Quick Serve Kids: Three Clever Fast Food Choices

It’s been almost a year since my fast-food-slash-parenting epiphany. Maybe you’ve had a similar moment.

Here’s how mine played out: After a morning of Christmas shopping, I was worn out and famished. Baby A was cranky, meaning she felt the same way. We were far from home—and just forty minutes away from A’s naptime. I looked for a solution and saw a Chick-fil-A within walking distance.

And then it hit me: It was time for Baby A’s first fast-food meal. Yikes!

So why would I remember the details of this moment?

Watching the fast-food, or quick-serve, restaurant industry had been my job going back to the early 1990s. Early in my publishing career, I was tapped to launch the editorial side of QSR Magazine. It was great fun, and a big success. Still is.

Now Baby A is almost two and a half, and my writing focuses instead on the intersection of parenting and restaurants. Like Clever Parents everywhere, I constantly look for smart options for kids when we’re eating out. Chances are you do, too.

Here are three new-ish kid-friendly options that are working for us. See if they’re a good fit for your family.

Panera – Panera is the first U.S. chain with a kids’ menu touting organic and all-natural items. Kids’ options at Panera include a grilled cheese sandwich made with organic American cheese, all-natural peanut butter and jelly, and organic American cheese with roast beef, smoked ham, or smoked turkey.

Panera serves the sandwiches on white whole-grain bread that has the soft feel of white bread with the added nutrition of whole grains. And kids can choose other healthy options like Horizon Organic Squeezable Yogurt, a choice of Horizon Organic milk or chocolate milk, or organic apple juice.

Sounds yummy, right? With this option, I like that we adults can eat real adult food while our little ones have their own healthy choices. It’s the best of both worlds.

KFC – Yes, you read that right, and, no, I can’t believe I’m typing that acronym as a clever choice. But KFC has joined the trend against trans fats. By April 2007 its fried foods will be a somewhat better choice. (The biscuits will continue to have some trans fats.)

Wendy’s, too, went trans-fat-free in late August 2006. And for those Clever Parents in Southern California, the Pat & Oscar’s chain has also nearly eliminated trans fats from its menu, too.

Here’s the kicker: Unlike most other quick-serve chains, KFC offers an array of side dishes that make it a smart choice, especially at dinnertime. Kids can eat a little chicken along with veggies like corn on the cob, cole slaw, and green beans, or a side of mashed potatoes.

Chick-fil-A – This growing chain still has the best fresh fruit cup among all quick-serve brands: cut-up strawberries, red grapes, mandarin oranges, and red and green apples. For Baby A, I couple a fruit cup with chicken strips, which aren’t awful on the total fat (about 30 percent of calories from fat) and have zero trans fats. Want to buy the Kid’s Meal, but don’t want yet another toy around the house? Just ask the cashier to substitute a kid-sized serving of the chain’s Ice Dream frozen dessert.

Look for more chains to follow these trends against trans fats, towards fresher and more naturally raised and organic ingredients. Clever consumers like us are pressuring the quick-serve industry to feed us better—and, finally, they’re responding in a big way.

I’d love to hear about your fast-food-and-kids experiences and choices.