MacDonalds salads...

[Moonhead]

My other half wont let me buy a new Macdonalds salad, as he says they contain just as many calories, and just as much fat as a normal cheeseburger. He's saying he read this in the paper, and that if you're going to buy junk food, you might as well buy the burger and enjoy it, then waste money on the salad. Is this true? I find it unbelievable myself. Tried googling but cant find an answer. Thanks.

[thewillow]

You allow a man to tell you what you can and can't eat?

[anthomson]

Depending on the type of dressing on your salad, the amount of fat may be comparable with a hamburger (but I suspect not more). Both are high so you probably get your entire days allowance from just one meal. A salad, of course, has other benefits - 1 part of your 5 a day fruit and veg recommendation - and the type of fat is probably less harmful. So best to alternate between the two - hamburger one visit, salad the next, avoid mayonnaise and cheese from your burger and use a vinaigrette dressing on your salad. Or better still - why not break from tradition and eat elsewhere. Incidently I not sure I would agree that a hamburger is more 'enjoyable' than a salad.

[woofgang]

on the back of those paper mats that Mc Ds put on their trays is a nutritional breakdown of everything they sell, so you could check for yourself

[jridgeback]

I read that article too - one mcdonalds salad supposedly contains more calories than a bigmac and fries put together - I wouldn't eat in Mcdonalds even if there burgers had just one calorie !

[IndieSinger]

There's a calorie counter on www.mcdonalds.co.uk from which you can obtain the following information:

Cheeseburger:
Calories: 299.0
Fat (Total): 11.5g
Fat (Saturated): 5.9g

Grilled Chicken with Dressing and Croutons:
Calories: 425.0
Fat (Total): 21.4g
Fat (Saturated): 6.7g That's quite interesting actually; I've surprised myself there. Don't dispair though, It may be worth pointing out that a salad does have less calories and less fat than a cheeseburger served with medium fries:

Cheeseburger with French Fries (medium):
Calories: 592.0
Fat (Total): 24.3g
Fat (Saturated): 8.6g

[IndieSinger]

Don't believe everything you read, jridgeback - a McDonald's salad contains around 425 KCalories, whereas a BigMac plus (medium) fries contains 786.

[jimmer]

well you are talking about a McDonalds salad. think about it this way: none of this junk is actually going to fill you up so you'll be hungry later. Have what you want off the menu but eat it less often and you'll be ok. jim.

[IndieSinger]

*COUGHideservestarsCOUGH*

[Tat]

LMAO Indie!

[E_Dreamer]

If you leave out the croutons and avoid the usual caesar / ranch dressing sachets then you are actually left with a fairly healthy meal. MacDonalds do a Balsamic Vinagarette dressing available on request that is v low on fat and IMHO is much nicer than their other dressings. Stick to the grilled chicken option (as opposed to the crispy chicken option if available).

Makes for a tasty, filling and healthy meal (well, as good as any other low fat instant meal you could buy from, say a supermarket)

The main issue I find mind you is trying to convince the Macdonalds staff that the low fat Balsamic dressing actually exists !! (They keep asking if I want a ranch or caesar salad)