Coinciding with peak citrus season, McDonalds recently announced that they are adding Cuties clementines to their Happy Meals, Mighty Kids Meals and as an a la carte menu item (meaning parents can get in on the fun, too!).
Kids can now choose between Cuties, apple slices, low-fat strawberry yogurt and french fries as the side that comes with their Happy Meals. The clever name of these clementines makes me hopeful that some kids will choose the vitamin C-rich fruit over less healthy options; after all, isn’t “cuuuuties!” so much more fun to say than “french fries”?
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Cuties are a seedless, easy-to-peel (they have what’s called a zipper skin, a loose skin that peels and segments easily), and very sweet citrus fruit. Each one has just 40 calories, and packs the perfect sweet punch to add some fun to a meal. It’s nice to see fast food restaurants slowly introducing healthier foods like Cuties to their menus.
Burger King doesn’t even offer french fries on their kids meal menu anymore (though you can still request them) — they get apple slices, along with 100 percent apple juice, fat-free milk or low-fat chocolate milk. Meanwhile, KFC’s new Li’l Bucket Kids Meal comes with applesauce, and one of the sides offered is green beans.
Hopefully more chains will follow suit and start adding healthier, and dare I say cuter?, foods to their menus. You can see a detailed chart breaking down the healthiest fast food meals for kids at FastFoodMarketing.org.
More healthy kids meals
Kid-friendly recipes for National Nutrition Month
Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Why your kids should use a bento lunch box this year
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