A Parents Decoder (we all need to activate this one)

It's 6:30 pm on a Tuesday, the kids have been to Karate, dance class, baseball, and the library.  You also had a crazy day and were unable to plan ahead and back nutrient dense fuel for the little ones.  So, out of desperation, you find yourself staring at the menu board of a drive thru that you swore up and down that you wouldn't visit since the viewing of "Super-Size Me".  What do you do??  Well, I'm here to help.  Although, most "fast food" resturants posses trans fatty, calories hidden menus, there are smarter choices to be made. 

Don't get me wrong, food eaten in it's most natural state, is the most beneficial for us, but I think it would be wiser to arm ourselves with knowledge of what to choose, and knowledge is power.  The following is a list of a few popular destinations we frequent, each has a best choice and a interesting fact to go with it.  Best of luck to you all.  Info is a colaboration of research I've done and info taken from "Eat This Not That for Kids", I highly recommend these great books.

1.  Burger King - (check out their really cool website, you can build your own meal to see exactly what's in the food you are eating, plus there are lots of other things to do as well, http://www.burgerking.com/ )

• Whopper Jr. w/ onion rings no mayo (410 cal 19g fat and 4 g fiber, 16 g protein, 45g carbs) "Hold the mayo, and this burger becomes one of the better burgers in the fast-food world."
• Chicken Tenders (4 pieces) 180cal, 11g fat, 9g protein ) Pair this with applesauce and water or milk.
• WATCH OUT! Whopper Value Meal w/ Coke (medium) Packs a whopping 1400 calories, 62 grams of fat, 186 carbs, and 90 grams of sugar!!   Most of those numbers are a days worth of calories.  Don't forget that 3500 calories equal a pound of fat!

2.  Chick-fil-A -

• Chicken Nuggets (8 pieces) (305 cal, 13 g fat) "Few nuggets in the fast food world reister lower on the calolrie scale."
• Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich (270 cal, 3 g fat, 28g protein, and 37 g carbs)  "Hold the sauce and this has less than one-fifth of the fat in the McDonald's Premium Grilled Chicken Club."
• Carrot and Raisin Salad  (260 cal, 12g fat) "This salad will smack your kid's cellular and immune systems with a nutritious wallop of vit A."
• WATCH OUT!! Chocolate Hand-Spun Milkshakes (20 oz.) "One of these hand-spun is the equivalent of 75 Milk Duds.  The chocolate syrup consists of primarily of high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, and sugar."

3. McDonald's -

• Chicken Nuggest (6 piece) with Apple dippers and caramel (355 cal, 15.5 g fat) "Apples are never as tasty as when they're paired with caramel. These apples have another secret. They're preserved with calcium ascorbate, a blend of calcium and vit C.  the end result is a pinch of calcium and 310 percent of your child's vit C."
• Kiddie Cone (45 cal, 1 g fat, 6 sugars) Awesome!!
• WATCH OUT!! Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (400 cal, 23g fat) "The only thing premium about these strips is the caloric price you pay to eat them.  A thicker layer of crunchy breading puts each strip at 133 calories, compared to just 45 per McNugget."