"menu items" news and stories

Back in September, we reported on a new item joining the menu at McDonald's -- oatmeal! -- but the company wasn't quite ready to reveal all the details. Well, Nation's Restaurant News reports that the new "Fruit & Maple Oatmeal" will be available "all day long, with or without brown sugar, for $1.99" starting on January 3rd at more than 14,000 locations.

Other chains have recently adopted the comforting breakfast dish, including Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, Ja mba Juice and Prêt à Manger, notes Nation's Restaurant News, so a McD version of oatmeal isn't a shocker.

Their version contains "five grams of dietary fiber and two-thirds of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recommended daily allowance of whole grain." Not bad, golden arches. The dish will also come with half a cup's worth of "red and green apples, dried cranberries and golden and regular raisins." This amounts to 290 calories of sugar (260 without the added brown sugar) largely from the fruit, of course.

In an effort to meet growing consumer demands for smaller portions at casual dining restaurants, T.G.I. Friday's has announced the inception of their new 'Right Portion, Right Price' menu. The items will be sold at a reduced price all day, every day, rather than just at select times or for select people, like how Seniors menus currently are.

On the new menu they have introduced six new entrees which will fall between $6.99 and $8.99, including such dishes as Asian-Glazed Chicken with Field Greens, Half-Rack Baby Back Ribs, and Bistro Sirloin Salad. Two of their menu items - Dragonfire Chicken and Shrimp Key West, also fall into their 'Better For You' category, which contains items that total 500 calories or less and have less than 10 grams of fat per serving.

After hearing about the extreme eating debate recently, I'm hoping more restaurants adopt this plan, especially for those of us who find it hard to finish a large plate of food and don't want to simply order a salad every time we go out.

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