Squeaky Wheels make Happy Meals!

And it rhymes.  Come on, that is an awesome title. :)


I wanted to post how excited I was to read in the local morning paper two things that I feel so passionate about:  Happy Meals being made healthier and calorie counts on menu boards making a difference in people's dietary choices.

Don't get too cozy with that smile, Happy Meal.

McDonald's is downsizing their Happy Meal size fries to an 100-calorie version and adding apple slices with no caramel dipping sauce to all of their Happy Meals by the end of the year.  In all of their stores!  This is good news for kids and parents- kids get their fries at a better size and parents get them to eat some fruit.  Everyone is a winner.  Now let's keep it coming and actually make it healthy, not less unhealthy.

I also read that they are lowering sodium in their foods by 2015.  What takes so long?  All the lab taste testing. . .

Why hot cakes?  Why not pancakes?

I am a huge fan of the calorie counts being put on menus and menu boards.  It really makes me take a long, hard look at what I am going to put into my mouth (and onto my butt) and try to make a better, more well informed choice.  Well, a new study came out that shows the calorie posting is actually causing people to take in less- about 100 calories less per meal.  I think that that is effective enough to merit going across country with this concept, don't you?  In about a month, that's 3,500 calories or 1 pound of fat.  That's 12 pounds a year that people could be saving without even trying!

And that is really just the tip of the iceberg.  With more education about portion sizes and what healthier eating really means (not just "natural" being put on a box), we can really see changes being made in our communities.  But we have to keep being the squeaky wheels to see that change happen and to keep the companies that feed us accountable!

Letter to McDonald's: STOP MARKETING JUNK FOOD TO KIDS

 In the MetroNY paper today, I saw a huge one page ad:  An open letter to the CEO of McDonald's from Corporate Accountability International.  Apparently, McDonald's has it's annual shareholders meeting tomorrow where they make big announcements and changes.  Over 550 health professionals and institutions in all 50 states have signed the letter, begging McDonald's to be more responsible in it's marketing fast food items to children.

I don't want Ronald McDonald to lose his job, but I am all for this initiative.

Want to sign the letter?  Follow this link: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2215/t/8952/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=618

Food Revolution: 1 McDonald's: 0



We are coming for you, fries.  Be afraid.  Be very afraid.



I have been tracking the Happy Meal "saga" in San Francisco-- long story short, San Francisco wanted to ban any unhealthy meal targeted to children by offering toys or prizes and yesterday they voted 8-3 to ban the McDonald's Happy Meal. 

YES.  I am hoping this encourages McDonald's to lower sodium and fat content across the board, not just in children's foods, and I am hoping this trend spreads throughout the country if McDonald's doesn't comply.  Although McDonald's does offer healthier options with the Happy Meal, like apple slices and milk, the number one choice is still fries and a soda.  Visit any McDonald's and you will see childhood obesity in full affect.

My hope is this story will shed some light for parents who thought that a Happy Meal was a good choice.  By teaching parents and their children about what is good to put in your body and what is not good for your body, we can start to turn the obesity epidemic around.

It is a victory for the Food Revolution.  It is a victory for kids and for their parents!

Yet another reason not to purchase Happy Meals

If you read my blog regularly you know that I am not a big fan of fast food for children or marketing unhealthy items for kids to consume. The new Happy Meal campaign to donate a portion of Happy Meal purchases to the Ronald McDonald House? So unfair! Fun toys with a fat laden lunch? BOO.

If you don't believe me, believe artist Sally Davies who photographed a traditional Happy Meal hamburger and fries over 137 days. Like Cher, these foods DO NOT AGE.

A Truly Happy Meal!

This article on USAToday.com makes me rejoice! San Francisco is proposing restaurants that sell kids meals with toys must make healthier choices for the kids in regards to portion sizes, sodium content, and healthy options. FINALLY!

The good: You can let your kid get a Happy Meal and not feel terrible that you are contributing to the demise of your child's future health and well being by offering them a meal that is more than half of their daily caloric intake. (A 2-3 year old child should only be taking in 1000 calories daily according to the American Heart Association) A typical cheeseburger happy meal (with a diet soda, mind you) is 550 calories.

The bad: It's only in San Francisco. FOR NOW.

Just like the soda tax and calorie content on menus, this is just another small step to get us as Americans to get healthy--and starting with our children is a great place to be! The article states that only 16% of kids like the food and 36% like the toy that comes as a result of eating the food. If the toy is so important to the kids it is unfair for companies to be loading their meals up with extra fat and sodium because they are children.

Sidebar: I absolutely detest the fact that Froot Loops is advertising to moms right now that Froot Loops are a good source of fiber. FIBER? How many kids do you know have constipation? You know what the number one ingredient is in "Froot" Loops? SUGAR!!!! There are so many other fabulous options out there moms! DON'T BE FOOLED!

I couldn't find the current ad- but here is one that also pissed me off.

What I'm "F'd Up!" about Today!: Freedom to be Fat?

I was walking the kid this morning and saw this article in the daily Metro New York: "Hands off my Big Mac, NYC". NYC council woman Christine Quinn is proposing a ban on fast food restaurants being built in areas where obesity is on the rise. No coincidence, these areas are also really poor parts of town. The article states that these fast food restaurants provide important jobs for these neighborhoods because many people don't have a proper education to get higher paying jobs.

There are so many things wrong with this situation!
1.) Fast food is a daily part of lower income families diets because of price.
2.) People in lower income neighborhoods aren't being educated to get out of the neighborhood and get better paying jobs.
3.) The city shouldn't have to ban restaurants to help people lose weight and get healthy.

I feel the first line of defense is the fast food chains themselves offering this type of fare. FOR EXAMPLE, have you heard about this new sandwich that KFC is launching? Take a look at this beauty, the new Double Down sandwich which is described like this on the website:

"The new KFC Double Down sandwich is real and it's coming April 12th! This one-of-a-kind sandwich features two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!"

REALLY? THIS HAS TO BE A JOKE. But no, it's no joke. It says it's real so it must be. Apparently KFC hasn't gotten the fast food kills people memo. And if you are that stupid to eat this, well. . .wow. You probably aren't reading my blog. :)

If fast food restaurants weren't trying so hard to develop heart clogging menu items, people could keep their jobs. If we could educate our communities on the benefits of healthy eating, we could be the first line of defense in obesity. Convenience really is the enemy here. And education is the solution.

We can keep adding beverage taxes and trying to ban fast food, but the truth is we live in a country where you have the freedom to be fat and make stupid choices (I used to own a crimper and I used it with careless abandon). I don't feel it's right for people to lose jobs because we want them to be healthy. There has to be other measures in place!

And remember, the more you tell people NO, the more they want it. Telling people they can't eat fast food will make them walk a little further to the next burger joint. But, hey. At least they'll be walking. Right?

Afternoon Delight

Care of the HuffingtonPost.com

Nope, nothing wrong with this ad. Nothing at all.

What I am "F'd Up!" about today! McDonald's Monopoly: Gain Big to Win?

I picked up lunch with the boyfriend today at McDonald's and he pointed out this picture of the winners of McDonald's Monopoly game. We couldn't help but notice that every person was overweight.

At what price to win? Obviously, their health wasn't a concern. Just like the film Super Size Me made a success out of it's filmmaker, Morgan Spurlock, it also put him in almost mortal danger when he gained a dangerous amount of weight and damaged his liver by eating at McDonald's everyday for thirty days.

I know that McDonald's is an easy and inexpensive choice for many, and it's hard to get preachy when I told you we just ate lunch there. I did, however, order a grilled chicken salad that was recommended on a Fitness Magazine tweet last week (the bacon ranch grilled chicken salad with 1/4 of the dressing packet- pretty tasty!).

My issue is this: in order to win, you have to order the most calorie laden foods on the menu in order to get the winning tickets. I noticed I did not receive a game piece with my salad. I would have had to order the over 700 calorie Angus burger to get one of those. The contest only lasts for thirty days, so you have to get in a LOT of eating to be a contender.

It would be nice if all the winning game pieces were on the apple slices and yogurt parfaits.

Here is a great article that talks not only about the way the game is played, but what you have to ingest to play it. Good luck. . .