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Jan 14, 2009 12:22 pm US/Eastern
Healthy Options For Kids When Dining Out
(CBS4)
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A nutrition guide called "Eat This, Not That!" may make you change the way you make food choices for your family, especially the children.
Castle Rock Entertainment
Burgers, sandwiches and pancakes – Oh My!
What parents might consider the healthiest options for kids when they eat out at restaurants may actually turn out to be the worst option.
That's why David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, authors of the popular book "Eat This, Not That" have come out with a version just for kids.
Zinczenko and Goulding looked at dozens of kids meals at popular restaurants to determine just how healthy they really were.
For example at the International House of Pancakes, IHOP, the authors looked at which is better for a child – the popular chocolate chip pancakes or the kid's cheese omelet. While the thought of eggs and cheese in the omelet may seem like the healthier choice, it's not. The chocolate chip pancakes serve up 630 calories and 15 grams of fat versus 790 calories and 40 grams of fat in the omelet.
At Chili's, it was a show down between the cheese quesadilla or the Little Mouth burger off the Chili's Pepper Pals menu.
The winner – the Little Mouth burger coming in with 280 calories and 15 grams of fat compared to the quesadilla's 620 calories and 26 grams of fat.
Neva Cochran, a registered dietician, said in some cases the high calorie and fat content can be directly tied to the size of the meal.
"I think a good suggestion would be to watch your portion sizes because children don't need to be eating these huge portions," said Cochran.
At Burger King, the Whopper Junior turned out to be a better choice (430 calories and 12 grams of fat) than a double cheeseburger which had 500 calories and 29 grams of fat.
When dining at the Olive Garden, order the spaghetti with tomato sauce and skip the 'mac and cheese'. The reason is that the tomato sauce is fat free and a half a cup of sauce is only about 50 calories.
At Arby's, the classic melt beat the roasted turkey and Swiss sandwich. The Arby's Melt had just 303 total calories which was less than just the bread on the roast turkey and Swiss sandwich.
Cochran said parents can also help their children eat right by setting a good example and making balanced choices.
"If you have fried chicken fingers, don't have French fries with it. Get some baby carrot sticks or some apple slices," said Cochran.
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