"KidsMeals" news and stories

Photo: Breakmould, Flickr.

Fast food restaurants know where their bread is buttered -- with the kids! The chains have been using toys as little-kid bait for decades, and it's an effective tactic: Children have an adorable propensity for confusing junk for treasure, which is why kiddie meals can be the highlight of their day.

Most of these meals fall into two categories: interactive advertisements for recent blockbusters or beloved television shows, and lame.

We're focusing on the latter, those toys over the years that were uninspired, nonsensical, or just plain disappointing. Each of these so-called "collectibles" currently languishes in the corners of garages, the bottoms of landfills and in the remote, digital wastelands of eBay.

A new report shouldn't be the least bit surprising, but it is definitely sad.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has published a new study about the reality of kids' menus, which is jam-packed with fatty doom. They've found that 93% of the kid' options exceed the 430 calories (a third of the recommended daily calories for children from 4-8) at 13 big US chains like Taco Bell, KFC, and Burger King. And they're not talking about 10 or 20 calories over.

For example, a "Big Kids" meal with a double cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate milk at Burger King weighs in at 910 calories -- which is over half the calories a kid should take in for one day. Chilis has one that's over 1,000 calories. It's just a sea of fat to weigh down on the little ones. Also beware of those who refuse to release nutritional information like: Applebee's, TGI Friday's, Outback, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, and IHOP.

But if you're looking for something better -- Subway led the pack with its refusal to give soft drinks with kids' meals and only a third of their meals exceed 430 calories.

[via Expatriate's Kitchen]