This post was compensated for. Regardless, thoughts are my own.
Yes! Tomorrow I’ll be going to Salinas, CA, which is about a 90-minute drive from home, so that I can get a behind-the-scenes look into the process McDonald’s food goes through before it actually arrives in local restaurants!
I’m excited because I usually like McDonald’s more than other fast food restaurants. I like their chicken sandwich, quarter pounder, and sweet tea. I also got to try GoGurt at the #BlogHer14 Closing Party in July and it tasted really good!
Now I know that McDonald’s doesn’t have the best reputation among moms but I do appreciate the fact that they’re trying to offer better options to its customers.
Here are some nutrition news and fun facts about McDonald’s:
- McDonald’s is one of the largest purchasers of apples in the U.S. restaurant industry. In 2012, our U.S. system purchased approximately 90 million pounds of raw apples. In fact, McDonald’s has sold 1.1 billion packages of apple slices since March 2012.
- There have been 530 million individual packages of apple slices served with a children’s meal between August 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013.
- McDonald’s customers in the U.S. have also enjoyed around 200 million cups of fruit between August 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013 from menu options like Fruit n’ Maple Oatmeal, Fruit ‘n Yogurt Parfait and apple slices.
- In 2013, McDonald’s partnered with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, founded by the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association to increase customer’s access to fruits or vegetables and to help families and children to make informed choices in keeping with a balanced lifestyle.
- So in 20 major markets, including the US, McDonald’s committed by 2020 to:
- Offer customers a choice of a side salad, fruit or vegetable as a substitute for French fries in value meals
- Feature only water, milk and juice as the beverage in Happy Meals on menu boards and in-store and external advertising directed to children
- Utilize Happy Meals and other packaging and designs to generate excitement of fruit, vegetable, low/reduced far dairy or water options for kids or offer these options in the Happy Meal
- Include a fun nutrition or children’s well-being message in 100% of advertising directed at children
Between August 1, 2012 and July 31, 2013, McDonald’s USA served over 410 million cups of vegetables to customers through menu options likes Premium McWrap, Premium Salads and side salads. In fact, there’s about 3 cups of vegetables in each Premium Salad.
Given these changes that McDonald’s is making in their menu, I’m excited to be able to go on this tour. I know I’m going to learn a lot!
So I invite you to join us on social media tomorrow! Check out #McDTour on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to see our updates as we discover what happens from field to restaurant!
————————————————————————————————————————————-
UPDATE: I posted about my experience at the tour here.
————————————————————————————————————————————-
This post was compensated for. Regardless, thoughts are my own.
That is so cool! I would love to go behind the scenes! Can’t wait to hear about it! 🙂 …So many neat facts! I never knew their were 3 full servings of veggies in their salads! That’s great!
I’d love to go on a tour behind the scenes! Sounds like a neat experience!
Learning what is happening behind the scenes is going to be a lot of fun — I am sure you will share your experiences with us. Have a good time
Sounds like it will be fun! I’ve been behind the scenes at a local restaurant once, and it’s always fun to see how things are done.
i do appreciate having apples in the kids meals now but i think they should leave the skins on
McDonalds has been around forever. During my 1st. pregnancy, I would get a fish sandwich with pickles extra sauce, big mac and fries. Now I like the mocha frappe.
I would love to do that tour. I am hoping you will share with us about this tour in the future. Our family loves McDonalds
Enjoy your tour and come back and tell us all about it. I heard that McDonalds is offering healthy options on their menu, but I need to be honest, I don’t go to McDonalds to get something healthy. My favorite things to order at McDonals are the french fries and the apple pie, both of which are fried. Thank you for sharing this post.
Have fun and learn and come back and tell us about it.
WOW! Sound like you’re gonna be having some fun while Touring McDonald’s! I hope that you are pleased how they handle things. I know that we have stopped going to McDonalds lately because the burgers have been very salty lately! I have no idea why, but they’ve been horrible! I Hope you have a Great Time and that you’ll report to us both the good and/or the bad of what you saw and did! Thanks for letting us know about Mcdonalds and their plans for the future! Thanks again, Michele 🙂
Michele Ash recently posted..Treasury Of Bible Stories Review & Giveaway
This sounds like It would be so interesting to see. I love McDonalds! Some great information on their company.
I like the fact that they offer the healthier options for kids
That sounds like a fun and informative field trip. If you haven’t tried McDonald’s strawberry and cream pie, you don’t know what you’re missing. Thanks for sharing!
I like that they’re starting to incorporate more fruits and veggies in their kids meals!
This is great! I love that they are selling so many apples in their Happy Meals. I know I love the yogurt parfait. I think it will be interesting to hear all about your trip.
I love that they are changing the menu to make it healthier. Thank you for sharing.
I like that they have been giving more option for the kids HAPPY MEALS. I LOVE THE APPLE SLICES. Can’t beat the 5.00 20 piece chicken nuggets!
Sounds like fun. I too am glad the menu has at least some healthier choice items now
Sandra Watts recently posted..Help me win an Oculus Rift DK2 from MakeUseOf!
I have to say I don’t eat at mc d that much but I know when I take my grandchildren there I know they can have a good meal, with fruit and milk.. mc’d is like a treat loll thanks for sharing
I do like their salads. I lost a lot of weight a few years back by eating salads, fruit and vegies. I worked two jobs, and did not have a lot of time to prep meals, so I would stop by a few days a week and get a salad. You just have to be careful on what dressing you put on it.
Super neat! I can’t wait to read about what you saw/learned!
Thank you for bringing us such unknown information about McDonalds
I don’t eat a McD’s but am pleased to know that they now have healthier offerings than they did in the past, especially for kids.
I cant wait to read about your tour. I will not eat there because of all the rumors that are surfacing about them. Its a bummer because we all like it. Thank You For This Info