Aren’t We Lucky!
By Kevan Worley
Those of us who live in the most obese nation in the world, according to the World Health Association, can now get McDonald’s breakfast all day. McDonald’s can’t add a veggie burger to the drive-thru window, or stop taking the most nutritious part of an apple out by peeling it for the kiddos before slicing and putting it into the little baggie. Instead, they give us more sugar and fat through an all-day breakfast. The McGriddle contains 440 calories, 220 calories from fat, total fat of 25g, and 15g of sugar.
At WE Fit Wellness, it is not our mission to be radical and rail against the successful, profit-driven corporations which are, for the most part, poisoning us. Ok, maybe we rail a little bit. But, we are here to keep raising awareness. We are here to remind each other that, as consumers, we must make choices. If the OJ is mostly sugar, why get it when we could have coffee, tea, or even better yet, keep hydrated drinking water? WE Fit Wellness is here to help make information about nutrition and exercise available and accessible. People with disabilities and others in our society who are often left out of the discussion of health and wellness need education and encouragement. So we are here to encourage goals for better health and longevity; goals that are achievable. WE are here to build a community around wellness, more physical movement, and overall well-being for as many people as possible.
Although most people with disabilities have free will and the independence to do what we want and go where we want, all too often we can find ourselves with limited financial resources, or simply dependent on a friend or family member for transportation. It’s easy to find oneself trapped in the backseat of Uncle Hershel’s car at the McDonald’s drive-thru as our only choice. Having no alternative, and subject to the same media messaging as everyone else; raised on the same fast-food comfort diet, we often make the wrong choice from the standpoint of remaining healthy and remaining so for a long, long time. Of course, one could order a salad; but really. How many want to deal with a flimsy salad bowl, with flimsy plastic ware, purchased at a drive-thru? As I say, the McGriddle is 440 calories. The Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Buttermilk Crispy Chicken is 490 calories. Aren’t we lucky? There’s breakfast all day! The side salad is a nice little choice at 190 calories, with grape tomatoes, romaine and green leaf lettuce, baby spinach, and baby kale.
WE are here to say please stop! Hesitate. Try to make a more healthful choice. Get that side salad, tea, coffee, water, a packet or two of apples, and save the calories for something even more nutritious and filling later in the day. The choice of empty calories from fat, sugar, and sodium will add up faster than you think.
At a recent WE Can Culture Workshop we facilitated in Nebraska, we were heartened by the more than 30 participants who stuck around for a lengthy round-table about how folks can eat more healthy and tasty foods on a budget. We believe we can make a difference. So, McDonald’s, sell breakfast all day. That is your profit-driven choice. But, could you add at least something more for those of us trapped in the car with a well-meaning buddy in the drive-thru? Or, for the parent with a disability and 2 kids, living in poverty, who finds her choices limited by geography, lack of education, or transportation options not available to her? So, serve McGriddles all day. Offer up a triple-chocolate shake and a double-bacon wrapped cheeseburger if you wish. But I challenge you and your ilk to think also about how you can profit by offering more healthy, convenient options to those of us who cannot afford the taxi cab to the budget-busting health food grocery store. You spend millions on your famous test kitchens and food engineers at McDonald’s headquarters in Oakbrook, Illinois. I’ve often pondered that, if a corporation made even a little less money by serving up some more healthful options, wouldn’t those customers stay alive longer to eat more in the long run, increasing the long-term bottom line? I’ll bet dollars to donuts, someone has done that research. But, that’s for a different blog. For now, it’s up to us to make the best choices we can, when we have the facts. Below find some nutritional information about breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the drive-thru, under the Golden Arches. Breakfast is available all day. Aren’t we lucky?
BREAKFAST
Sausage Egg McMuffin
Serving Size: 5.7oz
Calories: 470
Calories from Fat: 270
Total Fat: 30g
Sugar: 2g
Hashbrowns
Serving Size: 2oz
Calories: 150
Calories from Fat: 80
Total Fat: 9g
Sugar: 0
Small Orange Juice
Serving Size: 12 fl. oz
Calories: 150
Calories from Fat: 0
Total Fat: 0g
Sugar: 30g
Total Meal Calories: 770
Total Meal Fat: 39g
Total Meal Sugar: 32g
LUNCH & DINNER
Quarter Pounder w/Cheese
Serving Size: 7.3oz
Calories: 540
Calories from Fat: 250
Total Fat: 28g
Sugar: 10g
Small Fries
Serving Size: 2.6oz
Calories: 230
Calories from Fat: 100
Total Fat: 11
Sugar: 0g
Small Coke
Serving Size: 16 fl. oz
Calories: 140
Calories from Fat: 0
Total Fat: 0g
Sugar: 39g
Total Meal Calories: 910
Total Meal Fat: 39g
Total Meal Sugar: 49g
Salads
Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken
Serving Size: 10.3oz
Calories: 330
Calories from Fat: 100
Total Fat: 11g
Sugar: 9g
Premium Bacon Ranch Salad with Buttermilk Crispy Chicken
Serving Size: 9.5oz
Calories: 490
Calories from Fat: 260
Total Fat: 29g
Sugar: 4g
Premium Southwest Salad without Chicken
Serving Size: 6.1oz
Calories: 160
Calories from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 7g
Sugar: 4g
