McDonalds Apples: Is a healthy meal a happy meal?

Ronald McDonald has traded his big red shoes for Birkenstocks. McDonald’s announced today that the happy meal will soon have a new look and feel. Apple slices, without dipping sauce, will be included in each happy meal automatically. Getting your kid to eat them is your problem. And you might want to think twice before reaching into the backseat with your greedy hand to steal your hungry child’s french fries. The new happy meal will have just half the portion of fries your kids are eating now. The changes will begin in September and hit all locations by December of 2012.

McDonald’s says these adjustments will give the happy meal about 20 percent fewer calories than it has now, making them under 600 calories. Last time Metro checked, that wasn’t exactly “healthy,” but it’s a start. Parents and lawmakers have been after McDonald’s for years to make its happy meals healthier and to stop using toys to lure children toward fatty, though delicious, food. But we grew up eating them and we turned out okay! Besides, of course, that nearly 34 percent obesity rate in our country…

McDonald’s says the new happy meals have been in the works for two years
and that more changes could be coming in the future, including the
addition of a vegetable. So brace yourself for those carrot sticks.
There is one other thing, however, that McDonald’s forgot (or not) to
change: the price. That part will remain exactly the same.

While the happy meal will get a slim down, the iconic happy meal toy will remain. It may be responsible for the majority of toddler to toddler violence, but it is simply un-American to have a happy meal without a toy!