Happy Meals Get Appley

If you haven't heard, several days ago fast-food chain McDonalds announced that they were cutting back on the amount of fries offered in their Happy Meals and adding apples starting this September.

A couple days later on the radio news quiz show, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, they joked that it's a great way to show your kids how much better fries taste than apples.

image from Wikimedia Commons

While that joke will probably be true for some people, it feels like McDonalds may be taking a step in the right direction. Recently they had been offering apples as an option in the meals, but you had to ask for them. And then when you got them they served them with caramel dipping sauce. I don't know the nutritional specifics on the fries/caramel sauce comparison, but I have a feeling it was negligible. Plus WebMD reports that only 11% of Happy Meal purchasers chose the apples with the sauce.

Now the apples will be naked and you can even have two packages and no fries (although again you have to know to ask). I have to wonder, though, how many of those apple packages will end up in the garbage. I'd hope not a lot but there are many stubborn kids out there.

But this whole thing isn't as simple as just a step in the right direction. You also have to wonder if it's a big enough step. They say these new Happy Meals will have about 20% fewer calories than the ones out now. It's only an ounce less of fries though. And the apple offering is even smaller than what they have with the ridiculous caramel sauce now (8 to 10 slices now versus 3 to 5 in the new setup). Plus Happy Meals still come with soda (which you can get other options, but again have to ask).

Yet... this is fast food we're talking about - having it be healthy, that's not going to be widely accepted overnight.

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