If you're ever stuck at a McDonald's...

I meant to post this on Sunday! But here are some thoughts about what to do when you're confronted with Fast Food.

On our drive home on Sunday I was confronted with an eating dilemma. We were stopped in Connecticut and the only place we could grab something to eat was McDonald's. I was so annoyed! I had really been trying to hold out for the Mass Pike so that I could get a wrap from Fresh City.... but it was 5pm and the only thing I had eaten today was the big breakfast at Dobbs Diner and a small handful of cashews before we took off on our drive.

I was studying the menu (totally disappointed that they did not have their nutritional information anywhere that I could find) and was preparing to make a choice. My first instinct was to get the basic hamburger. I vaguely remembered reading an article saying that the actual plain hamburger was not the worst thing for you.

But then I saw the Ranch Chicken Snack Wrap. I thought that would be good, too! For some reason, I switched from my gut instinct (hamburger) and got the "snack wrap" (I am pretty sure that the word "snack" made me think it would have a smaller calorie total).

OK, of course part of this decision was my fault. I opted for the crunchy chicken rather than grilled (what was I thinking??) and the snack wrap was very good - although obviously small. Ben got the classic chicken sandwich (crunchy as well) and he did not get fries - yay! His sandwich looked very good, and he liked it. My snack wrap definitely kept me full, until 8pm when we got home.

Once we were home, I turned my computer on, I went to the McDonald's website to check the nutritional information of what I had eaten at our pit stop today. My snack wrap was 340 calories and 17 grams of fat (4.5 saturated fat!) and 14 grams of protein. The hamburger would have been a smarter choice (I should have stuck with my gut instinct). The hamburger was only 250 calories, 9 grams of fat (3.5 sat) and 12 grams of protein. I am not going to dwell on this. But at least next time I'm stuck at McDonalds, I will know enough to get the hamburger - or wait for Fresh City !

Once I was settled in, back at home, I got a snack for myself. I made one piece of whole wheat toast with Teddy's peanut butter, a small banana and a glass of 1% milk. It was the perfect snack / meal.