Yesterday when my friend Mike posted this on facebook the wheels started turning…I had to write a post about ‘kid’s menus’.
I think about my children’s diet every single day of my life. I plan menus, I shop, I market, I cook. Alongside their health and happiness their diet is the MOST IMPORTANT thing to the Chef & I. We decided a long time ago that nothing bad would go into thier bodies, probably as a reaction to all the bad shit we have put in our own as well as a reaction to our son’s kidney disease.
So when Mike posted yesterday, my first thought was this: How do parents not get/care/understand that what they are allowing to go into their children’s body affects their children LIVES? How does a mother or father convince themselves that it is ok that her four year child eats this on a daily basis? HOW?
When you order off of the kids menu, you are most likely ordering the most UNHEALTHY thing you could ever order for your child. Kids menus are the antithesis of healthy. They are made up of foods that parents have programmed themselves and their children into thinking that they are good for your children. Well, guess what? They’re not good for your children, they are not got for you, they are not good for your dog, hell, they are not good for anyone.
Check out these kids menu nutritional info. I dare you not to throw up in your mouth:
OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE:
Outback Steakhouse Kookaburra Chicken Fingers meal with Aussie Fries
1,030 calories
60 g fat (21 g saturated)
2,052 mg sodium
Fat equivalent: 12 Frosted Chocolate Fudge Pop-Tarts!
OLIVE GARDEN
Olive Garden Fettuccini Alfredo meal
800 calories
48 g fat (30 g saturated)
810 mg sodium
Saturated fat equivalent: 1.5 full jars of Nutella!
APPLEBEE’S
Applebee’s Grilled Cheese with French fries
1,020 calories
54 g fat (17 g saturated)
2,170 mg sodium
Calorie equivalent: 400 Cheddar Goldfish Crackers. (That’s 1.3 full bags!)
Here’s the crazy part: You can make a grilled cheese sandwich in your own house — using real cheese and toasting it with real butter — and still manage to slide in at about 300 calories. This one has 620 calories, and the fries account for the extra 400
DENNY’S
Denny’s Slap Shot Sliders (2) meal with Finish Line Fries
1070 calories
53 g fat (16 g saturated, 2 g trans)
1180 mg sodium
Calorie equivalent: 505 Jujubes (That’s just over 2 full boxes!)
FRIENDLY’S
Friendly’s Mac & Cheese Quesadilla meal with Friendly Frank, Shirley Temple and Friend-z Peanut Butter Cup
2,270 calories
109 g fat (45 g saturated)
3,320 sodium
Calorie equivalent: 45.5 Glazed Munchkins from Dunkin Donuts!
UMMMMMMM….CAN YOU SAY BARF???? I dare any one of you to eat one meal that contains 2,270 calories & 109g of saturated fat!!!
Just reading this data ignites my hatred for chain restaurants. It also makes me sad for the kids who eat this garbage not knowing any better. As parents it is our job, I believe, to give our children a better life than our own. That doesn’t mean, give them a bunch a toys and call it a day. It means that we make sure whatever path we have chosen for our kids lives, it is the longest path possible. Make choices that will enhance and enrich your child’s life, not choices that will cause your child harm or sickness.
Starting at home is the key to eliminating ‘the kids menu’ from your childrens’ lives. Feed your kids real food, real fruits and vegetables, and cook with them. Make food in a pan, not out of a box. Use your oven. THROW OUT YOUR MICROWAVE!! Respect your children’s bodies by respecting what you put in them. When you make dinner, encourage your kids to try something new. Don’t force them to eat it, just try a bite. You’d be surprised how many times they end up liking it. Make dinner for your family, not for individual members. I make one dinner for my family. If my kids don’t want to eat it, they don’t. They can pick a fruit of veggie to compensate or they can save their dinner for later. It may sound harsh, but I totally believe this is the reason the mini’s eat asparagus, pork, artichokes, sunchokes, squash, apples, carrots, lettuce, grapes, bananas, strawberries, broccoli, KALE, celery, and more!! Introducing these foods at home makes it possible to completely ignore the kids menu the next time you and your family go out to eat!
As adults we focus so much on our own health. Every time I turn on thee TV I am inundated by workout infomercials, anti-aging beauty secrets, diet pills, diet plans, and drug commercials. As a society we are constantly looking for our own fountain of youth, while ignoring our children. I wonder what would happen if we focused all that energy we waste on our own vanity and redirect it towards our children? First thing, I’m guessing is all those dreaded ‘kids menus’ would be a thing of the past.
So interesting – and sad, but true. I saw Mike’s post as well, and it certainly got me thinking. While I don’t have kids of my own yet, I recall the Kids Menus we looked forward to growing up. I now wish that we’d tried more new things and will certainly be sure to share my “adult” menu with my kids someday. Thanks for the nutritional info!
AMEN AMELIA! I am so glad Chef Symon posted that on FB. It brings up a good ‘no brainer’ conversation. My family does a ‘real food’ diet and when my son started on food, everything he has had been made from scratch. I take some flack for this from family who doesn’t know any better, but I keep on. It is only what is right.
I am curious on your opinion on something: I went to cook up some frozen corn for him the other night and then started thinking/panicing about the corn! All these readings about how a astounding % of corn in our country is GMO – it probably isn’t even safe to serve him frozen corn that I haven’t corn or bought locally myself….and sadly, even then, that corn could be contaminated.
Allison´s last [type] ..What’s Your Take?
Holy wow! I don’t have kids so I’ve never looked at the kids menu I guess. I’m totally floored by this….
Thank you for sharing this info! I do not have children and am always amazed at what I see parents feeding their kids. I can’t believe how many times I hear things like “my kids will only eat chicken fingers” – are you kidding me? Who is the adult in the family that purchases food, selects it and feeds it to the kids? Parents are too busy worried about buying their 9 year olds iPods and cell phones – they need to focus on nourishing their children and preparing them for a life of healthy habits.
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Thanking my Grandmother in my head as I eat my orange reading this. She never let me order off the kids’ menu and told us our family eats real food. On Q104 yesterday they were discussing Michael’s tweet and parents were calling in with the most bullshit reasons why they are grateful for kids menus. One parent went on about how her child would not eat if it weren’t for them since she is such a picky eater. Another was saying that her child would have a tantrum at the table if there wasn’t one so they only dine places where they are offered. This made me so angry/disgusted I turned it to another station over the intercom at work.
Most European countries do no even have kids menus. Kids eat the same meals as adults. The French especially believe that food should not be “dumbed down” for children.
What a great post! And I don’t even have any children!
I was with you until you wrote “Throw out your microwave.” I’d no more do that than toss my crock pot. A microwave oven is a very versatile timesaver for heating, defrosting, steaming, healthy food too. It also uses less energy than a stove burner or oven for plain old heating stuff so it’s good for the environment. I’ll chalk your words up to exuberant hyperbole and agree with most of what you wrote. But no way I’m tossing the microwave.
Amelia, I completely agree. Its so important for parents to lead by example. When a child sees his or her parent(s) shopping, planning, discussing, cooking, eating – and actually enjoying – a range of healthy foods, they will follow suit. Kids are not idiots. And they actually have taste buds! Really good ones! They like spices and garlic and real flavors. In the end, it all boils down to us to be leaders. So many parents try to get around that but there is just no shortcut. Guidance, care and example shouldn’t be lost in the kitchen. Great commentary!
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I allow my kids to order from the kid’s menu. They like the smaller portions. They also choose, where ever possible, to substitute salad or veggies for the fries. Of course, eating out for my family is a rare event- once a month or less. So the overblown calories and fat are a treat, as is the soda they get to order (we don’t have it at home). Also, both of my kids participate in triathlons and train year-round, so I’m not overly worried about their occasional indulgence.
It is a shame that these kids’ menus are so limited in choices and high in calories/fat, but you shouldn’t blast restaurants only about these. List the calories and fat from the regular menu items as well, to tell the whole story.
We never eat out as a family. First, it’s too expensive on one income. Second, I won’t feed my kids the garbage that passes for chain restaurant food.
My friend came over and taught me to make Chinese dumplings this morning. They’re all gone; my kids (4, 6 and
and husband ate the entire batch. Shrimp dumplings. My kids.
They eat asparagus, squash, and just about every vegetable (one hates peppers, the other dislikes onions). They have spinach almost daily and every fruit under the sun. They eat hummus and shish tawook. They don’t like mac & cheese unless it’s made from scratch. And you better believe, when a kid helps out in the kitchen, s/he eats all of his/her dinner without complaint. Every bite.
Eating out is such a rarity, we make it exciting. They try new things, share among each other, and are usually rewarded for their efforts. Food is sustenance, but it’s fun, and interesting.
I think all kids’ menus should be smaller portions of the adult entrees. My husband and I are always eating out with our son and he’s between being able to skim enough food off our plates and needing his own food. I’m just as happy ordering him an entree that we’ll take home rather than order nuggets!! But I’m not going to lie-sometimes I make “cheater” food at home to save time…but it always comes with a veg!!
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I totally agree with your take on family dinners. I make one meal and the children have to try one bite of everything we make. If they don’t like dinner, which has only happened once, they get a sandwich and veggies. My boys are 9 and 6 and they eat lobster, shrimp, mussels, oysters, veggies, lamb, and stinky cheese. They are unbelievable eaters and I try to provide delicous and balanced meals every day.
This is great info-never thought kids menu was great nutrition but never realized the out-sized calorie and fat content of many of the items on many of these menus.
I would also venture to guess that anyone eating at Outback, Olive Garden or Denny’s doesn’t give a shit about what they are putting into their bodies or they wouldn’t be there.
I will say, however, I do appreciate the presence of a kids menu at the at independent restaurants at which we choose to dine (like GHT). One, it shows me that the restaurant welcomes kids. Two, the portions/prices are much more appropriate for my kid’s appetite. Usually these places have better choices and not the standard Tyson chicken strips. I wish more restaurants offered half-portions off the main menu like you guys do! Also, one of the benefits of dining with younger kids is that they can’t read – so we just rattle off the acceptable menu items and she picks from those!
My kid is more adventurous when we are out than at home – she will kill a bowl of ramen and a pickle sampler at Noodlecat and raided Mark’s oysters at GHT. At home she gets what we eat and is required to take x bites (x = her age) before giving up and having fruit/veg and/or yogurt.
Eduardo-
What I should have said is “THROW OUT YOUR MICROWAVE & replace it with a convection oven!”
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I can’t throw out the microwave. Daughter demands dinner as soon as she walks in the door – cannot wait. The meltdowns are epic. I make up dinners on weekends and freeze them in portions I’ve weighed out. Tonight’s dinner: avocado (not frozen of course, but organic from Trader Joe’s), lamb meatballs (I mix a pound of salmon with 2 pounds of meat to sneak in extra greens – plus I like all the iron and fiber in spinach), and blueberries for dessert (shame on me – they’re not local because it’s -2 in Chicago right now, but she loves them and when she saw them at Whole Foods, she had to have them, and they were on sale – and who can say, “no” to those big brown eyes when she bats them and looks at me like that.)
She eats the avocado while I warm the meatballs in the microwave. I can’t think of a better way to heat them. Warming up her dinners that I’ve pre-cooked and pre-portioned is the only thing we use it for. (Well, that and thawing the spinach for the lamb meatballs – I never forget to take it out in advance!)
There are places that have decent kids menus, you just need to know where to look. My daughter’s favorite restaurant is Big Bowl – a Lettuce Entertain You place. It’s sort of a chain, sort of a local – it’s not an independant. I know, I know – again, shame on me. On the kids menu, she gets the kid’s stir fry, with chicken, no sauce, brown rice: http://bigbowl.com/lincolnshire/menu We get to go up to the “bar” and pick out her veggies together. They source what they can locally, so we get to talk about how the corn came from the farm that we passed on the way there – or the spinach came from near where Daddy works. She gets to pick out her edamame (or mommies, as she calls them), her baby corn, her peppers, green beans, peas, whatever – what she wants changes each time. We pass it over the counter and the nice man stir fries it in the wok for her. She sees the flames lick the bottom of the pot and tells me, “No touch! HOT!!! NO TOUCH, MOMMA!” We get our dinner (I also get chicken stir fry – mine is larger so I can put lots of snow peas in it – I love snow peas.) And we eat, her mostly with her hands. (She’s not even 2 yet, so we cut her slack on the silverware, but we make her try – and feed her bites with the fork so she gets used to eating with it.) Other parents complement us on how well behaved she it. We get comp’ed dessert because she blows a kiss to the manager (suck up…) but we politely decline because we’re full and don’t want to end the day with something sugary. The manager brings us a bowl of fruit instead and we share tasty apples, pineapple, and oranges instead. You can never be too full for a little bit of fruit – it tastes so cool and fresh after our hot veggies and rice.
When I was growing up dessert was a piece of fruit. We were told the fiber keeps you full so you don’t wake up hungry at night. My parents were probably lying to us to get us to eat our fruit, but I’ll probably lie the same way to my kids. Eat more fruit. It’s good for you.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a microwave – if you put good things into it, you’ll get good things out.
I agree but I don’t think it is that easy to lump all parents and kids. I have to completely opposite eater, my older son eats a lot of good fruits and veggies with not much meat. My younger son will NOT eat any fruit and has only tried a few veggies but loves meat. Most meals I am pulling my hair out to get either child to eat. And frankly if your a chef or related to, it is easy to come up with meals that have variety and nutrition. I would love to see a resource on how to cook easy & healthy meals for finicky kids that are repulsed by certain foods.
My 1-year-old will loves garlic hummus, homemade guacamole (so I can control the salt), risotto, venison, you name it. Does he like everything? No. But he isn’t afraid to try either. I’ve taken him to finer-dining restaurants and family banquets, and he’s never gone hungry. Kids will eat and get used to what you feed them young. My child has had mushroom and blueberry risotto, and yet has never had a chicken finger… and I believe his world is a better place for it.
Christine Hoffman´s last [type] ..Family Dinner #1
It’s not as if anyone is giving this to their children daily. Once in a while is fine. You really need to relax. You really arent better than other parents just because your obsessive.
I loved your Article, it’s so dam true !!! The problem now a days is that the Children are running the house!!!! I never had a problem with my Son, he ate whatever I made !!!
WOW…totally disgusting. What are we doing to our kids.
I am a mom of three, and am trying to figure out how you can judge all people for what they choose to feed their children or allow them to eat. We cook 6 of the 7 days during the week – fresh/homemade meals. As parents who work fulltime jobs, drive our kids to and from multiple social/sport outings, we treat ourselves to dinner out once a week. We change it up and eat at many different places, but do choose chain restaurants on occasion. I will allow for my children to have a pop, and eat off the children’s menu should they choose to. It is a treat, and in most cases, they go for the healthier options/sides with their meals. Additionally, the cost of an adult meal is sometimes triple the cost of a child’s meal, and the size of the meal is far too large for a child to eat it. I wish that your “outrage” was not so direct. I appreciate your take on the situation, but that is what works for you and your family. You can’t judge others, when you don’t know them or their families.
i agree. this is such a disgrace. it is as bad as our parents demanding that we clean our plates because of the staving children. and that caused weight problems in our generation. i do disagree with one thing. if you learn, you can make some wonderful home made meals out of the microwave. i do chicken dishes, beef dishes, vegetables(and cooking those in the microwave you are steaming them and maintain the wonderful things that vegetables can give you), and other things. and the most amazing thing, it does NOT come out of a box. and get a crock pot. you can do wonderful meals from that, too.
I agree with this too! I commented when I saw Mike’s post that we do not expect our kids to eat anything we would not eat. I feed them everything and they eat what they want but understand that I am not a short order cook and except on clean out the fridge night, which my kids call buffet night, we all eat the same things. If we go out to dinner they eat adult food. My girl loves Mike’s Gnocchi from Lolita, we have had really good food in all of our traveling too. It is a rule that we do not eat anything that we could get at home. Saves requests for chain food when we are out and about. As for fast food places, if your kids are old enough, show them the videos online about what that garbage is made of. They will not even ask for it.
My daughter is still quite young but she is a big eater. I very rarely order her a meal. The portions/calories on adult food is also out of control and seeing how I am overweight and could stand to spare calories, I split my dinners with her (well like 60/40).
Thank you so much for this great post and thank you Chef Symon for posting this on FB. It was shocking and disgusting to see those statistics you posted… a real eye opener!!! Even with my fiance and I, it is so easy to give into the trap of going out to a chain restaurant on Friday night after a long, tiring week at work. But after reading this, we won’t be doing that anytime soon!
Chris @ Shared Appetite´s last [type] ..The Best Guacamole
I don’t know if kid’s menus didn’t exist when I was a kid (I’m 49) or if my parents pretended they didn’t but I always ate the same as my parents. I remember a few waiters wondering if I really did want the snapper (turtle) soup or frogs legs but it was how I was raised. We ate well and we were never hungry, yet none of us ever worried about our weight.
My kids palates are not as broad as mine was but I still only allow them “real” food. My son actually got in trouble in 5th grade math class when they had to chart all their visits to various fast food joints. His page was blank and he got a zero. a little chat with the teacher and he got to chart how many times a month he ate various veggies
First, kudos for doing what’s right for your family. That’s totally up to you. However, like Erin, I feel like you blasted those that make different meal choices. I have one carnivore, one pasta girl and one veggie/fruit kid. There is never a meal that pleases all three, let alone my husband and I. One of the other sides to this discussion is cost. I’m not debating eating out, but to eat “healthy” is way more expensive. Not everyone can afford to do that, sadly. I have a few single mom friends whos struggle to feed their kiddo healthy meals because fresh fruit/veggies are so much more costly. (I’m in a rural area of Michigan…no farmers markets in the winter. Less places to purchase natural items.) We all make our choices as to what works for us and our family. I’d love to see more done to educate parents about healthy eating, but with so many families in my community just struggling to put ANY food on the table, it falls on deaf ears.
Eye opening information for parents! I agree with almost everything you said except throw out your microwave. That’s just not practical in this day and age. I am a divorced working mom and just do not have the time to make wonderful, fresh, sit down meals each day. Produce will go bad before I use it and that’s a waste of money – are canned vegetables that bad? Yes, I cook them in the microwave…
I’ve been a waitress for several years and I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen the kids come in and eat a salad with their parents or eat a plate of fried food. I’ve seen adults wolf down bowls and bowls of pasta. Disgusting. Over the last couple of years some restaurants have tried to make the kids meal better by taking fries out of the menu. This alone makes a huge difference.
I was a picky eater when I was a kid and I eventually grew out of it. My daughter is fairly picky, but that is partly due to food allergies. I keep offering her new foods and hopefully one day she will follow my example!
This is what I say to my tables when they feel guilty about being indulgent, “It never hurts once in a while to get out and enjoy life by eating food just because it tastes good; just don’t make a habit of it!”
Great article. Thank you. Chef Symon took some heat but I am glad he stands by his word. He always offers “advice or tips”. I have never seen a post telling us what to eat. I respect his values and yours as weel. Excellent job.
This is what I travel the country speaking at Restaurant conferences about. Will be doing this in March in NYC at the International Show ~ It must get better it simply must.
My company, “MenuTrinfo” does the nutritional so daily we see ways to make a huge difference and try to every step of the way. The last 6 months we have done many clients kids menu nutritional to no or way reduce charges just to help.
so you don’t own a microwave?
but still agree with you 110%
i try my best to feed my daughter right
This is exactly why I don’t eat at chain restaurants. We go to our local places, and I’ve found most are happy to do a half-sized entree for half price. Failing that, I’ll get my son an appetizer, or share food from my plate. My son just turned 1 this week, end he already eats a wider variety of food then most adults I know.
Microwaves are great for reheating leftovers and making popcorn (not the junk in a bag, and that’s about it. I feed my son whatever I’m eating, just a kid-ified version. If I’m eating seared ahi, he gets fully cooked ahi. Chicken tikka masala, he gets chicken and rice with curry “dip”. Better for his diet and my pocketbook this way…
O who cares they’re kids they will run it off. They have so much energy I don’t know where they get it from.
I do agree that there is a lot of junk on restaurant kids menus, but from my experience there are also healthier options. When we go out (not very often) we also substitute the fries or whatever for steamed veg and plain noodles (which are my sons favorite).
I totally agree! I believe strongly that the reason my five-year-old daughter will eat almost anything (and currently professes Brussels sprouts as her favorite veggie) is because we don’t cater to what we think kids will like. Kids will like what you give them. So if you give them crap, they will only eat crap. I HATE kids’ menus and will often order from the adult menu for them. As an aside, Tupelo Honey in Asheville, NC has a kids’ menu, but it’s just a scaled-down version of their excellent adult menu. That’s how it should be done!
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I wasn’t going to comment as it seems that it can be a waste of time. The tone of some comments really bothered me and I felt I must speak out.
For those with kids who eat anything you offer, good for you. Your kid is normal and your actions had the desired result. It doesn’t always work this way. There are kids with feeding disorders. How can a kid have a feeding disorder? The parents must have caused it, right? Kids CAN have problems eating and it isn’t always the parents’ faults. There are kids with autism, who have sensory issues. There are kids WITHOUT autism who have sensory processing issues. There are kids with OCD. Some kids have oral motor issues. Some kids have negative feeding associations from gagging or being tube fed.
The parents who have kids with feeding disorders suffer enough. Can you even imagine FIGHTING with your child every single day to get them to eat enough to not starve, when that kid hates to eat just about everything? It’s hard.
When you see a parent letting his/her child eat something off a kid’s menu, please don’t judge that parent. You don’t know the circumstances. Besides, as others have noted, it may be a rare event. Many parents feel doomed either way. Some will say, “You’re being so ridiculous. The kid wants a hot dog, let him have a hot dog!” Others will say, “You’re ruining your child by letting him eat that!” We can’t win. We just do the best we can.
Instead of focusing on parents, why not put pressure on food manufacturers and restaurants to provide healthier options for children? Parents are fighting a tough battle and could come together on this one, not attack one another or try to make others feel bad.
Actually, you shouldn’t throw out your microwave. It actually does less damage to nutrients than your oven or stove due to the fact that is uses less cooking time and generally lower temps.
Though, food generally tastes better cooked in the oven or stove so…. more likely to be eaten? I think so.
That is all.
We just went to a wedding yesterday and my husband and I were just talking about this on our drive back home. Both my kids were served “Kids Meals” and they both did not touch their dishes. Why? Not only do they have sophisticated palates,but it’s not food they normally eat. My husband is a chef too and my kids were raised eating quality food.
The Kid’s meal consisted of very fried chicken tenders that weren’t finger sized, but looked like a whole chicken. The sides that came with it were french fries and a fruit plate. Both my kids ate the fruit plate and took the salmon off my plate.
It’s sad that our country is fighting obesity and looking at the most recent statistics there hasn’t been much improvement, and our kids are continually being subjected to unhealthy food options.
Thank you for all of your comments. To clear things up a little, I wasn’t going after parents nor was I trying to promote only allowing your kids healthy things. My kids still eat ice cream every now and then, I let them do Halloween and we bake treats together on the regular.
I was trying to INFORM parents that kids menus are usually not healthy. If you think it’s ok that your 6 year old eats 3,000 calories in one sitting that’s your business not mine. I happen to believe, like my grandparents believed, that I am the parent and I determine what my childrens’ diet is. I am a bit old school, but it works. My kids eat everything on the planet. Sure sometimes I make squash and they shun me but then I make fish and they ask for seconds and thirds.
I know everyone’s situation is different however I truly believe that the majority of parents don’t want their children eating the garbage that most chain restaurants have on their menu for kids.
Hi…I like visiting your post and I am sure that this is one of your best posts…I can definitely relate to your post here…
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