If you’ve ever gone out to eat and looked at the kid’s menu, you would quickly understand why we have an obesity epidemic. The staples are chicken fingers, breaded and deep fried; cheeseburgers; pizza; mac and cheese; grilled cheese; and hot dogs. All are served with french fries and your choice of high fructose corn syrupy carbonated beverage. Needless to say, I find this to be more than a bit troubling.
This has compelled me to keep track of the few places that have “healthy” (or at the very least, semi-healthy) dining options.
Chili’s
You can get a grilled chicken breast platter large enough to serve a family of four, complete with sides that include broccoli, black beans, cinnamon apples or corn on the cob. For $3.99 including drink, it might be the best kids menu deal out there, and is more than enough food for Mom to share if you just order a side salad.
Macaroni Grill
They also offer a chicken breast platter that comes with broccoli and angel hair pasta, drink and ice cream for $4.99. The chicken breast isn’t as enormous as the Chili’s version, but when you factor in the pasta, it’s more than enough for 2-3 meals for my kid.
Armadillo Willy’s
The BBQ chicken is actually 1/4 roasted chicken. It comes only with fries and a soft drink (we just substitute water), but it’s a ton of meat, and not fried.