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I don't eat at Mc Donalds or any other commercial chain eatery. I make my food at home or stop by the local health food store and make a fresh (preservative and chemical-free ) salad if I didn't have time at home. The nutritional profile of most "healthy" salads out there is seriously weak and I prefer to have a nutrient-dense, high fiber, organic salad; my salads are truly an entire *balanced* meal!
That being said, good for McD's for having a healthier option! It's a good start!
I am happy that McDonalds has healthier foods, and in a pinch I'd go for that as opposed to a burger, it just sort of seems to defeat the purpose in my mind when attempting to eat a whole-unprocessed healthy food (like sliced apples) when it is covered in preservatives.
Maybe my disappointment stems more from the fact that I can't be lazy in the mornings and stop at McDonalds instead of cutting my own fruit. For health reasons I am trying to cut out preservatives as much as possible
Oh, what I wouldn't give for an organic, health-oriented drive-thru restaurant!
it just sort of seems to defeat the purpose in my mind when attempting to eat a whole-unprocessed healthy food (like sliced apples) when it is covered in preservatives.
Sounds like something I brought up to my waitress at Ruby's one day. I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich on a wheat bun and asked to remove the mayo. I didn't understand why they were trying to make a healthy menu, by adding wheat buns (though I'm sure they're not whole wheat) and grilled items, if they were just going to dump a dollop of fat on top of them.
As previous posters have said, there is absolutely *nothing* wrong with the apples - they're just protected from the browning by ascorbic acid. If I put lemon or lime juice on sliced apples, they'll last for 3-4 days in the fridge as well. The ones at McDonald's don't have "unnatural" preservatives.
Also, xanthan gum is a noncaloric thickener made from fermentation of cabbage by certain bacteria. It's used in very tiny amounts in certain foods, but doesn't affect your diet. (Just finished a semester-long project with xanthan gum )
Ah, but Forever42, it's simply a case with me that I don't wanna eat xanthan gum in any amount, caloric value notwithstanding, as it's my opinion that it DOES affect my body ... everything I put in my body affects it. Ditto ascorbic acid (wouldn't mind if they put lemon or lime juice on the fruit).
Lumpy Shadow, I am w' ya on the "what I wouldn't give" lament ... fast food places where they'd do all the work of cutting up the fruit and sell it to you in a drive-through, but it'd be FRESH and not preserved in chemicals!
Tealeaf, thanks for pointing out about the walnuts being separate. It'd be nicer still if they'd just leave the stuff off the walnuts and give you a little pack of just walnuts.
But I agree it's a good move on McDonald's part. Maybe someday they'll come up with a McRealFood burger, followed by a McRealFruit salade with McReal walnuts.
Sorry, I digress. It's good of them to try.
The thing about xanthan gum is that you can't avoid it, even if you eat completely unprocessed foods. It's produced by certain species of bacteria that ferments sugars on produce, and you're ingesting it either way if you're eating vegetables. Same with ascorbic acid - there's no difference between the ascorbic acid in citrus juices (or any fruit or vegetable that contains it) and the ascorbic acid that McDonald's uses. I mentioned noncaloric because xanthan gum is non-nutritive, not because the calorie value means anything.
I understand that many people want to avoid so-called "unnatural" preservatives, but trying to avoid xanthan gum and ascorbic acid because they're separately labeled like this is like saying you want to avoid sugar but drinking fruit juice.
I hope I don't sound argumentative, I just want to explain that these products are the same whether you're eating an unprocessed vegetable or a processed apple.
No, you don't sound argumentative, Forever42, I like to talk about food and am not offended in any way and hope you are not!
But I don't agree with some of your points ... you see if I eat the xanthan gum in unprocessed vegetables because it occurs naturally, that's a different thing (to me) than having food manufacturers decide to sprinkle it on everything and anything in my food supply. And I DO think there's a difference between the ascorbic acid in citrus juices and the ascorbic acid that McDonald's uses ... one is found naturally in food (the citrus juice) and one isn't ... it's added to food.
I do avoid refined sugar and don't drink extracted fruit juice, BUT if I wanted to drink extracted fruit juice, I'd feel it was more natural (despite the concentration of the fructose, which I agree isn't a good idea for someone trying to eat a low glycemic diet, which I am) ... and better for me than, say, a candy bar.
I just don't agree, I guess, that eating an unprocessed vegetable is the same as eating a processed apple.
Amarantha, have you read the Schwarzbein (sp?) Principle? A naturopathic doctor had me read it. I can't personally go all unprocessed myself. Life too bland isn't worth living IMO. ;-) But her approach was what you're stating. It appears that there are a number of people who are shunning processed foods and making an argument for them not being as healthy as eating all natural and unprocessed. I don't know if I can subscribe to that belief or not, but it did get me to change a few things in my diet so I'm not eating as much of the processed stuff.
I can't personally go all unprocessed myself. Life too bland isn't worth living IMO. ;-) But her approach was what you're stating. It appears that there are a number of people who are shunning processed foods and making an argument for them not being as healthy as eating all natural and unprocessed.
I eat a natural whole-foods, chemical/preservative-free and organic vegan diet and I can tell you it's anything but bland! I am a true foodie and would never go for bland, flavorless food. My clients that I prepare cuisine for and teach classes to wouldn't stand for it either
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!
This is incorrect. In the Supersize Me documentary-he was required to eat everything on the menu at least once during the month-salads, yogurt, diet soda, orange juice, and so forth. He had to try everything.
He also was doing a thing with their suggestive advertising...you know how when you go to the drive thru they do the little "Hi, would you like to supersize that combo/try an apple pie for only 49 cents/add a side salad to that" sort of thing. Whenever they suggested supersizing or adding an "extra" he did it as part of the experiment. He supersized when they "suggested" that he should.
I think that McDonalds and other fast food places are trying. Of course it isn't going to be as healthy as eating a piece of fresh fruit from home-but I don't think the adding of a little FDA approved preservative is such a bad thing. They have to do something-you would be complaining as well if they cut up a salad for you and by the time you got to your booth and sat down to eat it was starting to turn. I personally don't think it is that bad. I try to eat natural and organic foods as much as possible...but when I am faced with having to eat out somewhere I am glad that there are salads and such available at fast food places-it is better than having a Whopper.
Someone also mentioned that it was a lot of calories for fruit and yogurt-the McDonalds salad, and the larger of the two Wendy's fruit salads contain more than one "serving" of fruit. They contain about 3 servings...so when you add the yogurt, etc. it isn't all that bad. The fruit "cup" at Wendy's only has about 80 calories in it...it is one serving of fruit. You can go on the McDonald's website as well and figure up the calories of the fruit salad WITHOUT the candied nuts if you don't want to eat them.
I worked at McD's back in the late 1970's/v. early 1980's, and the cashiers were then, and I assume are now, encouraged to practice gentle 'suggestive selling' with all customers...such as someone comes in, orders burger and a coke, you would say "would you like fries with that?" or orders a burger/coke/fries - the sell would be "would you like a hot apple pie w/that?". No big deal and I think pretty much most retailers do the same thing in one way or another - I was at the mall yesterday, buying makeup, and the cashier asked me if I wanted to save 10% by opening up a store account. (no thanks!)
Also, using preservatives is pretty commonplace in the restaurant and food industry in general. When I worked at a 'real' restaurant back in the early 80's (just out of H.S.) one of my tasks as prep cook was to get 'side salads' prepped in advance - in order to keep the salad looking 'perky', we washed the greens with a preservative - some white powder (which looked similar to what you get with flowers to prolong their life) that would be added to the rinse water. The powder would be rinsed away during the cleaning process.
And keep in mind that most food preservatives actually come from natural sources to begin with.
Back in the olden days - the beginning of the industrial age (around the mid-1800s) there were a lot more instances of people becoming severely ill and/or dying due to food poisioning - because of lack of knowledge of preserving foods for a mass market or long transport across country or via boat. A good many of the casualties in the Civil War were actually caused by sickness, not battle injuries - due to the near-impossibility of getting palatable food regularly. Some of the staples of the Union Army included hard tack (flour and water biscuits, baked hard), salt pork/beef, dried meat (usually no seasonings were added during processing, so it wasn't like today's beef jerky), dessicated vegetables (dried vegetables, which many soldiers of the time likened to 'baled hay' in taste and texture). Most of the rations issued to soldiers had been sitting for months in a warehouse or outside in wooden boxes, generally becoming infested with weevils (the soldiers usually referred to hardtack as "worm castles").
And of course anyone who has read the Little House books knows that the pioneers lived on preserved foods containing a massive amount of salt and brine. Those that were unable to raise and grind their own wheat had to rely on bought flour which generally had a lot of, um, nonrelated material (such as BUGS, rocks, etc) within.
As far as the candied walnuts vs. 'just plain' walnuts in the McD's salad - keep in mind that for this product to stay on the menu, it must SELL. I have no doubt that the company tested the product extensively before releasing it nationwide, and I would bet that the tests included salads which had 'plain' walnuts as well as candied - but the consumer testing most likely showed overwhelmingly that the candied walnut version was preferred. And as I stated before, McD's isn't hiding the fact that the walnuts are candied...I like that they are packaging them separately so the consumer can choose to use just a few or skip them altogether.
Actually after reading this article at USA Today a couple weeks ago, I have to give McDonald's snaps for actually going against the trend - most consumers who eat at fast-food order the crap over the 'healthy choice' items.
I guess I just think it'd be nice if they'd offer me some REAL choices ... like fruit without white powder ever having been on it (even if it's washed off and even if it's purportedly harmless) and walnuts that are not soaked in high glycemic insulin spikin' gunk that I don't need and that IMO negate the health value of walnuts altogether
While McDonald's does preserve/sugar-coat their stuff, there is this place that offers fruit and walnuts in their natural forms: The Grocery.
As a huge corporation, McDonald's needs to preserve their fresh foods, in order to, well, keep 'em from rotting. Rot is 100% natural, but not so great for eye appeal.
I'm all over the improving-diet urges, and I'm on a quest to do that myself, but I am not going to slam on McDonald's for offering healthier fare. And I saw "Supersize Me", thought it was a great, educational, funny film... I am even planning on getting Morgan Spurlock's fiance's ("Healthy Chef Alex") cookbook.
I think it's easy to demonize Mass Marketers, since there is a lot of bad-for-health/bad-for-the-Earth stuff they do. Ultimately though, it is up to you (general you) to improve your diet - vote with your dollars. There is plenty of nice, organic even, foods out there, just waiting to be taken home and loved
Last edited by BerkshireGrl; 06-05-2005 at 04:23 PM.
Just to clarify, I haven't demonized anyone, just given my personal feelings and opinions re a desire for better choices from Mickey Dee and other fast food places.
Sometimes I'd like to eat fast food, as opposed to always preparing it at home and toting it along. I'd just like to see more choices available that I could eat. One fruit salad item and some (optional but the customer pays for them) sugar coated walnuts don't seem all that much of a major progression to healthier food, in my opinion.
Amarantha, I quoted you, yes, but I am not personally attacking you. I used your post to lead in to my own thoughts. Feel free to express anything you feel, of course.
As far as you wanting better choices, have you written to the fast food businesses that have locations in your area with this request? That's the only way they are gonna know The Public wants X.
I wouldn't have guessed that I'd be defending McDonald's - and not that they need help - but like Mrs. Jim said, they are moving towards expanding their menu towards healthier fare. The only way this will continue is if the healthier stuff sells. Having "pure"/preservative-free/sugar-free foods is not their focus, because the huge majority buying there want the junk.
If you want them to sell foods more to your taste, then you should tell them. And get your friends who think the same to tell them. Power to the people!
Echoing Sarah's sentiments. I could never stomach McD's anyway. Another way to make your voice known...switch to Wendy's. LOL They have a much better selection of healthier choices IMO. But I prefer a sit down dinner to fast food most of the time anyway. And if I'm gonna do fruit, I can just grab an apple from the bowl on my way out the door. Fast food...no preservatives.
One fruit salad item and some (optional but the customer pays for them) sugar coated walnuts don't seem all that much of a major progression to healthier food, in my opinion.
I think that over the past couple of years, especially after the movie "Supersize Me" that McDonald's has made a LOT of changes to their menu. What everyone needs to understand, is that while they are trying to accomodate the healthier folks out there-they still have to carry the Cokes, french fries, and Big Macs. They have to-that is what the majority of the public wants.
They have made various changes over the past few years:
~doing away with "Supersized" drinks and fries. They now have only small, medium, and large.
~Adding the options of getting milk, chocolate milk, or 100% apple juice with the Happy Meals-instead of the only options being soda or orange flavored drink.
~Adding the option of apple dippers (apple slices and caramel dip) as a side in the Happy Meal instead of french fries.
~Changing their little crappy "Salad Shakers" salads they used to have that contained only iceburg as the lettuce variety-and going for the premium salads (much better) that contain a nice variety of more nutritious lettuces like romaine and baby spinach-and cherry tomatoes instead of the average tomato "slice", large shaved pieces of carrot and red cabbage instead of the little "shreds", and the option of having breaded or grilled chicken breast-or no chicken breast at all.
~Having Dasani bottle water on the menu as a drink alternative.
~Adding the fruit and yogurt parfait to the dessert/breakfast menu-not health food by any means, but better calorie and fatwise than a sausage McMuffin if you are on a road trip.
~switching their Chicken McNuggets to all white meat. (Still processed and not healthy by any means-but all white meat now is a step up in the taste department. )
They are trying. But-they have to have a balance of pleasing US, and pleasing the folks who still want the double cheeseburger value meal.
I think a lot of the restaurants are trying. (except for Hardees...but that is another story) They are trying to balance and add in healthier options while still pleasing their main consumers.
I am thankful for the fast food restaurants that are trying to add more options for the health concerned individuals. Burger King even has a vegetarian burger-I think it is called the BK Veggie-they use Gardenburger brand patties. Fazolis also has a dinner now that is grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli, and a SMALL serving of penne pasta with marinara, and they have a low calorie minestrone soup as well.
I don't eat out much when I am at home, but my husband and I travel to conventions often, and I travel to dance workshops often as well. While I pack bottled water and healthy snacks and fruit with me-sometimes I have no choice but to run into a fast food joint for dinner with the group I am with. I am thankful that there are places I can eat something and not feel too guilty about it afterwards. It may not be as healthy as what I would make or eat at home...but it is bettter than a Big Mac.
I cannot understand how someone would "preserve" fruit at home with acidulation (by using lemon juice) yet reject a food prepared by a restaurant in the same way. The fact that the ascorbic acid used by the restaurant is simply a tasteless, more convenient form of the "active ingredient" in the lemon juice is splitting hairs to a degree that makes no sense. ASCORBIC ACID IS SIMPLY THE CHEMICAL NAME FOR VITAMIN C. From Web MD (http://my.webmd.com/drugs/mono-106-A...IC+ACID+-+ORAL)
ASCORBIC ACID - ORAL
Pronunciation: (ask-OR-bick acid)
BRAND NAME(S):
Cecon, Sunkist, Vitamin C
USAGE:
Ascorbic acid (also known as vitamin C) is used to treat and prevent vitamin C deficiency. Vitamin C deficiency can lead to scurvy.
For those of you who would not eat these apples because of the "preservatives" -- do you also make sure that the other foods you eat have NO vitamin and mineral enrichment? Do you not take any type of vitamin or other supplement? If so, then I would accept your assertion that you would not eat these apples on principle. If not, then I would say that's hypocritical.
) salad if I didn't have time at home. The nutritional profile of most "healthy" salads out there is seriously weak and I prefer to have a nutrient-dense, high fiber, organic salad; my salads are truly an entire *balanced* meal! 
)
I personally don't think it is that bad. I try to eat natural and organic foods as much as possible...but when I am faced with having to eat out somewhere I am glad that there are salads and such available at fast food places-it is better than having a Whopper. 
