Tag Archives: fast food

“Grease Puck of Dough” is a Better Name for Pizza Hut’s Big Pizza Sliders

Is there anything more American than pizza? Well, specifically, Pizza Hut’s version of the Italian dish? Maybe the only way Pizza Hut could make the famous food more American is make it in a “fun size.” Well, this year, they’ve done just that. Pizza Hut recently introduced Big Pizza Sliders. So what’s the deal? Are they a better option? Or just another fast-food gimmick?

Well, let’s start with the stats. The Big Pizza Sliders are sold as three sliders for $5 or up to 9 sliders for $10. Consumers can mix and match and get up to three combinations of up to three toppings each. They end up being about 3.5 inches in diameter and can range from 230 calories for a plain cheese slider, up to 350 calories for a beef or sausage slider. The fat content ranges from 8-19 grams depending on toppings. (more…)

Fast Food Industry Fails to Serve Healthy Fish Sandwiches – 8 of the Best and Worst

In case you were wondering why the ads for fast-food fish increase this time of year – here’s your answer. Catholics started Lent on Wednesday, a 40-day observance wherein an individual fasts or abstains from something worldly, including abstinence from meat on Fridays. Catholics are permitted fish, and the restaurant industry takes full advantage. While grabbing a fish sandwich from a drive-thru seems innocent enough considering how healthful fish can be, those combos are often no better than the cheeseburgers.

Once you batter, fry, slather with mayo, and stuff fish inside a big white, starchy bun, you’re left with alarmingly high sodium and diet-crushing calorie counts.

We scanned restaurant menus to organize a list of the healthiest fish sandwiches, but our direction had to change when we couldn’t find any. That’s right – the fast food industry fails when it comes to serving a sandwich that meets our nutritional criteria, which is 500 calories and 500 milligrams of sodium or less for a meal. A couple come close with modifications, but they often don’t leave room for any sides.

McDonald’s Filet O’Fish Sandwich “wins” for the “healthier” fast food fish sandwich, as long as you ditch the cheese and maybe even the tartar sauce. The Long John Silver’s grilled salmon option is the best meal we found, and you even get to order corn with it! And for cold sandwiches, Panera barely wins with its tuna sandwich (barely because the sodium is still too high).

Take a look at the break down of eight of the most popular fast food restaurants and why you should avoid their fish menu. If you’ve got to go meatless on Friday, consider their vegetarian options – or just pack a lunch! (more…)

McDonald’s Commits to Serving Certified Sustainable Seafood at All Locations

McDonald’s isn’t usually one to make headlines for positive news, but that’s just what they’ve done this week. The company announced yesterday that it will commit to serving only certified-sustainable seafood at all of its locations, making it the first U.S. national restaurant chain to do so.

This, of course, is big news for sustainability advocates as McDonald’s is the one of the largest single buyers of fish in the U.S.

Consumers will notice the change not only in the company’s packaging, which will now include a blue ecolabel of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). But also in a marketing effort which will roll out as soon as the changes are official in early February. In addition to their famous Filet-O-Fish sandwich, McDonald’s will also launch a new product called Fish McBites, which will be made with MSC-certified, wild-caught Alaska pollock.

As reported by the Huffington Post, the MSC is an independent non-profit organization that sets standards for sustainable fishing based on the impacts a fishery has on its ecosystem, its fish stock health, and its fishery management system. (more…)

Five Guys Rapper Daymon Patterson Tackles His Fast Food Addiction on Dr. Oz

On today’s episode, Dr. Oz talks to Daymon Patterson, star of several YouTube food review videos that have gone viral, to give him a fast food intervention. He also explains why you might be exhausted on a daily basis and how you can get your energy back.

Patterson’s reviews of fast foods such as Five Guys’ burger and fries, Taco Bell’s Doritos locos taco, and Dairy Queen’s royal mint shake have made him an internet sensation. However, Dr. Oz is less impressed as he looks at Patterson’s weight, which is around 400 pounds, as well as his cholesterol, body mass index, and other health numbers. He tells Patterson that with his high numbers he is in danger of heart attacks, strokes, and other obesity-related complications. Patterson exclaims, “We gotta fix this today!”

Watch the video that made him famous, with more than 6.6 million views.

(more…)

McDonald’s Posting Nutrition Information on Menus Nationwide, but Will it Do Any Good?

Ever wonder how many calories are in a McDonald’s meal? If you do want to know just how nutritionally void that Big Mac is, you would have to pull up the information on the restaurant’s web site. Until now!

Today, the corporation announced that they will list nutrition information on restaurant and drive-thru menus nationwide. President Obama’s new health regulation requires restaurant chains to post calorie information. McDonald’s move comes ahead of federal government regulation that could require major chains to post nutrition information as early as next year.

Jan Fields, president of McDonald’s USA, said in a press release that the company volunteered to give out their nutrition information. “We believe it will help educate customers.”

I asked our resident dietitian, Mary Hartley, what she thinks of McDonald’s providing their nutrition information, and she said, “It’s good publicity and they (McDonalds) know it really won’t make a difference, but who knows what will happen over time. Many people have no idea of how many calories they need and so the information is meaningless.” She points to the fact that New York City has required calories posted on menus for several years and it’s done little to change buyer behavior there. (more…)

What’s in a McNugget? Canadian McDonald’s Reveals This and Other Menu Secrets

Oh, Canada, why are you getting all the interesting interaction from McDonald’s and we’re not? McDonald’s in Canada is making waves with their new “Our Food. Your Questions” campaign. Real customers are getting their tough questions answered about the restaurant’s food. Even the tough questions are being answered in very in depth ways.

I came across this campaign after hearing that a McDonald’s executive chef revealed the recipe of the Big Mac’s secret sauce through a YouTube video. The video exists on the Canadian McDonald’s YouTube channel along with some other very revealing videos. Most are simply extended responses to questions asked at the “Your Questions. Our Food.” website, only hosted in Canada.

At the site customers asked questions like, “when you say 100% beef, do you mean the whole cow: the organs, snout, brain, kidneys, etc. etc., or just the plain beef we buy at the grocer?” Or, “Does your Egg McMuffin use real eggs? They look too perfect.” (more…)

New York’s Ban on Trans Fats is Working

A recent study shows that New Yorkers are eating much less of the trans fat since the ban took effect back in 2024.

The city passed the ban back in 2006 that limited the amount of trans fat per serving to be less than 0.5 grams.

Americans eat about a third of their meals away from the home which meant at the time a larger consumption of this dangerous fat. Trans fats are even more dangerous than saturated fats because not only do they raise total cholesterol levels but also lower good cholesterol, which helps fight against heart disease.

The recent study done by Christine Curtis, MBA, of the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene, and colleagues looked to see how much, if at all, the effect of the ban was having on New Yorkers. They looked at 6,969 lunch receipts from before in 2024 and 7,885 after the ban in 2024. They reported their findings in the July 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. (more…)

Children in China More Likely to get Diabetes than Children in America

Teenagers in China are four times as likely to get diabetes than those from the United States. This was discovered by a study led by Barry Popkin, Ph.D., W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of nutrition at University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The researchers used data from the longest ongoing study of its kind in China, China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). They analyzed data from over 29,000 people that were followed from 1989 to 2024 in 300 different communities in China.

While comparing data from the CHNS to the National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) in the United States the researchers found the rates of diabetes were higher in the youth from China. Children aged 12-18 from China had a 1.9 percent compared to 0.5 percent of American children who had diabetes. They also found that 11 percent of Chinese children and 30 percent of Chinese adults are currently overweight.

“Those who are Asian, Native American, African American have more thrifty genes and are more likely to store fat. These populations come from ancestry that experienced bouts of famine and needed to store extra fat to survive,” said Sarah Kahn, Resident Pharmacist with Dietsinreview.com, in an email. “Fat around the abdomen is an indicator that could lead to diabetes.” (more…)

Chipotle Puts its Dairy Out to Pasture

Chipotle, how do I love thee? Let me keep counting the ways! This place keeps getting better and better. Chipotle just announced that effective this June, 100 percent of their stores’ sour cream and 65 percent of their restaurants’ cheese will be made from pasture-raised cows.

A pasture-raised cow is one that has daily access to outdoor pastures. Additionally, the animals are never fed hormones, only a vegetarian diet. The leading Mexican grill chain has made some bold and progressive moves in the last year, challenging the existing quality found in typical fast-food. Chipotle has already made a commitment to serve only naturally raised meats that contain no hormones or antibiotics. As a further commitment to health and sustainability, Chipotle buys its produce from farms located within 250 miles of each location. They also support family farms with The Chipotle Cultivate Foundation, which helps farms with sustainable practices and promotes healthy eating for kids. (more…)

When It Comes to Kid’s Menus, Tell Your Kid to Grow Up

I intend on my son growing up to be a man. Height-wise, he’s nearly there and he’s only eight. With every passing stage I mourn a little for the little baby I once had. I refuse to let him grow up too fast.

He still mispronounces a few things and I won’t correct him because sometimes, the fact that he calls it a “mow-lawner” is the only connection I have to the tiny baby boy he once was. We won’t let him watch many television shows, we don’t allow the word “butt” in our house, and there’s serious controls on our Internet. Mature life will come soon enough, he needs to be a child for as long as possible. However, there is one aspect of being a kid I have never permitted with my son. When it comes to his diet, I refuse to treat my son like a child.

As I read the latest report about the nutrition content found in the so-called “healthy” kids meals I rolled my eyes. One restaurant’s hamburger was higher in fat than than three of another fast food joint’s chicken nuggets. And ‘fast-food place A’ serves a grilled cheese with way more sodium than “fast-food place B’s” corn dog. So it seems, in our tireless effort to get our kids healthy, we’re splitting hairs over whose junk food may have tweaked the recipe enough to be slightly lower in fat or cholesterol to earn the title as a “healthier option.” (more…)

McDonald’s Chef Coudreaut Can’t Be Serious That He Sees Nothing Unhealthy on That Menu

One of my biggest food vices is McDonald’s. I own that. Those French fries have me in a trance just like everyone else. I didn’t used to care. I ate it rarely enough that when I did I figured the difference was made with workouts and healthy meals.

About two years ago, I literally had to wean myself away. I’d drive by and mentally debate myself over whether to pull in or keep going. I usually convinced myself to keep going when I’d conjure up the memory of the unrelenting headache I’d get within a few bites of my combo. Up until about two months ago, I hadn’t eaten there in six months.

One day, I’d failed to eat breakfast or anything else. I found myself running errands at about 2 in the afternoon when the shakes and a blinding hunger struck. The only thing in my vicinity was a McDonald’s. I didn’t have a choice. I inhaled the food, and sure enough, the headache hit me like a brick wall. When I returned to my office, I had to leave a short time later. I was so wrecked with nausea, shakes, and sweating that it wasn’t doing any of us any good for me to stick around. I’ll never eat there again.

There’s something very wrong with that food. I have a really hard time even calling it food because it’s what Jillian Michaels would refer to as a Frankenfood. It’s so pumped full of chemicals, so processed, and so far from resembling what that same food would look like if you prepared it yourself you have to wonder how it’s even legal.

I always wonder how culinary professionals who train for such a delicious career end up as the chief chef at fast food companies. I also wonder how people, like the senior director of culinary innovation at McDonald’s, sleep at night. For the fast food giant, that would be Chef Daniel Coudreaut.

He recently made this bold statement that has my head spinning as badly as it did from the sodium-buffet-in-a-bag I fed myself earlier this spring.

“I don’t see anything on that menu that’s unhealthy,” he said, according to Lisa Abraham in her article at Ohio.com.

WHAT???

He can’t be serious, right? (more…)