Scary! Mcdonalds New Fruit Salad

[The Lumpy Shadow]

I bought one of these the other day. It comes with grapes, sliced apples, candied wal-nuts and low-fat yogurt.

Well, as far as being low-fat goes, this meal doesn't really qualify since the tiny packet of walnuts included have 11g of fat all on their own!

The fruit was good...or so I thought...and this is when it got a little freaky...

I bought this 3 days ago but wasn't feeling well so I put it in the fridge planning to eat it later. I opened the fridge door this morning to see the bowl of fruit still looking perfectly fresh!

Now tell me, what can you do to supposedly "fresh" sliced apples to make them stay crisp and white for 3 days? Normal apples start turning brown almost immediately.

I was freaked out.

[e.mccoy]

I know what you mean, I started to notice it when I would buy my daughter those apple dippers. You know how kids leave things around after opening them. I found these things in my car about a day or so after and they looked perfectly fine. I think they put something on them. Im trying to keep my child away from fast food. I kills you. Have you ever saw a documentary called " Supersize Me" It's very scary.

[SnugasaPug]

3-day-old crisp and white apples is a bit freaky, but this is still one of the healthier options at McD's at 310 calories. Even thought the walnuts have 11g of fat and are "candied", only 1.5g is saturated fat. Furthermore, walnuts are one of the so-called "super-foods" that help reduce the instance of heart disease, diabetes, etc.

[marbleflys]

I think that there is some sort of preservative that can be used to keep fruit from turning color....(I just use lemon juice). 310 calories is HIGH for fruit & yogurt, JMHO

I watched part of that movie, Super-size Me a few weeks ago.....I have no desire to eat McDonald's at all.....

[MrsJim]

I use lemon juice too - it works pretty well.

Shoot - at least McD's is TRYING to offer healthier alternatives. Also, I checked their Nutrition info/ingredients and here's what's in 'em:

Fruit & Walnut Salad:
Apple Slices and Red Grapes, Low Fat Yogurt, Candied Walnuts
Apple Slices and Red Grapes:
Apples, red grapes, calcium ascorbate (a blend of calcium and vitamin C added to maintain natural color). or Apples, red grapes, ascorbic acid (vitamin C added to maintain natural color), calcium chloride.

Candied Walnuts:
Walnuts (TBHQ and/or BHT may be added as preservative), sugar, peanut oil, honey, salt, wheat starch, maltodextrin, xanthan gum, lecithin, natural (vegetable source) and artificial flavor. (May contain shell parts, tree nuts and peanuts)

I'd take it easy on the walnuts myself, but seeing as they're advertised as CANDIED walnuts, I didn't expect them to be totally healthy.

The 'other' ingredients shown are commonly used FDA-approved food preservatives.

[maggie2005]

New life incident:
I have a mini-van and I used to have a constant supply of clean napkins in the hold next to my seat, from frequent fast-food stops....My daughter needed a napkin the other day and I didn't have any...I never have any since I stopped eating fast food in January....I was very proud!!! Sorry dear....no napkins :-)

[Tealeaf]

So, they use preservatives. I've been eating preservatives all my life; they don't freak me out at all. If I eat enough of them, maybe it will save my family some money when I die. I mean, I'm sure embalming is pretty pricey.

The salad itself is pretty good. If you're hungry and McD's happens to be the only option for some reason, it isn't a bad choice. It's better than having to choose between burger, burger, burger, or fried fish sandwich.

[jennie934]

I tried the apple dippers apples once and they didn't even taste like apples. I try to avoid perservatives, I know its almost impossible now adays but I try. Apples that don't turn are jsut weird.

[Idealperson]

It's the calcium ascorbate that is keeping the apples from turning brown...what would be scarier, to have the food you purchased turn into a yucky brown mush or stay crisp and appealing looking for a few days? I really enjoyed this salad and counted it as 6.5 points...I would get it again, I get tired of lettuce salads all the time, Wendy's also has a fast food fruit salad that is great.

[purplebanana]

I just had one of McDs fruit & walnut salad for lunch (minus the bag of walnut which would have added 130 calories). Tastes good despite what may be hidden in it...

[almostheaven]

Haven't tried the McD's fruit salad (hardly ever go to McDs), but Wendy's is good. I frequently go to Wendy's for the Spring Mix or the fruit salad with lowfat yogurt. What I miss is the Blueberry Delight Ruby Tuesdays used to have, which was a lowfat vanilla yogurt with blueberries and sliced almonds. Just over 200 calories. Since too many people complained that they used thawed frozen berries and not fresh ones, they quit having it. Gee, I'd rather have had the thawed berries than none at all.

[andreainnovascotia]

I think Wendy's has better Healthy Choices....Their salads are much tastier, the baked potato and side salad is a good choice and they now have a fruit cup that's good. I saw supersize me too and gagged for a month whenever I smelled grease and fast food...

[Trixie14]

Originally Posted by e.mccoy

I know what you mean, I started to notice it when I would buy my daughter those apple dippers. You know how kids leave things around after opening them. I found these things in my car about a day or so after and they looked perfectly fine. I think they put something on them. Im trying to keep my child away from fast food. I kills you. Have you ever saw a documentary called " Supersize Me" It's very scary.

That movie only shows u one side of eating fast food, he ate unhealthy SUPER sized meals every day, I read an article in my "Your Diet" magazine about a woman who did the same thing, but didn't supersize and ordered healthier choices for a month, she lost weight and her cholesteral dropped!

[Suzanne 3FC]

I was also bothered that they chose candied walnuts instead of regular. They came so close to getting something right.

Though they were rather tasty

[Tealeaf]

The walnuts come in a little package, seperate. You add them only if you want them. Same with the yogurt dressing.