Name: Karl Craigie

Date: 6/26/2017
Course: HTH 3013
Fast Food Analysis, 50 points

Objective: to assess the meal choices at fast food restaurant as compared to the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans (DGA) and to find healthier choices at these restaurants. The DGA are found in Unit 3, pg 52-
54.

Fast Food Analysis

Analysis questions should be written in complete sentences using proper grammar. Please read the
questions carefully and answer all the parts of the question. This is an analysis. Oversimplified answers
will not receive full credit.

1. Fill out the table below:

a. Choose a typical, popular meal for two meals. Label your meals (Meal 1: Breakfast, Meal
2: Dinner) Use different restaurants for each meal. (i.e. Breakfast McDonalds, Dinner
Subway). Collect the nutrition information from the fast food restaurants website.
Enter the nutrition information requested in the table below in Column #1.

b. Choose two alternative meals that would be healthier options and enter the nutrition
information requested in the table below in Column #2. Healthier option should be from
the same restaurant as the regular meal.
Example:
Breakfast McDonalds, Healthier alternative McDonalds
Dinner Subway, Healthier alternative Subway

Breakfast
Name of Restaurant: McDonalds
Healthy Alternative
Typical Meal
Egg White Delight
Big Breakfast McMuffin & Fruit and
Maple Oatmeal
Meal Contents:
English Muffin, Egg
Nutrient
Whites, Canadian Bacon,
Meal Contents:
White Cheddar Cheese,
Scrambled Eggs, Biscuit,
Salted Butter
Hash Browns, Sausage
Patty, Salted Butter
Oatmeal, Diced Apples,
Cranberry Raisin Blend,
Light Cream
Calories 1060 560
Total Fat (g) 53 12
Saturated Fat (g) 20 6
Trans Fat (g) 0 0
Name: Karl Craigie
Date: 6/26/2017
Course: HTH 3013
Fast Food Analysis, 50 points

Cholesterol (mg) 470 40

Sodium (mg) 1630 880
Carbohydrates (g) 115 91
Sugar (g) 36 36
Fiber (g) 8 7
Protein (g) 31 22

Dinner
Name of Restaurant: Taco Cabana
Healthy Alternative
Typical Meal
Chicken Fajita Cabana
Cabana Sampler
Salad
Meal Contents
Meal Contents
Nutrient
Cheese Enchilada, Crispy
Shell, Romaine Lettuce,
Beef Taco, Chicken
Fajita Chicken Breast,
Flauta, Refried Beans,
Shredded Cheese, Pico
Rice, Lettuce,
De Gallo, Sour Cream
Guacamole, 2 Flour
Tortillas
Calories 1330 690
Total Fat (g) 65 43
Saturated Fat (g) 25 16
Trans Fat (g) 1 1
Cholesterol (mg) 130 90
Sodium (mg) 2590 1160
Carbohydrates (g) 136 42
Sugar (g) 5 4
Fiber (g) 14 5
Protein (g) 49 31

2. Compare the meals in column #1 to the recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, 2010 and the DRIs. Please be sure to mention those that were high and low.
Remember the DRIs are for one entire day; you are comparing 1 meal during a day. (ie if your
DRI for fiber is 25 grams, you will need to divide 25g/3 meals to get the total of fiber that
should be in one meal to use for your comparison).
Name: Karl Craigie
Date: 6/26/2017
Course: HTH 3013
Fast Food Analysis, 50 points

McDonalds

After analyzing the Big Breakfast from McDonalds, it seems to be a nightmare for someone trying to
watch their weight. For this breakfast you are able to compare to the daily intake for ingredients such as
fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, and cholesterol. All of these ingredients are significantly over the
daily recommendations per meal. Some of the ingredients just from this breakfast are more than the
daily recommendations from the dietary guidelines. The Big Breakfast contains 81% of the daily total fat,
98% of the daily saturated fat, and a crazy 157% of the daily cholesterol that is recommended. More
than a day and a half of cholesterol is included in this popular breakfast choice from McDonalds.

Taco Cabana

Two of the insane numbers that exceed DRIs from Taco Cabana are the total fat and the sodium. This
meal has more fat than the Big Breakfast, and the Big Breakfast contained 81% of the daily available
recommended total fat. Taco Cabanas sodium in this meal alone exceeds the daily recommended
amount. This does not seem to be a very healthy choice and I also think the portion is way too large for
a single meal.

b. Compare the heathier alternative meals to the previously created meals in #1. How do they
differ, what are the improvements and how do these meals compare to the Dietary Guidelines
for Americans, 2010 and the DRIs? Why did you choose these meals as healthier options?

McDonalds

The Egg White Delight coupled with Fruit & Maple Oatmeal from McDonalds is a much healthier
alternative to the Big Breakfast. This alternative adds grains and fruit that the Big Breakfast does not
have. This combo also contains half the calories, half the sodium, the total fat, and 10 times less
sodium than the Big Breakfast! Both meals will satisfy the appetite of most individuals, so when
choosing the healthier alternative you are not going to go hungry until lunch. The healthier alternative
also does not exceed any of the reccomendations per meal. None of the DRIs exceed 30% and this
choice also almost has as much protein as the Big Breakfast.

Taco Cabana

The Cabana salad includes lettuce and chicken breast, which help limit calories and include food groups
that the Sampler does not. The salad also consists of half the calories, half the sodium, and the carbs
as the Sampler. This salad is a healthy option because it allows you room for the DRIs in your two
additional daily meals.
Name: Karl Craigie
Date: 6/26/2017
Course: HTH 3013
Fast Food Analysis, 50 points

Question #3
Summarize your main findings covering these topics:

a. What recommendations by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans were met or not met by both
meals and the DRIs? (Keep in mind, you are comparing the total of two meals, the DGA and DRIs
are for 3 meals or your total daily intake)

The meals in column one combined together could almost reach two days worth of the nutrients in
the DRIs. So these two meals eaten together in one day are as much as the recommended amount for
2 whole days in some categories such as cholesterol in particular. All of the negatives such as fat,
calories, sodium, and cholesterol were all well surpassed by the combination of the two meals in
column one. They are not a healthy option at all but can be easily replaced at the same locations by
the healthier alternatives in column 2. The items in column 2 allow for a third and final meal of the
day according to the DRI and Dietary Guidelines. These two meals will allow a third meal to satisfy the
rest of the reccomendations. This third meal would also have to be something healthy and would
have to be something that does not exceed the allocated recommendations allowance.

b. Describe how you can find healthier choices at fast-food restaurants.

One can find healthier choices at fast-food restaurants in a few simple ways. You can go online and
review the menu and the nutritional info of each item. This is probably the most efficient way to get
all of the details of what is in your food and compare options of items on the menu. You can compare
these numbers with the DRIs side by side online. If you arrive at the fast food location and want to see
what healthier option are then you can simply ask a manager or employee. Most fast food places now
have the calories listed next to the picture on the menu. If you ask employees, they should have some
sort of nutritional chart that you can view of the food that they serve. Subway does a great job and
lists these items in multiple places, even on the napkins!