Nutritional analysis of healthy and unhealthy McDonald's menus

Food Menu and Nutrition

Food Menu Overview

The objective of this study is to create two food menus as follows: (1) one healthy food menu; and (2) one unhealthy food menu, from a local fast food restaurant. Following the creation of these menus, this work will write a nutritional analysis of the meal created, discuss the reaction of the writer to this information and describe how this will affect the food choices of the writer in the future in terms of food choices from fast food restaurants.

The food choices that one makes when dining at fast food restaurants make a great difference in the amount of nutrition received from dining at fast food restaurants as well as the total calories that are consumed and the other factors that make foods either healthy or unhealthy for consumption. One might assume that dining at a fast food restaurant is in general unhealthy in nature however, this study conclusively shows that this is simply not always the truth.

McDonald's Fast Food Restaurant: Healthy Menu

Entree: Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken

Beverage: (unsweetened)

Dessert: Wildberry Smoothie

Analysis of Meal Items

Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken -- 190 calories, 50 calories from fat, 3 grams saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 580 mg sodium, 10 grams carbohydrates, 4 grams dietary fiber, 15 grams sugars, 27 grams protein, daily intake of Vitamin A 160%, Vitamin C 35%, Calcium 20% and Iron 10%.

Iced Tea (no sugar) 10 mg sodium

Wildberry Smoothie -- 210 calories, 5 calories from Fat, Trans Fat 0.5 grams, 1 gram saturated fat, 5 gram cholesterol, 40 mg sodium, 49 mg carbohydrates, 2 gm dietary fiber, 49 gram sugars, 3 gram protein, 45% Vitamin A, 25% Vitamin C, 8% Calcium, and 2% Iron daily intakes.

Reaction to Analysis of Menu Items

This meal choice totals only 400 calories for the salad with chicken, the beverage, and the dessert. The writer of this work was quite surprised to learn that one can actually dine at McDonalds and maintain a relatively healthy food intake and to avoid consumption of high calories food as well as maintain a low intake of Trans Fat, Fat from Calories and Carbohydrates. Review of this meal choice enables the knowledge that one can dine at McDonald's and still maintain a healthy diet.

II. McDonald's Fast Food Restaurant: Unhealthy Menu

Entree: Angus Bacon and Cheese

Side Item: Large Fries

Beverage: Dr. Pepper

Desert: Strawberry McCafe Shake

Reaction to Analysis of Menu Items

The total of calories of these food menu choices total 2209 calories. The writer of this work was quite surprised at how many calories can actually be contained in one sandwich, an order of fries, a soft drink and a fruit-based desert at a local fast food restaurant. The knowledge gained from this menu review has enabled the writer of this work to understand that some of McDonald's food items comprise a very unhealthy diet. This will result in the writer of this work choosing fast food items more carefully in the future.

Summary and Conclusion

One can dine at McDonalds fast food restaurant and depending upon what they choose to eat, they can either eat relatively healthy food items with low caloric intake or they can by choosing other meals while dining at McDonalds consume food items that are high in calories, high in sodium, high in Trans Fat, high in saturated fats and carbohydrates. This study has conclusively demonstrated that dining at a fast food restaurant does not always mean that one is consuming high caloric foods and neither does it mean that the individual is always consuming foods high in sodium, carbohydrates, Trans Fat or calorie fat.

Before one decides to dine at a fast food restaurant, they should always investigate the various food items offered at these restaurants and conduct an assessment of the food items so that they are knowledgable enough to make wise choices in terms of their nutrition and in terms of the calories contained in the various food menus offered at fast food restaurants. Just as was the case in this specific study, the calories as well as other nutritional values of fast food restaurants may be either more or less healthy than one might assume without the advantage of the correct inclusion of food menu item nutritional value.