Ronald McDonald is Out to Getcha
Last week I received a comment about how I can eat the nastiness that is McD’s chicken nuggets?
I’ll admit at first I was a little taken aback. It’s fast food.. who doesn’t like fast food? I’m American people.. grease and French fries make me happy!!! I know we’re all on the health trend, but does that inner love for something deep fried ever go away?
Hmm. I definitely admire those who’ve completely broken off all ties with Ronald McDonald and the Burger King himself, but how do you do it??? I need help with the whole no strings attached thing I guess.
To be fair and support both arguments, I’ve done some research on these little guys.
PRO-NUGGETS
The only thing I have to support my Pro-Nugget Argument is that they taste good… in fact they taste darn good. These hunks of golden, crispy goodness dipped in honey mustard sauce are pure #win my friends.
Juicy Good Evidence:
1. Women Accused of Punching Out Drive-Thru Window for McD’s Chicken Nuggets
2. Women Calls 911 Three Times When She Hears McD’s is out of Nuggets
Not the classiest of evidence, but hey, you get my point.
As a little girl, whenever my mom or dad mentioned McD’s, my heart always went pitter patter for their Happy Meals. And I won’t lie, the toys were pretty sweet too. Lets just say this mad love for the Golden Arches has only grown going into my adult years.
So hmm… my love has grown for these deep fried bad boys, but maybe now it needs to mature. Let’s take a look at the cons for McD’s nuggets.
ANTI-NUGGETS
The first place I visited to research these controversial nuggets was the McD’s website. On their toolbar I clicked on Food -> Chicken which led me to this tantalizing image:
Holy. Yum.
The McDonald’s website states that: “Tender, juicy Chicken McNuggets made with white meat, wrapped up in a crisp tempura batter. Made for sharing, or, if you want ‘em all to yourself, then that’s our little secret.”
Sounds good right? Wrong.
Digging a little deeper I unearthed the ingredients. Yes, all 30+ of them:
White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning (autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid, rosemary), sodium phosphates, seasoning (canola oil, mono- and diglycerides, extractives of rosemary). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, whey, corn starch. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent
Holy. Crap.
What, do chemists concoct these things that McD’s innocently promotes to children as Nug Nugz? Ok, so this is when panic mode really began to kick in. WHAT HAVE I BEEN EATING??!!
ldkfjgdlkfjgdlkfjdjlgdgflj.
Furiously I Googled for more information. What I discovered next only added to this foodie freak-out.
Juicy Bad Evidence:
“But perhaps the most alarming ingredient in a Chicken McNugget is tertiary butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ, an antioxidant derived from petroleum that is either sprayed directly on the nugget or the inside of the box it comes in to ‘help preserve freshness.’ According to A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives, TBHQ is a form of butane (i.e. lighter fluid) the FDA allows processors to use sparingly in our food.. Ingesting five grams of TBHQ can kill.”
- The Omnivore’s Dillema by Micheal Pollan
“McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets, originally made from old chickens no longer able to lay eggs, are now made from chickens with unusually large breasts. (lol?) These chickens are stripped down to the bone, and then “ground up” into a chicken mash then combined with a variety of stabilizers and preservatives, pressed into familiar shapes, breaded and deep fried, freeze dried, and then shipped to a McDonald’s near you.”
“‘McNuggets’ sold to American fast food lovers contain dimethylpolysiloxane, an anti-foaming agent used in Silly Putty. They also have more calories and fat than those sold in the chain’s British restaurants, according to a CNN study.”
- Via this article
Wowwwww. Pretty crazy stuff right? I’d really like to thank Lisa at Early Morning Run for commenting and bringing this to my attention. You were dead on the money with this one.
—
If you’re interested, here’s another article from the Los Angeles Times about McDonald’s new marketing strategy. I’m sure you’ve all seen it– it involves cute kids, red Happy Meal boxes, and hope… boxed hope that is.
This commercial is supposed to promote it’s highly successful Ronald McDonald House charity… but honestly, it’s underlying agenda seems to just be targeting young kids.
Are their healthier Happy Meals really taking off? You be the judge.
“Although McDonald’s said the apples are a popular alternative to fries, spokesman Walt Riker declined to provide any figures on Happy Meal sales, including how apples compare with fries in popularity…. ”When customers ask for a Happy Meal, 93 percent of the time they are automatically given fries.”
Epic #fail Mcdonald’s.
Thoughts?
I am a recovering junk-food junkie and my “drug” of choice was (is) fast food. So I can totally relate to your affinity to McDonalds. I teach junior high health and show “Super Size Me” every semester, yet instead of getting disgusted like my students , I actually start craving a Big Mac Meal. I’ll admit, I still will go through the drive-thru every now and then, but not nearly as often as I used to (more than a couple of times a week). Reading your post has strengthened my resolve to limit how much my family and I eat fast food. Thanks for posting this!
I started reading this post and thought you were going to be so mad at me! I was just surprised that you ate them so often, but then you also seem to eat so healthfully and are very active, so I just wanted to know why you made the exception for to these nuggets. I’m really glad to have helped! I didn’t really know how bad they were until I read Michael Pollan. But it’s not just these nuggets. Unfortunately, these ingredients are in so much of the processed, frozen, and fast foods that so many Americans eat. It’s scary that we unknowingly ingest so many dangerous chemicals. Believe me, I love burgers and fries, and I spent many dinners at McDonald’s and B King when I was growing up, now we have the tools and resources to really find out what we’re eating. It’s scary but liberating at the same time! We only get one life, we should make the most of it – not just by the experiences we have, but the way in which we treat our bodies.
completely agree with you!! Seriously, thank you again! Sometimes all we need is to do some research to realize what is really going on. You rock
I also used to be a huge fast food junkie. Going vegetarian helped that a bit since the burgers and chicken nuggets aren’t an option anymore. But, I still love the fries…or a good Frosty! But, reading this definitely makes me second-guess even eating that much!
I won’t lie. I love the taste of them too, after watching ”Super Size Me” I stopped eating McD’s for a yr. Sadly I have never found another nugget like that. The chicken nuggets won’t kill you…or will they? lol
Funny thing, I had a nightmare Ronald was chasing me with a knife last week, my bf just laughed at me. I woke up yelling out. clowns are evil.
Oh my gosh I just died lolling… that is scary though that he was chasing you! clowns are really freaky
I’m like you… I love it even though I know it’s bad. I think indulging every once in a while in fast food won’t kill you. But every day, week, etc, is too much.
Slash, since I started eating healthier, every time I eat fast food I get real sick to my stomach…
All these pictures cracked me up, especially that first one with the dogs! I have never been a huge Mickey D’s girl, but I must admit the one thing that gets me is their hotcakes. Whyy are they so delicious? I think as long as this food is eaten in moderation it won’t kill anybody
Wow, SUCH a great post, Shannon! Really well-written and informative. Chicken nuggets should NOT have 30 ingredients.
Thank you! Yes, I’ve been trying to stick to 10 and under recently. 30 is just cuh-razy
Man, I haven’t had McDonalds in YEARS and do not crave it. Growing up, I loved chicken nuggets with Sweet and Sour sauce, mmmm. But about 10 years ago, I went to the theaters and saw SUPER SIZE ME. And I have never eaten there, or pretty much any fast food restaurant since. blaaaa. It is just crazy-ness what they can sell and refer to as “food.”
10 years=6. lol
By the way, have you seen the video of Jamie Oliver making chicken nuggets??? I am guessing you have not, because I doubt you’d ever eat them again lol. omg
EWWWWWWWWW ! Never seen that…ok I wanna gag now. NEVER AGAIN. thank you for showing me the video!
hahah hope I didn’t ruin your guilty pleasure too badly.
I used to be a Mickey D’s girl. I grew up on the stuff and I loved it. Honestly, the thing that got me off fast food (and I mean ALL of it minus the occasional stolen fry or milkshake sip) was the movie Super Size Me. It absolutely disgusted me and I couldn’t even look at fast food for about 2-3 years.
One of my happiest moments lately was when my boyfriend (who is a major fast food addict) told me that he can now taste the difference between fast food and good food. I think it is all a matter of the other stuff you put in your body. In moderation fast food wont kill you… as long as you don’t eat it every day it’s no biggie I think!
We rarely had fast food growing up so it’s not something I gravitate to now. My kids even prefer subway to McD’s. And am I ever glad after reading this!! YIKES!
though both sides are valid, I’m pro-nuggets in moderation. Balance balance balance!!
I’m really happy you did your research. How were you unaware of this before?! I hope this is to say, that you will never eat a nugget again. Pleaseeee.
Wahhhh! I love those little nug nugs dipped in honey mustard too. I don’t think I want them anymore. Shannon, can we go through nugget rehab together?
YES! chicken nugget rehab and harry potter buds foreva!
I’m crying a river right now lol. Most depressing thing ever… what am I gonna eat now?!?!?
Awww…
I truly understand how bad those nasty ingredients are for you.
But… what´s life without a little risk?
I mean – don´t get me wrong. I don´t even like McDonald´s nuggets. The last one I ate was probably 4 or 5 years ago. When I was 11.
But don´t you think we should be allowed to eat crappy food, too? Isn´t it about balance?
I just feel that we shouldn´t get crazy about food. It´s only fuel, people.
It´s like granma says: “What doesn´t kill, makes you stronger”.
Oh, well…
I don´t know.
Maybe I´m just wrong.
Go figure, hehe.
But thanks for sharing anyway, Shannon!
Great post, as always
Wish you a lovely week!
Brazilian XOXO´s,
Gabriela
Great post – way to educate yourself! And now you can make yummy chicken nuggets from scratch using organic chicken breasts
I’m a fat kid at heart and the way to my artery clogged heart is through greasy goodness. I can stay away from greasy crap fairly easily when I’m on my “healthy kick” but there’s nothing better than McDicks 2 or 3 times in one day after a night of drinking.
I can’t remember the last time I had McNuggets but I DO love their Jr. Chickens and double cheese burgers… Although, after seeing THIS video last week, I think I’m going to stop for a while.
i respect you so much for taking what the blogger said and actually researching about it! I’m pretty disturbed to read about all the stuff in those mcnuggets- nASTY!!! wtf.
xoxoxoox
I just don’t eat fast food unless there’s no other option!! Every once in a while can’t be bad, but with those ingredients=EWWW!
<3 jess
xoxo
Love how you did all the research on this post. So, ok, McD’s isn’t the best option out there obviously..but really, you only live once and everything in moderation is ok. However, maybe you could Google a recipe on how to make your own healthier chicken nuggets?
Great post! I remember Chicken Nuggets ( although it’s been a few decades ) and yes I’ll agree with you….I LOVED them! I used to order them with Honey as a dip. Do they still offer that? I don’t know…that was back in like 1984 or something.
A
Anyway, I’m pretty clean these days but I will say that I believe a Micky D French Fry has (maybe) passed this Vegetarian’s lips in the last 12 months….shhhhh
wow what an interesting post! i haven’t eaten mcdonald’s in forever but man,it does taste good once in a while.
I think balance is the key. I mean there is nothing wrong with indulging to fast food a few times per month. Especially if the rest of the days you follow a healthy diet
Even though I wouldn’t touch fast food with a 10 ft. pole or “mcnuggets” for that matter, I have to admit that those chicken nuggets do look tasty and I think that EVERY time I see your posts! lol AND it was very rude for someone to write that to you. I get tired of the “holier than thou” attitude of some food bloggers that eat celery sticks and diet food all day long and criticize people for eating normally! For me, I indulge in vegetarian junk food, but it’s junk food none the less! It doesn’t make me any better than you! lol
Yea I still eat McDonald’s. But not on a regular basis. I did see the movie Supersize Me, and that really was an eye opener. In fact, I’m on hulu right now watching some clips from it.
I dunno, I think it’s a matter of opinion. I know facts are facts, but we come into contact with harmful things everyday and it may or may not be food related.
I love this post! I cannot tell you the last time I ate food from McD’s. I know it won’t kill me, but it also does not make me feel good. Usually I get some sort of weird cramping from greasy fast food. I’m not saying it doesn’t taste fantastic going down.
Looking forward to meeting you at HLS!
I personally dont think a nugget from time to time will kill you. I mean there is polution in the air that can kill us eventually.. SHould we not go outside? lol
Great post though
Dana xo
http://happinessiswithin.wordpress.com/
I haven’t eaten fast food in two years. I learned what is was and where it came from. I never want that crap to pass through my daughter’s lips. I know she will end up eating it once in a while with friends when she is older but I am not financiall supporting those companies that lie and manipulate a counrty that is already obese
Home run Shannon, excellent take. Thanks!
E Michael G
Exec Director
Center for Integrative Prevention in Public Health
facebook.com/CIPPH.USA