2011's Over-the-Top Fast Foods

Source: Yahoo Shine
http://shine.yahoo.com/tistheseason/2011s-over-top-fast-foods-225000779.html

Burger King Stuffed Steakhouse Burger
Calories - 590
If fast food has taught us one thing, it is this: Any food item can be stuffed inside any other. Burger King's Stuffed Steakhouse Burger, introduced earlier this year, is a prime example. Not content to simply put cheese atop a burger patty, the chain stuffed bits of Cheddar and jalapeño inside the beef, for "an experience you can see and taste in every bite."

Pizza Hut's Big Dinner Box
Calories - 4,860 (for the lowest calorie options)
Pizza Hut's "epic-size" repast offers up two medium pizzas, eight wings, and five breadsticks - in one convenient box! For the low prize of $20, ravenous diners might be tempted to scarf down the entire thing themselves, but please, make this one a family affair: The items in a single box are estimated to contain around 5,000 calories.

Dunkin' Donuts Sausage Pancake Bites
Calories - 300 (for 3)
If you're craving a pancake and sausage breakfast, but just can't find the time, Dunkin' Donuts discovered a solution in 2011. An order of the chain's Sausage Pancake Bites offered diners three nuggets of flapjack dough that each enclosed a sausage link. A trio of nuggets also managed to enclose 20 grams of fat, more than most doughnuts.

Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos
Calories - 350 (for 1)
Think outside the bun - and the conventional taco shell. In an apparent bid to include as much junk as possible in a single meal, Taco Bell used California and Ohio residents as guinea pigs to test shells made entirely of Doritos' nacho-flavored chips. The cheesy delicacy might be introduced nationwide next year, when, presumably, the chain will also swaps burrito wraps for potato chips.

Friendly's Ultimate Grilled-Cheese Burger Melt
Calories - 1,500
Why eat one sandwich, when you can eat three? The KFC Double Down may have replaced a burger bun with fried chicken, but this year, Friendly's managed to outdo even that monstrosity. They swapped out a cheeseburger's bread with two entire grilled cheese sandwiches. This gastronomical innovation, not surprisingly, is also a caloric nightmare: 1,500 per sandwich(es)...

Stoner Cooking Special: Fast Food Items You Can't Have

Matt Brownell
Sunday, October 16, 2011
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/113657/fast-food-items-cant-have-247wallstreet

Fast food chains like McDonald's don't become global brands by cooking up the same old burgers and fries in every country.

Chains wishing to hang a shingle in a new country generally follow a strategy known as "localization," tailoring their menus to fit local tastes. In some cases it's subtle (in China, for instance, you can get chili garlic sauce with your McNuggets) while in other cases the menu is almost unrecognizable (in India, you won't find any beef or pork at burger chains).

That means that fast food fans in other countries get menu items that Americans can only dream of. Here are a few we wish we could have.

The Meat Monster (Burger King, Japan)
When most people want to put something on their burgers, they usually think of toppings like cheese, bacon, onions and tomatoes. The geniuses at Burger King put all of that on, then decided to throw on a chicken breast for good measure.

The result is the Meat Monster, a sandwich available at Burger King in Japan only. Perhaps the beast of a burger was meant to appeal to Japan's love of kaiju (monster) movies; in any case, we know it appeals to us. Bring this one stateside, Burger King.

McVeggie (McDonald's, India)

McDonald's has never been a preferred destination for vegetarians. While the fries no longer contain beef flavoring (the company discontinued the practice in 2001 in response to a lawsuit), meat-free customers still don't have too many choices beyond a few token salads.

Things are a bit different in India, though. Hinduism is the dominant religion there, which forbids consumption of beef and pork, and vegetarianism is widespread. The result is the rare spectacle of a McDonald's with no hamburgers. In addition to the standard Filet-O-Fish, you also get the Chicken Maharaja Mac and the McVeggie, the latter of which uses bread, potato, peas, carrots and Indian spices.

McZüri (McDonald's, Switzerland)
Starting this month, McDonald's Switzerland has starting rolling out experimental new items that cater to local tastes. While the McGrillschnägg — a sausage made from Swiss pork — certainly looks appetizing, the standout star for us is the McZüri, made from 100% Swiss veal. Yes, we said veal. The patty is accompanied by mushrooms and caramelized onions. Apparently McDonald's is a bit more upscale in Europe.

Paneer Tikka Sub (Subway, India)
Subway's menu isn't as beef-intensive as McDonald's meat-centric offerings, so its 223 Indian locations aren't as unrecognizable as McDonald's Indian restaurants. But there's definitely some local flavor there in addition to the usual lineup for sandwiches, including chicken tandoori and tikka subs. And there are plenty of options for vegetarian customers, including the paneer tikka, which the site describes as "cottage cheese slices marinated with barbeque seasoning and roasted to a light crispness."

Krushers (KFC, Germany)
In the U.S., KFC has focused on chicken products and generally stayed away from doing anything too creative in the dessert space, but in other countries it's a much different story. KFC locations in Australia, Germany, South Africa and other countries offer a line of dessert drinks known as Krushers, which come in such flavors as mango, strawberry, Kit Kat and Triple Choc Crunch. The drinks are mixed with large chunks of fruit or candy (including sliced-up strawberries and Oreo cookies). To slurp up the chunks, the drinks come with extra-wide straws.

Bubur Ayam McD (McDonald's, Malaysia)
Apparently bubur ayam — which translates to "chicken broth," according to Google — is a traditional Malaysian dish. And according to the English-language McDonald's Malaysia website, the Bubur Ayam McD consists of "juicy chicken strips in mouth-watering porridge, garnished with spring onions, sliced ginger, fried shallots and diced chilies ... just like mum's cooking!" We're guessing that this dish won't be coming to the U.S. anytime soon, but we'd still be curious to try it.

Trio Supremo (Burger King, Brazil)
Burger King is now owned by a Brazilian company, 3G Capital, so we expect the Brazilian locations to have top-notch cuisine. And Burger King Brazil has indeed come up big with the Trio Supremo, which comes with chicken nuggets, onion rings and French fries smothered in cheddar cheese and bacon bits. The whole thing amounts to 1,072 calories and 58 grams of fat. As far as we're concerned, America is up to the challenge of this one.

Fast Food Hamburger of the Month

The Spicy Chipotle D.T. Double: two fresh, North American beef patties with delicious melted Pepper Jack cheese and sliced jalapeños. All for just $2.99.

Wendys.com

America's favorite fast food chains

Sorry McDonald's, you don't make the cut
Piper Weiss, Shine Staff
Thu Jun 30, 2011
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/americas-favorite-fast-food-chains-sorry-mcdonalds-you-dont-make-the-cut-2504452

For the best restaurants in the country ask a Michelin guide reviewer. For the best fast food joints, ask everyone else. That's what Consumer Reports did in their new survey out today. They polled 36,733 subscribers to their magazine on their favorite go-to chains for instant gratification.

Based on over 98,000 visits to 53 chains, readers judged the service, speed, cost and overall deliciousness of their quick dining experience. The big surprise: the highest rated fast food didn't come from the biggest chains. McDonald's, Taco Bell, and KFC, also took a backseat to the slightly smaller franchises. Here are readers' picks for the best fast food experience.

Burgers: In-N-Out burger. The West Coast chain beat out Burger King, McDonald's, and countless other burger-flipping joints to rate highest in taste, speed and service. Their freshly prepared, preservative-free patties were a shoe-in for flavor, and also earned high marks for value. Who needs super-sizing when you've got a super-secret menu?

Mexican: Chiptole Mexican Grill. With only 8 chains in this category, the competition is slim, but readers gave this tacos-and-guac haven the highest marks not only for flavor but for speed and service.

Chicken: Chick-fil-A. The fried chicken trays and sandwiches at this nationwide chain beat out KFC's buckets by a long shot.

Sandwiches and Subs: Jason's Deli. The little guy stepped out of the shadows of Quiznos and Subway, as a top pick. It's massive menu options (subs, muffalettas, wraps and even pasta) and "grab-and-go" meals, garnered big-time service and speed points.

Pizza: Papa Murphy's Take N' Bake Pizza. Don't bother making the pizza, we can do it ourselves. That's the message with this surprising fan favorite, a pizza chain that sells prepped, uncooked pizzas that you heat up at home.

Best overall value: Papa Murphy's, CiCi Pizza and In-N-Out Burger. Readers picked these three chains medium-sized chains as the best bang for your buck.

Not everyone was so positive about the fast food experience. Readers rated Round Table Pizza, KFC and the struggling Italian chain, Sbarro's, as offering the least value. And casual dining restaurants like Cracker Barrel and Outback Steakhouse pleased patrons far in terms of experience than the standard to-go chains. Not surprisingly, only 13 percent of those surveyed considered the last meal they ate at a fast food restaurant "healthful." Despite a growing number of lower-fat menu options one thing is clear: they don't turn to the drive-through for diet tips.

10 Facts Aboout Mcdonald’s Fast Food Restaurant You Should Know

http://bizcovering.com/major-companies/10-facts-aboout-mcdonalds-fast-food-restaurant-you-should-know

10 Facts Aboout Mcdonald’s Fast Food Restaurant You Should Know
June 15, 2009 by alisonpeters

Is McDonald’s as innocent as it claims to be? These 10 facts may make you think twice about eating out.

Many of you have heard controversy about McDonald’s fast food (what they’re doing to obesity, they’re taking over the world, etc. etc.) Though most of these facts do not pertain to McDonalds/obesity, these ten facts can be pretty interesting.

1. McDonalds calls people who eat their food more than once a week “Heavy Users.” And to be honest, it’s often true!

2. The first Ronald McDonald was fired for being too fat.

3. McDonalds has restaurants in over 100 countries.

4. 40% of all of American family meals are eaten outside the home.

5. 1 in every 4 Americans eat at a McDonalds on a daily basis.

6. Almost all nutritionists don’t approve of eating McDonalds more than once a month.

7. You know all those toys Toys R Us sells? McDonalds sells more toys than Toys R Us each year.

8. With all the tests scientists did, they came to the conclusion that many children can recognize McDonalds before they can even speak.

9. Despite what the advertisements say, only 7 foods on the menu completely lack sugar. Even the salads and apples have sugar.

10. To me, this is the most shocking: We as Americans eat over 1,000,000 animals an hour. This includes cows, pig, sheep, turkey, chicken, all animals.

I don’t mean to pick on McDonalds, many of these facts are probably true for other fast food restaurants, but McDonalds is the most widely known fast food restaraunt (as proven by fact 3.) So next time you eat at a fast food restaurant, try to remember these facts.

Wendy's unveils natural-cut fries made with sea salt

http://www.naturalnews.com/030423_Wendys_french_fries.html

Wendy's unveils natural-cut fries made with sea salt
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

(NaturalNews) If you ever ask yourself whether all of us in the natural health community are really making a difference, look no further than today's astonishing news: the Wendy's fast food chain has announced new "natural-cut" French fries made with sea salt. What makes them "natural-cut?" They still have potato skins!

In a weird way, this is sort of a step in the right direction, although I'm not sure yet that I trust this new product. Based on the research I've done, the term "sea salt" is technically meaningless, as any salt can be called sea salt since it all came from the sea sometime in Earth's history. That doesn't mean it's full-spectrum salt that's rich in minerals.

"Processed salt" is to full-spectrum salt what processed white sugar is to real sugar cane crystals. I don't yet know whether Wendy's is using legitimate full-spectrum sea salt or just some processed white salt that they're calling "sea salt," so it's hard to tell whether this is a good thing. (Most likely, a Wendy's P.R. person will respond to this article with some sort of answer on this, so we'll see where that goes...)

The natural-cut fries, on the other hand, are definitely a move in the right direction. Potato skins are definitely on the "healthy" side of things, and I'd much rather eat fries with skins on them than fries from potatoes that have been peeled. Then again, I don't eat fast food fries in the first place. Starches cooked at extremely high temperatures form acrylamides (http://naturalnews.com/acrylamides.html).

Are Wendy's customers really interested in healthy food?

These new "natural-cut" fries are part of Wendy's new effort to make food using what they call "real" food ingredients.

Which brings up the obvious question: What have they been using until now, anyway? Non-real ingredients? And what are all the other fast food restaurants using -- artificial ingredients? (You already know the answer to that question...)

"We want every ingredient to be a simple ingredient, to be one you can pronounce and one your grandmother would recognize in her pantry," said Chief Marketing Officer Ken Calwell, in a NYDailyNews.com report.

It's a commendable intention. Let's see how far Wendy's can actually take this idea of "natural" fast food.

About this effort, on one hand I have to give Wendy's kudos for daring to take a step into the world of somewhat real food. But on the other hand, it's still a fried starch, and that's not very good for your health. Then again, I'm not sure that Wendy's customers are actually looking for healthy food options.

When you think "healthy food," you don't normally think about going to a fast food burger restaurant chain. Perhaps Wendy's is planning on changing all that and rolling out organic beef burgers with whole-grain buns and salads with no MSG in the dressing. Will they also stop serving diet soft drinks laced with aspartame? I very much doubt it.

It really all comes down to what customers will buy. If customers will buy poison, fast food restaurants will keep serving up poison. Do not think that any large corporation is going to purposely reduce its own earnings just to improve the health of its customers. That very idea is completely incompatible with the priorities of the corporate world.

At the same time, there probably is room in the fast food industry for at least one nationwide company that serves food made from real ingredients. In Arizona, there's a chain of fast food Mexican restaurants called La Salsa that actually comes pretty close to this. I've been known to eat there myself from time to time. They use fresh ingredients and make their own salsa in-house.

SF Fast-food toy ban gets supervisors' first OK

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/11/02/MN111G5PCN.DTL

SF Fast-food toy ban gets supervisors' first OK
Rachel Gordon, Chronicle Staff Writer
November 2, 2010

San Francisco -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors gave preliminary approval Tuesday to banning toy giveaways in Happy Meals and similar fast-food offerings aimed at kids unless they have reduced sodium, fat and sugar content and include fruit and vegetables.

The legislation, which sponsors said is intended to promote healthy eating and help combat childhood obesity, was passed on an 8-3 vote - the bare minimum needed to overturn Mayor Gavin Newsom's promised veto.

The board is scheduled to take a final vote next week. If it goes on the books, the restrictions wouldn't go into effect until December 2011.

"This is a tremendous victory for our children's health," said Supervisor Eric Mar, chief sponsor of the legislation.

Siding with him were Supervisors John Avalos, David Campos, David Chiu, Chris Daly, Bevan Dufty, Sophie Maxwell and Ross Mirkarimi. Opposed were Supervisors Michela Alioto-Pier, Carmen Chu and Sean Elsbernd.

McDonald's, the world's largest restaurant chain, took the lead in fighting the proposal.

"Somehow the San Francisco Board of Supervisors just took the happy out of Happy Meals," said Scott Rodrick, who owns 10 McDonald's franchises in the city. "It would be an understatement to say how disappointed I am with this legislation."

He said the restrictions could hurt business and cost jobs if customers cross the San Francisco border for a traditional Happy Meal experience. He and other restaurant industry representatives said parents - not lawmakers - should decide what their children eat.

Mar said that right wouldn't be taken away. Toys, he noted, still would be allowed in meals that meet the healthier nutritional guidelines.

"It's not a ban; it's an incentive," Mar said.

Under the proposed ordinance, restaurants may give away a free toy or other incentive item only if the meal contains less than 600 calories, has less than 640 milligrams of sodium and if less than 35 percent of the calories are derived from fat (less than 10 percent from saturated fat), except for fat contained in nuts, seeds, eggs or low-fat cheese.

In beverages, less than 35 percent of the total calories can come from fat, and less than 10 percent from added sweeteners.

In addition, the meals must contain a half-cup or more of fruit and three-quarters of a cup or more of vegetables. A breakfast meal must contain at least a half-cup of fruit or vegetables.

Mar, who had the backing of the city's public health officials, modeled his proposal after a first-in-the-nation law in Santa Clara County adopted earlier this year that only applies to a handful of restaurants in the county's unincorporated areas. San Francisco's restrictions would affect dozens of fast-food establishments.

Dufty, the swing vote Mar needed to assure a veto-proof majority, said the powerful lure of toys that come with kids meals - and the marketing campaigns that accompany them - puts parents who may want to steer their children toward healthier food choices at fast-food restaurants at a distinct disadvantage.

He pointed to a 2006 survey by the Federal Trade Commission that found that 10 fast-food chains spent $360 million to purchase toys to distribute with the more than 1.2 billion children's meals sold that year.

"I want to encourage these major stakeholders to act now. I think we can take a bold move here and say, you know what, you really need to think about the fact that you can market whole wheat products, you can market carrots," Dufty said.

"If you have to put a Shrek doll with a package of carrots," Dufty added, "maybe that's what you have to do, but there hasn't been a real incentive for this industry to do that, and I think that this legislation in a small appropriate way is a step to say you need to do things differently."

E-mail Rachel Gordon at rgordon@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page A - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle

America's Top 5 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/americas-top-5-healthiest-fast-food-restaurants-2397396

America's Top 5 Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants
Health.com
Wed Oct 6, 2010
Tracy Minkin and Brittani Renaud

Using criteria that was created with the help of our expert panel, we scored the nation’s 100 largest fast-food chains (as defined by the number of locations) on such factors as the use of healthy fats and preparations, healthy sodium counts in entrees, availability of nutritional information, and the use of organic produce to determine the highest-ranking restaurants.

One big surprise: A traditional fast-food chain, McDonald’s, cracked our top 10. Sure, it’s the home of the Big Mac, but did you know it also serves a mean yogurt-and-granola parfait? Here, the standouts that are making grabbed food healthy food.

1. Panera Bread
Over 1,230 locations nationwide (and in Canada)

This bakery-cafe-based eatery wowed our judges with a comprehensive menu of healthy choices for every meal. “Variety makes it easy for everyone to choose healthy,” praises registered dietitian and panelist Marisa Moore. What does that mean for you? For starters, you can pick from two whole-grain breads for your sandwich and have an apple with it instead of chips (though the chips are fine, too—they can be baked!). Half-size soups, salads, and sandwiches make it a cinch to control portion size. Also, most of the chicken is antibiotic- and hormone-free, a rarity for large chains.

Panera also won top honors for kid fare, dishing out RD-approved crowd-pleasers like squeezable organic yogurt, PB&;J (with all-natural peanut butter), and grilled organic cheese on white whole-grain bread.

We love: Delicious, nutrient-packed combos like a half–Turkey Artichoke on focaccia bread with a bowl of black bean or garden vegetable soup.

Danger zone: Sticky buns and cheese danishes are on display at the counter.

2. Jason’s Deli
206 locations in the West, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South

How did this up-and-comer snag second place? Largely because of its devotion to organic food: About one-fifth of all its ingredients are organic, from blue-corn tortilla chips and whole-wheat wraps to field greens and spinach. Plus, its creative salads—like the Nutty Mixed-Up Salad with organic field greens, grapes, chicken breast, feta cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries, pumpkinseeds, raisins, and organic apples—make you actually want to order the greens.

Our judges applauded the portion-control option: Reduced sizes of, say, a stuffed baked potato, are $1 less. Jason’s menu also highlights ultrahealthy sandwiches and provides the nutitional info.

We love: Being able to build any sandwich on an organic whole-wheat wrap.

Danger zone: High-sodium counts on some sandwiches; if sodium is a concern, stick to the ultrahealthy choices.

3. Au Bon Pain
280 locations nationwide

A pioneer in healthy fast food, Au Bon Pain serves up sandwiches, soups, salads, and hot entrees made with whole grains, veggies, and hormone-free chicken.

New this year: Portions, a 14-item menu of nutritious small plates—from appetizers like apples, blue cheese, and cranberries to salads like chickpea and tomato—all of which are less than 200 calories. Another impressive feature: Au Bon Pain provides on-site nutritional information via computer kiosks, so before you even order you know each option’s calories, fat, and sodium. “It’s a great way to empower customers,” praises judge Amy Jamieson-Petonic.

We love: Yummy low-cal soups, from Jamaican Black Bean to Fire Roasted Exotic Grains and Vegetables.

Danger zone: The sodium counts can get high if you don’t pay attention.

4. Noodles and Company
204 locations in West, Midwest, South

Noodles and Company isn’t your typical greasy Asian food-court joint. In fact, it goes beyond Asian fare and cuts out the grease (only healthy soybean oil is used in sauteing). Here, you choose from three food types: Asian, Mediterranean, or American, then within each style, pick from four noodle bowl options. Lean proteins—hormone- and antibiotic-free chicken, beef, shrimp, and organic tofu—can be added, too.

The result? Tasty combos like Japanese Pan Noodles with broccoli, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, Asian sprouts, and sauteed beef. Also key: “You don’t have to chow down on a giant bowl of noodles. You can opt for a small portion,” says judge Frances Largeman-Roth, RD, Health’s Senior Food and Nutrition Editor. The small Bangkok Curry bowl has just 250 calories.

We love: The whole-grain linguine—usually hard to find when eating out.

Danger zone: The desserts. The only options are two kinds of cookies and a Rice Krispy Treat bar that checks in at 530 calories and 19 grams of fat!

5. Corner Bakery Cafe
111 locations in West, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, South

What sets Corner Bakery apart? A fantastic breakfast menu, which is rare in the quick-serve world. We love the Farmer’s Scrambler: eggs scrambled with red and green bell peppers, red onion, mushrooms, potatoes, and Cheddar cheese. (It’s only 260 calories when ordered with egg whites.) There’s also Swiss oatmeal, a chilled European breakfast cereal made with rolled oats, green apples, bananas, currants, dried cranberries, low-fat yogurt, and skim milk.

But Corner Bakery also has healthy salads, sandwiches, and soups made with whole grains, fresh, lean meats, and vegetables, as well as great portion-controlled combinations that make limiting calories a no-brainer.

We love: Healthy oven-roasted chicken that comes on most pastas and salads.

Danger zone: You have to go to their Web site to get nutritional info.

Fast food, frighteningly slow decay

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1258913/Happy-1st-birthday-Mother-keeps-McDonalds-Happy-Meal-year--gone-off.html

Fast food, frighteningly slow decay: Mother keeps McDonald's Happy Meal for a whole year... and it STILL hasn't gone off
Daily Mail Reporter
19th March 2010

Glancing at the two McDonald's Happy Meals pictured here, you may feel they look pretty much identical.

Astonishingly, however, this is the same meal, photographed 12 months apart.

Where any other food might be a mouldy, decomposing mess after a year, the McDonald's meal shows few signs of going off apart from the beef patty shrivelling and the stale burger bun cracking.

I had the windows open many times, but flies and other insects just ignored the Happy Meal. What does that tell you, if they can't be bothered with it?

Proof, says the American nutritionist who took these photographs, that it contains so many preservatives that it is bad for the children it is aimed at.

Joann Bruso said: 'Food is supposed to decompose, go bad and smell foul eventually. The fact that it has not decomposed shows you how unhealthy it is for children.'

Mrs Bruso left the Happy Meal uncovered on a shelf at her home near Denver, Colorado, to see what would happen. She has revealed the results on her blog, in which she gives healthy eating advice to parents.

The 62-year-old, who has eight grandchildren, admitted that the arid temperature of her home near the Rocky Mountains meant there was little moisture in the air with which to speed decomposition.

But she added that during the year-long experiment, no flies or other insects were attracted to the food.

She said: 'I had the windows open many times, but flies and other insects just ignored the Happy Meal. What does that tell you, if they can't be bothered with it?

'Food is broken down into its essential nutrients in our bodies and turned into fuel. Our children grow strong bodies when they eat real food.

'If flies ignore a Happy Meal and microbes don't decompose it, then your child's body can't properly metabolise it either.

'Now you know why it's called junk food.'

McDonald's has made great efforts to show that its food is healthy amid growing concerns about childhood obesity. All its restaurants list the calories in each item as well as the individual ingredients.

Recent research showed that each product has an average of seven E numbers. The bun has several preservatives such as calcium and sodium propionate, while the pickle slice has the preservative sodium benzoate.

The fries, which Mrs Bruso said were still golden brown after a year, contain preservatives such as citric acid and sodium acid pyrophosphate, which maintains their colour.

America's Worst French Fries (and What You Should Eat Instead!)

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/46018/americas-worst-french-fries-and-what-you-should-eat-instead

America's Worst French Fries (and What You Should Eat Instead!)
David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding
Mon, Feb 22, 2010

In spite of the name, French fries are practically an American birthright. They’re offered as the first choice side dish with nearly every fast-food and sit-down chain meal available. But here’s the catch: In a recent study of 7,318 New York City patrons leaving fast food chains during the lunch hour, researchers learned that combo meals—meaning meals with sides—averaged 1,100 calories each, which is over half a day’s allotment. It goes to show: When your regular meals at these restaurants are already pushing the nutritional envelope, adding an extra 300 (or more!) empty calories can make for a dietary disaster.

The authors of the best-selling weight-loss series Eat This, Not That! and Cook This, Not That! have rounded up three of the worst orders of fries available at chain restaurants across the country. We’ve also offered up the surprising winner of the fast food French fry cook-off—you’ll never believe which restaurant chain produces the healthiest fried spuds!

Worst Curly Fries
Arby’s Curly Fries (Large)
640 calories
34 g fat (5 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,460 mg sodium

Arby’s is famous for its curly fries—too bad they’re overloaded with fat, calories and sodium. When one side dish accounts for nearly three-quarters of your daily allotment of salt, you know there’s a problem. As fun as these curli-Qs are, stick to the Homefry variety at Arby’s—downsizing to a small Curly Fries will still leave you with a 410-calorie side, which is more than many of Arby’s sandwiches!

Eat This Instead!
Homestyle Fries (Small)
350 calories
15 g fat (2 g saturated)
720 mg sodium

Worst Wedge Fries
Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Wedges
715 calories
45 g fat (13 g saturated, 1 g trans)
905 mg sodium

It doesn’t take a nutritionist to identify the hazards of a grease-soaked, cheese-slathered sack of deep-fried potatoes, but by appearance alone, nobody could guess what’s really at stake when you order this side from Jack’s. The American Heart Association recommends that people cap their trans fat intake at 1 percent of total calories. For people on a 2,000-calorie diet, that’s about 2 grams per day. See the problem? Another issue, of course, is the overload in calories—about one-third your daily allotment!

Eat This Instead!
Grilled Chicken Strips (4) with Fire Roasted Salsa
185 calories
2 g fat (0.5 g saturated)
805 mg sodium

Worst Fries for Your Blood Pressure
Dairy Queen Chili Cheese Fries
1,240 calories
71 g fat (28 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
2,550 milligrams sodium

This one’s a no-brainer: Chili, cheese, fried potatoes. But even a savvy eater couldn’t possibly anticipate how bad these 3 ingredients could be when combined by one heavy-handed fast-food company. There’s as much sodium in this side dish as you’ll find in 15 strips of bacon. Stick with classic ketchup and recapture nearly a day’s worth of sodium and 930 calories.

Eat This Instead!
French Fries (regular)
310 calories
13 g fat (2 g saturated)
640 mg sodium

Worst Regular Order of Fries
Five Guys Fries (large)
1,464 calories
71 g fat (14 g saturated)
213 mg sodium

Unfortunately, Five Guys doesn’t offer anything but fries in the side department. Your safest bet, of course, is to skip the fries altogether (you’d be better off adding a second patty to your burger), but if you can’t bring yourself to eat a burger sans fries, then split a regular order. That will still add 310 calories to your meal, but it beats surrendering more than 75% of your day’s calories to a greasy paper bag.

Eat This Instead!
Regular Fries (1/2 serving)
310 calories
15 g fat (3 g saturated)
45 mg sodium

Worst Fries in America
Chili’s Texas Cheese Fries w/Jalapeno Ranch
1,920 calories
147 g fat (63 g saturated)
3,580 mg sodium

The only thing that comes close to redeeming this cheesy mound of lard and grease is the fact that it’s ostensibly meant to be shared with a few friends. Even so, you’ll collectively be taking in an entire day’s worth of calories, three days’ allotment of saturated fat, and a day and a half’s allotment of sodium. What’s even scarier, if you can imagine, is that even if you try to order more sensibly and ask for the “half” order of Texas Cheese Fries, you’ll still receive a disastrous dish that packs in 1,400 calories. There’s one French fries side dish at Chili’s that’s acceptable, although even in its much-reduced form, you’d be better off splitting it.

Eat This Instead!
Homestyle Fries
380 calories
23 g fat (4 g saturated)
230 mg sodium

Best Fast Food Fries in America
McDonald’s Small French Fries
230 calories
11 g fat (1.5 g saturated)
160 mg sodium

Out of the big three fast food joints (Mickey D’s, Wendy’s, and BK), you’ll find the least caloric, least salty fries underneath the golden arches. The key to ordering a smart side dish is portion sizing—and McDonald’s has that under control.

6 Worst Fast-Food Burgers

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/39713/6-worst-fast-food-burgers-and-what-you-should-eat-instead/

6 Worst Fast-Food Burgers (and What You Should Eat Instead!)
David Zinczenko, with Matt Goulding
Thu, Dec 17, 2009

A hamburger isn't, by itself, a terrible nutritional choice. Topped with some lettuce and tomato, ketchup, and mustard—and placed in a relatively small bun—a burger is a high-protein treat that shouldn't pack too much fat or too many calories. But just as country music went from skinny little Hank Williams playing honky-tonks to Garth Brooks touring stadiums—and just as baseball went from wiry Jackie Robinson stealing home to muscle-bound Barry Bonds stealing homers—so have our burgers evolved from lean and simple to very fat and complicated.

How hard has it become to decode the once-simple hamburger? Get a load of these. With Eat This, Not That! 2010 we've unearthed the biggest fast-food burger bombs in America, and offer reasonable and delicious alternatives.

Worst Cheeseburger with Everything
Wendy’s Double with Everything and Cheese
700 calories
40 g fat (17 g saturated, 2 g trans)
1,440 mg sodium

In the pantheon of fast-food burgers, this cannot compete with the atrocities wrought by the Double Whoppers and Six Dollar Burgers of the world. But there are too many burgers at Wendy’s to end up with this mistake. Take the Double Stack below—with small chili—for example. With 37 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber, it might be the most satisfying $2 meal in America.

Eat This Instead!
Double Stack with Small Chili
550 calories
24 g fat (10.5 g saturated, 1 g trans)
1,640 mg sodium


Worst Burger and Fries
In-N-Out Burger Hamburger and French Fries
790 calories
37 g fat (10 g saturated)
895 mg sodium

You’re heading into dangerous territory whenever you add fries to your order at In-N-Out. Sure, they’re trans-fat-free, but that won’t protect you from the 400 greasy, gut-bloating calories they carry. Instead, skip the fries and get serious about your burger. In-N-Out was offering up the low-carb treat long before other restaurants started making money off the Atkins craze. Take advantage of their prescience—and the 150-calorie savings—by simply tacking the phrase “protein style” onto your order.

Eat This Instead!
Protein Style Double-Double with grilled onion, ketchup, and mustard
440 calories
30 g fat (16 g saturated)
1,080 mg sodium


Worst Plain Cheeseburger
Five Guys Cheeseburger (plain)
840 calories
55 g fat (22.5 g saturated)
1,050 mg sodium

Even if you get the regular (i.e., bi-pattied) cheeseburger naked, you’ll still be taking in more than 250 calories and 20 grams of fat extra over the seemingly decadent bacon and sauteed mushroom burger. That’s because what Five Guys calls a “Little Burger,” healthy people call a “normal burger.” Plus, if you limit yourself to a single beef patty, you can get away with a couple of indulgent toppings like cheese or bacon.

Eat This Instead!
Little Bacon Burger with Sauteed Mushrooms and A1 Steak Sauce
575 calories
33 g fat (14.5 g saturated)
920 mg sodium


Worst Burger Brand
Carl’s Jr. Six Dollar Burger
890 calories
54 g fat (20 g saturated, 2 g trans)
2,040 mg sodium

What’s scary about the basic Six Dollar Burger is that with the exception of the bunless version, this is the leanest of the Six Dollar Burgers. That’s not a compliment—the rest of the line is just trashed beyond repair with egregious piles of bacon, guacamole, and teriyaki sauce. When at Carl’s, choose a Big Hamburger instead. Sure it’s big, but it’s not so big that you’re going to have to spend the next 3 days recovering. In fact, kids’ burgers aside, this is the only hamburger offered that won’t cost you in excess of 500 calories.

Eat This Instead!
Big Hamburger
460 calories
17 g fat (8 g saturated, 0.5 g trans)
1,090 mg sodium


Worst “Original” Burger
Hardee’s Original Thickburger (1/3 lb)
910 calories
64 g fat (21 g saturated)
1,560 mg sodium

Shockingly, this is one of the least offensive of the Thickburgers. If you really need 1/3 pound of meat for lunch, make it the low-carb version and save yourself 490 calories. Or, choose a Double Cheeseburger, instead. It’s far from a model of sound nutrition, but the same could be said of Hardee’s itself. So if you want a burger with substance, you need to settle for the lesser of many evils.

Eat This Instead!
Double Cheeseburger
510 calories
26 g fat (5 g saturated)
1,120 mg sodium


Worst Fast-Food Cheeseburger in America
Burger King Triple Whopper Sandwich with Cheese and Mayo
1,250 calories
84 g fat (32 g saturated, 3.5 g trans)
1,600 mg sodium

This Triple Whopper is triple trouble. You could remove two patties and still be looking at more calories than you should tussle with in one sitting. And the fact that it’s got more trans fat than you should eat in a day only adds insult to injury. The problem with BK burgers is that not a single one comes without the heart-harming trans-fatty acids, despite their long-standing promise to (someday) make their menu trans-fat-free. Your best bet when dealing with the King is to choose a chicken sandwich instead.

Eat This Instead!
Tendergrill Chicken Sandwich with Mayo
490 calories
21 g fat (4 g saturated, 0 g trans)
1,220 mg sodium

Top 5 Fast Food Value Menu Deals

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/107496/top-5-fast-food-value-menu-deals.html

Top 5 Fast Food Value Menu Deals
by Tara Struyk
Friday, August 14, 2009

Common wisdom suggests that it's cheaper to cook your own meals at home than it is to eat in a restaurant. But as the economy's slump continues, fast-food restaurants have been trumpeting the financial merits of their value menus, many of which offer filling food for a dollar or less.

With these companies' ability to buy food in mass quantities at much greater discounts than what you can get from even a discount grocer, can you really compete? Let's take a look the top five fast food values out there today.

Breaking It Down

To come up with per-serving prices for ingredients in these fast food items, we used their average or estimated retail costs. These will vary depending on where you live and where you shop. The cost of individual condiments was excluded for simplicity's sake.

No. 5 KFC: The "Snacker" Is Just That

KFC launched its 10-item value menu in February, but unlike some of the other chains on this list, only three of its value offerings fall under the $1 mark. The best value of the bunch is probably the Ultimate Cheese KFC Snacker, a 3-ounce breaded chicken strip covered in cheese sauce and lettuce on a dinner-roll sized bun.

At 115 grams, it's a considerable lightweight compared to the other value menu items on this list, which weigh in anywhere from 128 grams (Taco Bell) to 151 grams (McDonald's).

Per-Sandwich Cost at KFC: 99 cents
Per Sandwich Cost at Home:
-Chicken(prepared at home at $3/pound): 56 cents
-Dinner Roll: 15 cents
-Cheese Sauce: 4 cents
-Total: 75 cents + condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: You can make this at home for less, but only if you can crack the Colonel's secret recipe.

No. 4 Burger King: Where's the Cheese?

There are more than a dozen value menu items at Burger King. The Whopper Junior, a standard burger with 2.2 ounces of beef, is the most substantial item, but unlike the other burgers on this list it does not include cheese. According to BeefRetail.org, the average price of regular ground beef as of March 2009 was $2.44.

Per-Burger Cost at Burger King: 99 cents (depending on where you live)
Per-Burger Cost at Home:
-Meat: 33 cents
-Bun: 25 cents
-Total: 58 cents + condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: If you make your own version of a Junior Whopper, you can add a slice of cheese and a little extra meat and still get more food for $1.

No. 3 Taco Bell: Why Pay More?

Taco Bell's ‘Why Pay More?’ Value Menu has some of the lowest prices around, with 10 products priced at 79, 89 and 99 cents. This Mexican-inspired food goes for prices that you might see in, well, Mexico. The hot item on this menu is reportedly the Cheesy Double Beef Burrito, an eight-ounce giant with about 2.5 ounces of seasoned ground beef, cheese sauce, seasoned rice and red sauce.

Per-Burrito Cost at Taco Bell: 99 cents
Per Burrito Cost at Home:
-Meat: 38 cents
-Tortilla: 25 cents
-Cheese Sauce (prepared, 1/2 ounce): ~15 cents
-Rice (at a price of 4 cents per ounce and assuming two ounces): 8 cents
-Total: 86 cents + condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: If you make a similar item at home, you might be cutting it close in terms of coming out ahead of this fast-food item, as tortillas can easily cost as much as 40 cents each, depending on where you shop. If you make your own tortillas, you could make a similar burrito for as little as 60 cents.

No.2 McDonald's: Budgets Are Lovin' It

The iconic Mcdonald's dollar menu has been around since 2002, and although it offers only a handful of items, they seem like a steal. A dollar-menu staple, something you could actually call "lunch", is the McDouble: two hamburger patties, one slice of cheese, condiments and a bun.

Per-Burger Cost at McDonalds: $1
Per-Burger Cost at Home:
-Meat: 49 cents
-Cheese: 20 cents
-Bun: 25 cents
-Total: 94 cents + condiments and the time it takes to cook it

Bottom Line: Assuming the cost of the condiments adds a few more cents, you can see that the McDouble is a tantalizingly good value.

No.1 Wendy's: It's Value

Wendy's doesn't have a signature sandwich but it does capitalize on its signature square burger patties. But does this chain offer a product that's "wayyyy better than fast food" in terms of value?

In a word: yes. Look at Wendy's Double Stack burger, one of the key items on its sizable Super Value Menu. It is advertised as a 99-cent item and consists of two 1.78 ounce hamburger patties, a cheese slice and condiments.

Per-Burger Cost at Wendy's: 99 cents
Per-Burger Cost at Home:
-Meat: 54 cents
-Bun: 25 cents
-Cheese: 20 cents
-Total: 99 cents +condiments and cooking time

Bottom Line: As it turns out, Wendy's really isn't cutting corners with its signature square burgers. If you can find a Wendy's location that's selling this item for 99 cents (some have bumped the price up to $1.49), you'll be sinking your teeth into the most beef you can get for less than a dollar.

Can I Take Your Order?

So, while in most cases you can't get better deal at the drive-through window than in the grocery aisle, if you stick to value menu items, the savings gleaned by flipping your own burgers are very small, particularly for top fast food restaurants like Wendy's and McDonalds.

It all depends on what you value most. If your top priorities are convenience and price, fast food chains may be the most budget-friendly way to fill your stomach. If you're worried about food quality - or your waistline - these cheap, filling fast food deals may not be your best bet.

Epicurious Differs with Zagat Survey's Fast-Food

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/epicurious-differs-with-zagat-surveys-fast-food-findings-474492/

Epicurious Differs with Zagat Survey's Fast-Food Findings partner
by James Oliver Cury
Epicurious.com
Thu Jun 11, 2009

The Zagat surveys, long known for regional, customer-written restaurant reviews, recently turned their attention to the budget-friendly world of fast food. More than 6,000 people responded to the company's online poll, weighing in on the best burgers, fries, salads, coffee, and more.

The results: McDonald's makes the finest fries, In-N-Out Burger boasts the tastiest burger, and Starbucks serves the best coffee. Wendy's nabbed "top food" and "top facilities" in the megachain category (more than 5,000 locations).

But we at Epicurious beg to differ. Below we present our own analyses of some of Zagat's key findings.

TOP RATED AMONG MEGA CHAINS (more than 5,000 U.S. locations):

TOP FOOD
1. Wendy's [WINNER]
2. Subway
3. KFC
4. Taco Bell
5. Pizza Hut

Epicurious analysis: We like Subway for the simple reason that it bakes its own bread and lets you see the sandwichmakers making meals in front of your eyes. You can see the quality of the sliced meats, cheeses, and produce. So if the tomatoes look under-ripe, you can skip them. Plus, tacos, pizzas, fried chicken, and burgers can be greasy. Sandwiches, unless drenched in vinegar and oil, should not have this problem.

TOP FACILITIES
1. Wendy's [WINNER]
2. McDonald's
3. Subway
4. Burger King
5. KFC

Epicurious analysis: Contrary to rumor, this is not a competition for best bathroom. Facilities are defined as "quality of seating, ordering and waiting areas." We think it depends on which location you visit, what time you're there, and if it's near a bar.

TOP SERVICE
1. Subway [WINNER]
2. Wendy's
3. Domino's Pizza
4. McDonald's
5. Pizza Hut

Epicurious analysis: We've never met a surly Subway sandwichmaker, but have certainly met less-than-friendly order-takers at other fast-food chains. More to the point, there's a greater level of service needed to custom-build every sandwich in plain public view than there is in pressing the right buttons on a cash register and givig you proper change. Good call.

ZAGAT’S BEST BURGER
1. In-N-Out Burger [WINNER]
2. Wendy's
3. Burger King
4. McDonald's
5. Whataburger

Epicurious analysis: The cult following around In-N-Out is well-deserved: This is an independently owned, nonfranchised operation that sticks to what it does well (burgers) and doesn't attempt to cash in on healthy salads, grilled chicken, or coffee. More important, the burgers don't taste like any other fast-food fare. We especially like the flexibility in options: In addition to getting lettuce, tomato, onion, and a variation on Thousand Island dressing, customers can ask for things like mustard, pickle, and extra patties (the so-called secret menu).

That said, there are no outlets on the East Coast, so it's hard to think this represents a national opinion, and it's clearly not an apples to apples, or should we say, burgers to burgers, comparison.

ZAGAT’S BEST FRENCH FRIES
1. McDonald's [WINNER]
2. Burger King
3. In-N-Out Burger
4. Wendy's
5. Chick-fil-A

Epicurious analysis: If you've ever had bad or even mediocre fries, you know how disappointing they can be: soggy, undercooked, oversalted, etc. MickeyD's fries are crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, golden yellow-brown, and most important, tremendously consistent. Plus, they stand on their own, even without ketchup, and they have that scent-recognition thing. You can tell a Golden Arches fry from a mile away, and even if you don't think you're into them, you get a craving.

Some people disagree: "Wendy's are cut a bit thicker and they're not flavored with some sort of beef extract," noted one Epi editor. Nathan's scored points with another editor: "I find the consistency a turn-off. There's no thin and crispy mixed with random fat and soft fries, no surprises. They don't suggest 'potato' to me at all, rather reconstituted potato flour. Nathan's fries are my favorites; almost sweet-tasting, and brown outside with a smooth, not floury middle. They taste like potato!"

ZAGAT’S BEST SALADS
1. Panera Bread [WINNER]
2. Wendy's
3. McDonald's
4. Au Bon Pain
5. Corner Bakery Café

Epicurious analysis: Who orders salads at these places? No one we know. That said, at least Panera offers more than just iceberg lettuce.

ZAGAT’S BEST FRIED CHICKEN
1. KFC [WINNER]
2. Popeye's
3. Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits
4. Church's Chicken
5. Culver's Frozen Custard

Epicurious analysis: We're partial to Bojangles ourselves, but it's mainly in the South, so for pure consistency, we will give a greasy thumbs-up to KFC.

ZAGAT’S BEST GRILLED CHICKEN
1. Chick-fil-A [WINNER]
2. Panera Bread
3. Wendy's
4. Chipotle
5. El Pollo Loco

Epicurious analysis: We recently hosted a grilled chicken taste test in the Epicurious offices and found KFC's brand-new offerings to be best of breed. As our blog post enumerated:

"All the pieces, ranging from the breast to the chicken wing, had a nice golden charbroiled color, and grill marks, giving the impression that it had just come off the grill. KFC's meat was reasonably tender and juicy, and the skin actually had flavor thanks to the Colonel's six 'secret' herbs and spices."

ZAGAT’S BEST COFFEE
1. Starbucks Coffee [WINNER]
2. Dunkin' Donuts
3. Peet's Coffee & Tea
4. McDonald's
5. Caribou Coffee

Epicurious analysis: We hosted an informal taste test of hot mocha lattes on the set of Fox & Friends; Dunkin' Donuts took top honors. But some editors here believe Dunkin' Donuts' products can vary depending on location. Starbucks seems more consistent, for better or worse.

ZAGAT’S TOP ICE CREAM/CUSTARD
1. Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops [WINNER]
2. Rita's
3. Culver's Frozen Custard
4. Baskin-Robbins
5. Carvel

Epicurious analysis: What's not to love about Ben & Jerry's? Their products are great and the company seems to have a conscience. Plus, the shops are often quirky and have individual style, which is nice for a national brand. Second on our list: Carvel offers great soft-serve, flying saucers, and those ridiculous but somehow cool cakes like Cookie Puss and that Fudgie the Whale, etc. A final thought: Why no Friendly's or Haagen-Dazs?

ZAGAT’S TOP SMOOTHIES/FROZEN YOGURT
1. Smoothie King [WINNER]
2. Jamba Juice
3. Pinkberry
4. TCBY
5. Orange Julius

Epicurious analysis: Orange Julius still exists?

ZAGAT’S BEST MILKSHAKE
1. Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops [WINNER]
2. Dairy Queen
3. McDonald's
4. Cold Stone Creamery
5. Wendy's

Epicurious analysis: We were shocked that the highfalutin Ben & Jerry's beat McDonald's. McD should win hands down! Its shake is heaven; so thick that it can be drunk through a straw or eaten with a spoon.

On a final note: The editors at Epicurious believe there's more to the story than the numbers tell. While more than 6,000 people voted, it should be noted that this sample group included, by definition, only those people who are both familiar with Zagat Survey and have online access. Furthermore, Zagat does not provide the exact figures (no percentages), so it's impossible to tell who won by a landslide and who won by a small margin (i.e., did Chik-fil-A narrowly win the best-chicken competition by a single percentage point over KFC?). Finally, these types of surveys are always popularity contests; many people vote for whatever places actually operate in their area (there were many regionally specific options that aren't truly national) or whatever they grew up with. And only fast food chains were considered, no mom-'n'-pop shops. So, based on this, we think the Zagat poll "lacks comprehensiveness" and "doesn't take into account smaller regional chains."

Surprise Ingredients In Fast Food

http://www.newstarget.com/022194.html

November 3 2007
Surprise Ingredients In Fast Food
by John Andrews

(NewsTarget) The movie Supersize Me has probably had more of an effect than the producers anticipated. Since then, in the fast food industry, there has been a market trend promoting menu items that appear to be healthy. But most of these menu items have ingredients that health conscious consumers would prefer to avoid.

Most health conscious consumers consider healthy foods to be things like raw fruits and vegetables, whole grains, raw nuts and seeds, and clean meats like wild Alaskan salmon, or free-range chicken or turkey.

Some ingredients that health conscious consumers consider unacceptable are MSG (or free glutamate, or free glutamic acid, including anything hydrolyzed or autolyzed), trans fats (hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils [3]), artificial colors, artificial flavors, and most preservatives.

Many so-called healthy fast food menu items, upon closer inspection, do not live up to the health hype. Most of the meat from any of the major chains has anything but a simple ingredients list. They add emulsifiers, preservatives, MSG, artificial colors, trans fats, and hidden ingredients under generic labels such as spices, or natural and artificial flavors.

Some of these food additives are not foods at all, but are chemicals that are generally recognized as safe. Most of these additives cannot be found at your local grocery store, probably because they aren’t food. But some can be found at your local hardware store, though in inedible products like low tox antifreeze, silicone caulk, soap, sunscreen, and play sand.

The ingredient information in this article came straight from the various fast food restaurants’ web sites.

McDonald’s

The egg’s reputation is recovering, but scrambled eggs as a part of McDonald’s breakfast include much more than egg. Their pasteurized whole eggs have sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid, and monosodium phosphate (all added to preserve color), and nisin, a preservative. To top it off, the eggs are prepared with liquid margarine: liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated cottonseed and soybean oils (trans fats), salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil (trans fat), soy lecithin, mono- and diglycerides, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, and beta carotene (color). Though not all bad, these added chemicals may be the reason why homemade scrambled eggs taste so much better than McDonald’s.

For coffee drinkers, it would seem fairly safe to just grab a quick cup of coffee at McDonald's on the way to work. But many health conscious people would object to it also including this list of ingredients: sodium phosphate, sodium polyphosphate, Di-Acetyl Tartrate Ester of Monoglyceride, sodium stearoyl lactylate, tetra sodium pyrophosphate, sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium citrate, and carrageenan. Do health nuts still drink coffee?

Salads can usually be counted on to be a “what you see is what you get” item. But McDonald’s adds some interesting ingredients. The salads with grilled chicken also have liquid margarine.

Several salads have either cilantro lime glaze, or orange glaze added. Along with many of McDonald’s sauces, both the cilantro lime glaze and the orange glaze contain propylene glycol alginate. While propylene glycol is considered "GRAS" for human consumption, it is not legal for use in cat food because the safety hasn't been proven yet [10]. Propylene glycol is also used "As the killing and preserving agent in pitfall traps, usually used to capture ground beetles" [10].

The chili lime tortilla strips that are included in the southwest salads have several ingredients used to hide MSG. They also contain two ingredients that advertise the presence of MSG: disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate.

The chicken has sodium phosphates (of an unspecified variety). It could be trisodium phosphate (a cleanser), monosodium phosphate (a laxative), or disodium hydrogen phosphate [11]. Why would McDonald’s add sodium phosphates (a foaming agent), and dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent in their crispy chicken breast fillets? It isn’t dishwasher detergent.

Burger King

It’s interesting to note that the BK Veggie Burger has six ingredients commonly used to hide free glutamate (MSG): calcium caseinate, hydrolyzed corn, yeast extract, soy protein isolate, spices, and natural flavors. At the end of the ingredients list, it states This is NOT a vegan product. The patty is cooked in the microwave. Was that a warning statement?

Burger King has three salads to choose from. The TENDERCRISP Garden Salad, the TENDERGRILL Garden Salad, and the Side Garden Salad.

A salad may be a little boring without a dressing like Ken’s Fat Free Ranch Dressing which includes titanium dioxide (an artificial color, or sunscreen, depending on use), preservatives, and the ingredient seemingly mandatory in all ranch dressings: monosodium glutamate.

Once again, as is typical with the fast food industry, they took a simple thing like chicken, and added a long list of ingredients.

TENDERGRILL® CHICKEN BREAST FILET
Chicken Breast with Rib Meat, Water, Seasoning (Maltodextrin, Salt, Sugar, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Garlic Powder, Spices, Natural Flavors, Onion Powder, Modified Corn Starch, Chicken Fat, Chicken Powder, Chicken Broth, Disodium Guanylate and Disodium Inosinate, Citric Acid, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Dehydrated Garlic, and Artificial Flavors.), Modified Corn Starch, Soybean Oil, Salt, Sodium Phosphates. Glazed with: Water, Seasoning [Maltodextrin, Salt, Sugar, Methylcellulose, Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Partially Hydrogenated Sunflower Oil, Modified Potato Starch, Fructose, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Dehydrated Garlic, Spices, Modified Corn Starch, Xanthan Gum, Natural Flavors, Disodium Guanylate and Disodium Inosinate, Chicken Fat, Carmel Color, Grill Flavor (from Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil), Chicken Powder, Chicken Broth, Turmeric, Smoke Flavor, Annatto Extract, and Artificial Flavors], Soybean Oil. [12]

Taco Bell

Taco Bell’s website didn’t have much emphasis on health. Under the nutrition guide, at the bottom was a link to Keep it Balanced, a token nod to health. It had no serious information on how to really eat healthy. They recommend foods like pizza and tacos (no surprise) because they may include ingredients from several food groups at once. Including several food groups does not necessarily mean it’s a healthy food.

The seasoned beef, carne asada steak, spicy shredded chicken, and even the rice all include autolyzed yeast extract (hidden MSG). Disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate are flavor enhancers used in synergy with MSG [7,8]. Therefore, menu items with disodium inosinate and/or disodium guanylate also contain MSG. This includes the avocado ranch dressing, southwest chicken, citrus salsa, creamy jalapeno sauce, creamy lime sauce, lime seasoned red strips, pepper jack sauce, and seasoned rice.

According to Wikipedia, dimethylpolysiloxane is optically clear, and is generally considered to be inert, non-toxic, and non-flammable. It is used in silicone caulk, adhesives, and as an anti-foaming agent [6]. Appetizingly enough, it’s also included in Taco Bell’s rice.

Wendy’s

At Wendy’s, there are several tempting salads. The mandarin chicken salad seems healthy at first glance. It has diced chicken, mandarin oranges, almonds, crispy noodles, your choice of dressings, and five different varieties of lettuce. Then reality takes a bite when you check the ingredients list. The almonds are roasted and salted. The crispy noodles are not whole grain. The mandarin orange segments are not freshly peeled oranges; most likely canned. The diced chicken has added autolyzed yeast extract (MSG), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, sodium phosphates (soap?), salt, more salt, sugar, modified cornstarch (sic)[1], and the universal umbrella ingredient list: spices, natural flavors, and artificial flavors.

In the ingredients lists for the salad dressings, one surprise was titanium dioxide in the Low Fat Honey Mustard Dressing and the Reduced Fat Creamy Ranch Dressing. It’s a very versatile chemical. It can be used to manufacture paint, sunscreen, semiconductors, and food coloring [2].

Wendy’s Southwest Taco Salad is a salad with Wendy’s chili. Once again, the chili has hidden MSG: autolyzed yeast extract, spices, artificial flavors, natural flavorings, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate (MSG give-aways). It’s puzzling to try to understand why their chili would need to include an anti-caking agent such as silicon dioxide (also known as sand, or glass powder).

See if you can spot the sunscreen, MSG, and soap in this Wendy’s ingredient:

Seasoned Tortilla Strips
Whole Corn, Vegetable Oil (contains one or more of the following: corn, soybean or sunflower oil), Salt, Buttermilk Solids, Spices, Tomato, Sweet Cream, Dextrose, Onion, Sugar, Cheddar Cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), Corn Starch, Modified Corn Starch, Maltodextrin, Nonfat Dry Milk, Garlic, Torula Yeast, Citric Acid, Autolyzed Yeast, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Artificial Colors (including extractives of paprika, turmeric and annatto, titanium dioxide, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1), Disodium Phosphate, Lactic Acid, Soy Lecithin. CONTAINS: MILK.

Apparently, taste really is all that matters at Wendy’s.

Subway

If a sandwich is advertised as healthy, one would expect that the bread would be whole grain. Not so with Subway’s wheat bread. While it does have some whole wheat flour, it’s the third ingredient, listed just before high fructose corn syrup [4]. None of Subway’s breads are whole grain. Ammonium sulfate (a fertilizer) is also added. Unfinished sandwiches may be composted. The bread also contains azodicarbonamide. From Wikipedia,

Use of azodicarbonamide as a food additive is banned in Australia. In the UK, the Health and Safety Executive has identified azodicarbonamide as a respiratory sensitiser (a possible cause of asthma) and determined that products should be labeled with May cause sensitisation by inhalation [5].

Most of the meats at Subway contain MSG and/or sodium nitrite.

KFC

The chicken, the gravy, and even the rice all have monosodium glutamate added. Not surprisingly, the chicken in the salads also has MSG. For a healthy menu item, the House Side Salad without dressing has nothing more than iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, and tomatoes.

KFC claims 0g trans fat per serving for all their fried chicken. But The Extra Crispy Chicken, Colonel’s Crispy Strips, HBBQ Wings, Boneless HBBQ Wings, Fiery Buffalo Wings, and more have partially hydrogenated soybean oil listed in the ingredients. So if the trans fat content is below 0.5g per serving, they can round down to zero and claim zero grams per serving.

In Closing

The salad a la carte may be the only healthy thing to eat at a fast food place. The side salads offered at the fast food places are hardly a meal, and hardly what one would consider a real salad.

Regarding MSG, it is helpful to remember this statement from Wikipedia when reading food labels.
Under current FDA regulations, when MSG is added to a food, it must be identified as monosodium glutamate in the label's ingredient list. If however MSG is part of a spice mix that is purchased by another company, the manufacturer does not have to list the ingredients of that spice mix and may use the words flavorings or spices. Even food that uses the no msg label may therefore have MSG that is added from a spice mix from another company under current FDA regulations.[9]

As with most meat products in fast food restaurants, consider any meat, including on salads, to include MSG, chemical preservatives, and trans fats. Even seemingly simple items like rice can have ingredients like anti-foaming agents.
References

[1] http://www.wendys.com/food/Nutrition.jsp

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanium_dioxide

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_fats

[4] http://subway.com/subwayroot/MenuNutrition/Nutrition/frmUSIngredients.aspx

[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azodicarbonamide

[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylpolysiloxane

[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disodium_inosinate

[8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disodium_guanylate

[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monosodium_glutamate

[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propylene_glycol

[11] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_phosphates

[12] http://www.bk.com/#menu=3,-1,-1


About the author
John Andrews is an electrical engineer currently living in Utah. He earned his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 2001 at the University of Utah. John has adopted a whole foods lifestyle rich in raw fruits and vegetables. This lifestyle change has produced a noticeable improvement in physical health, appearance, and mental clarity. He savors knowledge and is eager to teach others how to be healthy.