McDonald's New Kale Salad Boasts Greater Calorie Count Than Double Big Mac
McDonald's is determined to bring health-conscious consumers a more nutritious menu, but something may be getting lost in translation. According to Business Insider, McDonald's Canada's new line of kale salads is worse for consumers than its burgers.
Canada's "Keep Calm, Caesar On" comes with crispy chicken, "nutrient-rich lettuce blend with baby kale," and "real Parmesan petals;" however, it packs more calories, fat, and sodium than a double Big Mac. Specifically, it contains 730 calories, 53 grams of fat, and 1,400 milligrams of sodium (assuming consumers use the Asiago Caesar dressing). Put it another way: One serving of this particular salad exceeds the daily recommended amount of sodium by more than 60 percent, per BI.
This is compared to Canada's double Big Mac, the chain's signature sandwich that features four beef patties, processed cheddar cheese, and three pieces of bread, which packs 680 calories, 38 g of fat, and 1,340 mg of sodium.
"Health-wise, I think [the salads are] fat and sodium overload," dietitian Shauna Lindzon told CBC News, the first news outlet to cite the nutritional differences.
Canada-based chains offer a lighter salad option, called "I’m Greek-ing Out," with 280 calories, 12 g of fat and 770 mg of sodium when the dressing is added. Despite having 30 less calories than the Big Mac, it still boasts a higher amount of calories and fat. It also contains nearly the same amount of calories, fat, and sodium found in a double cheeseburger.
That said, consumers can custom build their salads to trim calories, fat, and sodium to err on the healthy side, McDonald's spokesperson Adam Grachnik told CBC. For example, he suggested consumers switch out the high-calorie dressing for one of the chain's more "calorie-wise" dressings. If they wanted to skip the dressing altogether, he said a dry salad cuts calories back to 520 and nearly half the fat.
This custom can be applied to the entire menu.
"[They] have the choice to have a salad with or without dressing, select a burger without the bun, choose their chicken protein crispy or grilled," Grachnik said. He pointed consumers to the chain's website, where nutritional information is available for all items on its menu.
CBC cited McDonald's sales have plummeted in response to the rise in "fast-casual" chains like Chipotle and Panera, which are considered healthier alternatives to traditional fast food. Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, obesity expert and assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Ottawa, told CBC consumers need to "feel like they're not making such terrible choices" — placing healthy buzz words in menu descriptions, including but not limited to kale, can help do that.
Grachnik believes eating at McDonald's can fit into a healthy lifestyle. "You just have to ask the crew to reduce sodium, fat or calories to best suit the customers' needs," he said.