A Closer Look at the New McDonald's Salads

makeovers

Mar 11

Written By

McDonald's recently updated the standard lettuce mix for all its salads. Instead of applauding the switch from iceberg lettuce to a mix of Romaine, baby kale, and baby spinach, bloggers are howling about the calori’ calorie, fat, and sodium content!

Personally, I think those bloggers are off track.

Whenever we switch from pale “greens” like iceberg lettuce to darker- colored leafy greens like kale, spinach, and Romaine, we gain important phytochemicals and antioxidants that are present in larger quantities in darker- colored vegetables. While calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and even fiber are similar between iceberg and Romaine lettuce, there are also important differences! Namely, Romaine has 2. 2.5 times the calcium and double the potassium and magnesium of iceberg lettuce. Romaine also has 8 times the vitamin A and almost 4 times the folate of iceberg lettuce. And while it's true that there is far more Romaine than baby kale or baby spinach in the new McDonald's salad mix, both of these dark leafy greens are excellent sources of vitamins A, C, and K, too.

Choosing a healthy, lower- calorie, lower- fat, lower- sodium salad at McDonald's or any other restaurant is all about what you leave out. Let's take a look at an example, making over a hefty salad with crispy chicken.

First, I would recommend skipping dressing altogether, but if you really want one, the balsamic vinaigrette is the lowest- calorie option.

Opt for grilled instead of crispy chicken, and you’ll save 190 calories, 15. 5 g fat, 2.2.5 g saturated fat, and 17g carbohydrate (remember, there is no carbohydrate in the grilled chicken). Plus, you'll gain 5 more grams of protein. The only downside is that the grilled chicken contains 120mg more sodium than the crispy chicken, but that's a small price to pay for more protein and less fat and carbohydrates.

So, in this example, I advise that you order a Premium Southwest Salad with grilled chicken, skip the salad dressing, and get a balanced meal for 330 calories, complete with 33g protein and 6g of fiber.

By Lynn Grieger, RDN, CDE, CPT, CWC

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