what I read, you can order all fries or all apples, but half and half is the default.

[Plucky]

I don't like to be forced into healthy. I can make my own choices, thank you.

[Joker]

We eat McDonald's once every three weeks or so. We don't order happy meals for the boys; they split a burger and *gasp* fries!

 

Why don't I order apples? I buy 6 pounds of apples a week, in addition to a melon, two types of berries, 10 pounds of bananas, and whatever other fruit is on sale. By the time we get to McD's, we're sick of apples and haven't eaten anything fried in three weeks.

 

From what I read, you can order all fries or all apples, but half and half is the default.

 

This is us, too. My dds love apples and get enough at home. When we go to McD's its for the fries ~ not the apples.

[Mom in High Heels]

I don't think it's a bad idea. You can request just apples or just fries if you want.

[Plucky]

You know what would be cool? Offering baked fries or baked sweet potato fries.

[Dmmetler]

Chick-fil-a has sweet potato fries right now, but they're still fried. I have no trouble skipping regular potato ones, but sweet potato ones are harder.

[Plucky]

No offense, but yuck. :lol:

 

I can't eat them, but they are yummy, too! I can then coerce my kids into eating these instead of the normal fries. :D

[Jenny in Florida]

I don't think it's a bad idea. You can request just apples or just fries if you want.

 

Agreed.

 

I don't understand why this is such a thing?

 

Granted, we don't eat at McDonald's. Ever. Even their fries are not vegetarian friendly. So, I haven't set foot in one in well over a decade.

 

But I think this is a good thing. I'm sure you'll be able to mix and match as you wish, but having one tiny bit of fresh food in a meal can only be a good first step, right?

[Teachin'Mine]

I'm hoping they finally play catch up to Burger King and start offering veggie burgers. :tongue_smilie: We sometimes go just for the dollar sundaes. And no, we don't want them to substitute that with apples. :lol:

[LidiyaDawn]

Yuck.

 

When my kids want mcds/bk/etc - they want a burger/nuggets and fries… not gross little slimy apple blobs. :tongue_smilie:

[Jenny in Atl]

Try something new... don't eat there! :lol: No one is forcing anyone to eat anything. If you don't like the changes at your local fast food joint, then find another, or actually make real food (if that even still exists).

[Crimson Wife]

Putting lipstick on a pig doesn't change the animal into a beauty queen...

[Paige]

In our market, where the new policy has been implemented without formal notice, we ask for apples or fries (it does sometimes happen!) and we have been getting both no matter what we ask for. I'm not sure if they even have the regular child size fry bags anymore. Now that I read this article, the next time I go, I'll try to be clear that we do not want fries with our apples and see what happens.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

I know, how dare they try to do something to fix an epidemic that has guaranteed a whole generation will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents! It's an outrage!!!!! We all have the right to get our kids hooked on addictive junk when they are young and don't know any better! *grumble grumble*

[KrissiK]

I don't like to be forced into healthy. I can make my own choices, thank you.

:iagree: We hardly ever go to McDonalds (or any fast food) so by gum, if we want to eat french fries in our Happy Meal, we want to eat french fries. A whole order, please! I think it's so stupid. Just another example of the Nanny State. People aren't taught to make healthy choices because the choices are made for them.

[chiguirre]

This suits my kids perfectly. We used to order one meal with fries and one with apples and share. Now everyone gets their own and we don't have to divvy them up. Of course if you hate apples or can't stand the fries, you should be able to get just what you want.

[Trish]

Just a heads up on the kiddie play areas at McDonald's, Chuck E. Cheese, BK, etc. (NOT Chik-Fil-A, apparently they actually clean their play areas).

 

Fast Food Playgrounds Are Failing the Yuck Test

[RoundAbout]

I always get the apples and milk for my son on the rare times we eat at McD's. Something has to be the default so I have no problem if its the healthier choice as long as you can get what you want by request. One of my friends had no idea you could get apples there, so maybe it will raise awareness.

[dakarimom5]

Putting apples in a Happy Meal is going to do absolutely nothing to help with childhood obesity.

 

That being said, I could go for some sweet potato fries too!!

[Pretty in Pink]

I always specify apples or fries when I order a happy meal. I am not sure that I would have even noticed the change since we don't often pick up McDonald's.

 

I have one child that doesn't like french fries. The other boys enjoy them. We eat very healthy foods at home, including lots of fresh produce. If we grab fast food it is a treat and if my kids want fries they get fries.

 

A half portion of each? Seems...annoying. Not enough of either to really enjoy. What's the point? It just sounds like a marketing thing to me...something new to put in a commmercial.

[myfatherslily]

I think if the consumers wanted apples, they'd ask for apples. The people who are pressuring them for healthier happy meals are probably not their customers and most wouldn't go there no matter what they offer on principle.

 

You might be right on that one! Honestly, I'm not sure that my kids even know they sell apples. I know that makes me sound like a terrible parent, but you should see how fast they eat through a bag of apples at home;) It really doesn't make a difference to me what they do with their Happy Meals cause I don't buy them. I can feed all 4 of us for about $8, but definitely not if we get Happy Meals! How about we get apples instead of the dumb toys??:D lol, kids would just LOVE that, wouldn't they?:tongue_smilie:

[mom2scouts]

When we do go to McDonald's, my kids want the fries. That's what they like the most! I tried ordering apples with their Happy Meals when that first became an option, but they wouldn't eat them and they were wasted. I liked that they had healthier OPTIONS, as my dd started asking for milk instead of a soft drink, but I wouldn't mind if it stayed an option.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

I think it's a good thing. I hate hate hate McDonald's. But my ghetto sister and everybody else who lives like she does, feed their kids a daily consistent dose of C-R-A-P. My niece gags, I'm not exaggerating, GAGS, on most fresh healthy foods I feed her. There is hardly ever fresh fruit in the house for most of these kids, and they eat two meals a day at school (more crap). So those apples may be the only fresh fruit they will see all day. And you can bet, their parents are taking them there daily... if not daily, at least every other day.

 

And complaining about waste? Please. I bet you the apples all get thrown in the trash anyways b/c no one will choose them over the addicting french fries. At least now, they are there... and if a kid is hungry enough, they will eat them. If not, they will throw them in the trash, where they would have ended up anyways.... and they get the benefit of a smaller portion of fries. It's a win-win.

[LidiyaDawn]

I think it's a good thing. I hate hate hate McDonald's. But my ghetto sister and everybody else who lives like she does, feed their kids a daily consistent dose of C-R-A-P. My niece gags, I'm not exaggerating, GAGS, on most fresh healthy foods I feed her. There is hardly ever fresh fruit in the house for most of these kids, and they eat two meals a day at school (more crap). So those apples may be the only fresh fruit they will see all day. And you can bet, their parents are taking them there daily... if not daily, at least every other day.

 

And complaining about waste? Please. I bet you the apples all get thrown in the trash anyways b/c no one will choose them over the addicting french fries. At least now, they are there... and if a kid is hungry enough, they will eat them. If not, they will throw them in the trash, where they would have ended up anyways.... and they get the benefit of a smaller portion of fries. It's a win-win.

 

It sounds like you "hate" more than just a restaurant… :001_huh:

[FiveOaksAcademy]

So ridiculous!! We are healthy eaters and we rarely eat fast food or at restaurants. When we go to McDonald's, my kids want a burger and fries, and that is just. fine. with. me!!! I don't need an upped price just because they have felt pressure to conform. I'll wind up ordering extra fries so my kids can have what they actually want from McDonald's and not what McD's feels pressured to give. I guess I need to call those in charge and ask permission for that now too??? :lol:

[EKS]

We don't go to McDonalds for apples. We go for the junk. When we go that is, which is about once every 5 years.

[Classical Country Mama]

I'm relieved--McDonalds says if you don't want fries, you can request double apples. Doesn't say if you can request double fries, though... :D

 

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.

[WeeBeaks]

<shrug> I like the idea. My kids usually share 2 Happy Meals for 3 kids and we get one with fries and one with apples and split everything. So this works great for us. I'm grateful for choices.

 

I went to Wendys the other day and was surprised to see they no longer have the mandarin oranges? They had something else (apples I think?), but my kids loved those little orange bits.

[Dobela]

We don't like the apples at McDonald's because whatever they use to leep them from browning in those bags has a flavor we don't like at all. Besides, we eat plenty of apples at home - fresh, organic, not coated in some preservative.

[Mergath]

I think it's a good idea. Judging by the number of morbidly obese kids I see every day, most parents just aren't capable of feeding their kids decently healthy foods, so at least now kids that have dinner at McD's every night will get some fruit.

 

I know, I sound harsh, but I've run out of patience for parents like that. I bring dd to McD's maybe once every two or three months for ice cream and so she can play in the playplace, and the number of kids- even toddlers- I see so fat they can barely climb up to the top of the slide is just horrifying. There is no excuse for kids that age to be that size. And this won't solve the obesity epidemic, I know. But maybe at least a few of the parents will wake up and think, hey, if even fast food places are trying to get some fruit into my kid, maybe I ought to take a look at our eating habits.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I know, how dare they try to do something to fix an epidemic that has guaranteed a whole generation will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents! It's an outrage!!!!! We all have the right to get our kids hooked on addictive junk when they are young and don't know any better! *grumble grumble*

 

There is a literacy crisis too. But if I ordered a video game and got half of a game and half of a book instead, I would be annoyed as a customer.

 

I agree that fries are incredibly unhealthy. Thus we pretty much have stopped ordering them or combo meals and will just get the sandwich and drink water. That said, the times when I do order fries, I would expect to get just that.

 

I think that the fast food places are making these changes so that it is harder to sue them. (And it should be hard to sue them for damages, no one forces you to eat fast food instead of cooking at home. Even when I'm eating there more than I'd like, it is a result of choices we're making.)

 

As an aside, when we lived in Europe, a Happy Meal came with both fries and apples (quartered, but not peeled). In France it even came with a small yogurt drink. But getting milk with a kids' meal was quite a feat. We used to take bets about how it would get messed up. DH often had to point out that milk was on the menu when clerks told him they didn't sell it. :lol:

[Carrie12345]

I haven't read all of the responses, but my kids would be thrilled. They did't like having to choose, and it usually ended badly for the girls when they order one of each with the *intent to share. :tongue_smilie: We've moved on from Happy Meals though.

 

It's not like they took fries off of the menu, which would be a REAL bad business decision. ;)

[justasque]

How does a restaurant changing their menu equal a nanny state, or people being forced to do anything? Don't like it, ask for something different, or eat somewhere else.

 

I was in a city last year that required that calorie count be put on the menu next to every option. (A separate brochure didn't qualify.) It did seem to make some places change their offerings a bit; the taco place had optional free chips with each entree, for example, instead of automatically including them at 250 cal per. I found that it did encourage me (not force me) to be aware of what I was choosing, and to make healthy choices like saving half the food for the next meal. (At the two places I went, one a taco place and one a pizza place, 750 cal or so was the lowest entree; most were around the 1500 mark.)

 

I looked up the law and it was pretty sensible - only foods that were on the menu for 6 months had to have the cals, and only restaurants that had more than 6 locations (or something like that), so neighborhood mom-and-pop places were exempt.

[Pretty in Pink]

I'd rather see them focus on improving the burgers and nuggets, personally. Chick Fil A has amazingly tasty nuggets. My kids call McDonald's chicken nuggets 'chicken butts' and joke about what unsavory parts of the bird might be in them. The burgers, truthfully, are fairly pitiful. The choice between apples and fries was already there.

[vonfirmath]

We don't like the apples at McDonald's because whatever they use to leep them from browning in those bags has a flavor we don't like at all. Besides, we eat plenty of apples at home - fresh, organic, not coated in some preservative.

 

Agreed. The apples at McDonald's are nasty tasting.

[Haiku]

The people who are pressuring them for healthier happy meals are probably not their customers and most wouldn't go there no matter what they offer on principle.

 

 

And yet McDonald's, one of the largest and most successful chains in the world, is listening to whomever these people are. They must have their reasons.

 

I'm not sure I understand what you are upset about. McDonald's is free, and always has been, to offer whatever they want in their Happy Meals (San Francisco aside). In the past they "forced" unhealthy Happy Meals. Now they are "forcing" healthier ones. How is this force and not just the decision they make about what to sell in their store?

 

If you don't want fries in your Happy Meal, ask for it without fries. Ask for more apples in lieu of the fries. According to the article, customers had to ask for apples instead of fries. So the fries have always been part of the Happy Meal. Now they are offering both fries and apples.

 

Honestly, I'm not trying to be snarky, but I read your post several times and don't understand what the issue is. To me it seems like some people scream when the options are unhealthy and some people scream when the options are healthy. Apparently McDonald's can't please everyone. :o I don't eat there anyway, because their fries are not vegan. We get our fries at Burger King. :)

 

Tara

[twoxcell]

The only time we ever go to McDonalds is if we need the kids to get some energy out, the weather is terrible, and we have no other energy outlet.:lol: With that said I think it is pretty lame. I really do not think it will do anything for those kids whose parents visit fast food daily.

[Mergath]

And yet McDonald's, one of the largest and most successful chains in the world, is listening to whomever these people are. They must have their reasons.

 

I'm not sure I understand what you are upset about. McDonald's is free, and always has been, to offer whatever they want in their Happy Meals (San Francisco aside). In the past they "forced" unhealthy Happy Meals. Now they are "forcing" healthier ones. How is this force and not just the decision they make about what to sell in their store?

 

 

Not to mention that a business model that ensures all of your best customers will likely be dead by thirty or forty isn't the best idea, either. It's entirely possible that making small and healthy changes to the menu is in the best interest of their bottom line in the long term.

[Soror]

I don't see the force in this issue, no one has to eat at McDonald's. Even if you do you don't have to order a kids meal and they are a private company they do not have to offer you french fries, access to McD's french fries is not a constitutional right. I think we will all live fine without them.

[cdrumm4448]

I found that it did encourage me (not force me) to be aware of what I was choosing, and to make healthy choices

 

We are back to the "choice architect" Cass Sunstein.

 

I don't need "encouragement". I demand choices that are actually choices. When all the options look the same, how is that a choice? It isn't.

[cdrumm4448]

Not to mention that a business model that ensures all of your best customers will likely be dead by thirty or forty isn't the best idea, either. It's entirely possible that making small and healthy changes to the menu is in the best interest of their bottom line in the long term.

 

I have worked both at McDonald's as well as with one of their marketing firms (I helped develop marketing tie-ins with Disney for Happy Meals!) and that statement is untrue.

[Annie Laurie]

I don't think it's a bad idea. It would be a good thing for portion sizes everywhere to be smaller, and for kids to get used to seeing smaller portions as normal.

[Haiku]

Just another example of the Nanny State.

 

No, it's not. It's an example of a corporation making decisions about how best to market and sell their product. Isn't that what capitalism is supposed to be? The government has nothing to do with this, so it's not about "the state" at all. Are corporations only supposed to make decisions that you agree with, and when they make decisions you don't like, it's no longer capitalism, it's government interference by default? Does anyone really believe that McDonald's would suddenly decide to offer healthier food because the CEOs developed overwhelming consciences? It's all about money, folks.

 

Tara

[Mergath]

I have worked both at McDonald's as well as with one of their marketing firms (I helped develop marketing tie-ins with Disney for Happy Meals!) and that statement is untrue.

 

That people who eat at McDonalds frequently will die earlier? That's certainly true. Morbid obesity is one of the leading causes of death in this country, and fast food places have some of the unhealthiest food available anywhere. I don't know if healther menu options will keep people alive longer, but it's certainly a possibility.

[Crispa]

We never get the happy meals. For one thing, they don't include enough chicken nuggets. My son only likes McD's chicken nuggets and apples, and he doesn't like soft drinks or milk or most juices, so getting a meal package (regular-size or "happy") would be a waste. So, for him, I just get a 10-piece Chicken McNugget (no sauce) and apples. I almost always carry a water bottle, so that's the beverage.