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Motherhood, Giveaways and Product Reviews

Trying Out the New Asian Salad At McDonald’s *Giveaway*

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This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by. The winners are Kelly Ann T. and  dddiva. Congrats!

Earlier this year, I posted some tips on making healthy choices while dining out.  While I definitely have my preferences as to where I’d like to eat, I can typically find something healthy (ier), at any restaurant.  Quick-serve dining is prevalent in our society, given our fast-paced lifestyles.  It takes self-control and discernment to make the best choices for your family.

Personally, I find those weeks when my husband is traveling to be particularly difficult.  Those are the weeks when I do less cooking and more eating out (although that is never my desire or ambition). A common trend I’ve noticed at quick-serve restaurants is the lack of emphasis placed on fruits and veggies.  I have to make a conscious effort to choose those dishes that are low in calories and fat and high in essential nutrients. Salads are a great way to get in a variety of veggies, particularly if they’re not weighed down with fatty dressings and toppings.

A few years ago, McDonald’s offered an Asian salad which was one of the healthier items on the menu.  Last month, the quick-serve restaurant re-introduced the salad for a limited time in Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties).

 

Salads, McDonald's, Giveaway, Southern California

Photo Credit: Rockin' Mama. All rights reserved.

The Asian Salad combines fruits and veggies including snow peas, edamame, red bell peppers, and sweet mandarin oranges.  The salad is topped with toasted almonds and warm orange-glazed grilled or crispy chicken and comes with a packet of Newman’s Own Low-fat Sesame Ginger Dressing.  Nutrition information varies based on whether or not you want chicken and the type of chicken, and how much dressing you put on the salad. The salad with grilled chicken and no dressing provides 270 calories and 9 grams of fat.  You can find specifics when you visit the nutrition site and include or remove ingredients based on your preferences.

I think this is McDonald’s better salads. The salad packs in 3 cups of vegetables, 21 percent of the Daily Value per serving for dietary fiber, 70 percent of the Daily Value per serving for vitamin C, and 160 percent the Daily Value per serving for vitamin A. I actually prefer the salad without meat (I’m currently deciding whether or not I want to give up meat entirely) and a sprinkle of dressing so I wouldn’t likely go over the 270 calories.  I do find the amount of sodium in the salad to be on the high side but when I removed the chicken, it dropped to 190 mg which is more appropriate.

Liz, Aracely, and I spent an afternoon trying out the new salad with some local bloggers…here is what they thought about the new Asian Salad and a word from the company’s Southern California dietitian:

We are not a fast food family.  Rather, we are a family that consumes fast food on occasion.  The Asian salad is a healthier alternative for families like ours who prefer fresh foods.  If you are planning to dine out, be sure to educate yourself on the venue’s menu so that you can make the right choices for your family.  And of course, it’s always preferable to cook meals in to have complete control over ingredients and serving sizes.

McDonald’s Asian Salad is available for a limited time through September 5th and retails for $4.69.

Salads, McDonald's, Giveaway, Southern California

Salads, McDonald's, Giveaway, Southern California

Salads, McDonald's, Giveaway, Southern California

Salads, McDonald's, Giveaway, Southern California

Salads, McDonald's, Giveaway, Southern California

Win It! I have 2 $25 gift cards to giveaway.  Simply leave me a comment with the name of another healthy item you like to eat at McDonald’s.  Comments will close on June 27th, at 11:59 PM PST.

US Residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one. Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Like me on Facebook

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!

This is part of a compensated campaign with McDonald’s.

 

Caryn Bailey
Latest posts by Caryn Bailey (see all)

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427 Responses to Trying Out the New Asian Salad At McDonald’s *Giveaway*

  16. i like their smoothies of both flavours….i assume they are healthy….they really do taste good!:)

    Reply

  34. I love McDonald’s salads and one of my favorite is their Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken
    tamben7996(at)aol(dot)com

    Reply

  62. The healthy option for me is the Premium Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken. Now if I want to be bad it’s really bad with a Big Mac and Fries.

    jerseygirl137(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply

  123. I get the grilled chicken Ceasar salad but I use low fat Italian dressing instead of the regular dressing.

    Reply

  188. I love their Fruit & Maple Oatmeal

    Thank you for hosting this giveaway

    Louis
    schnitzomage {at} gmail {dot} com

    Reply

  239. I don’t like any of the “healthy” items at McDonald’s. I like the Quarter Pounder with Cheese, berry smoothie, and large fries. Since I am very healthy and never sick, they must be healthy for me 🙂
    Alicia Webster
    [email protected]

    Reply

  256. I like the Grilled chicken sandwich, plain! Fills me up so I don’t miss eating a bunch of fries!

    Reply

  274. The calorie count on a regular hamburger is surprisingly low and I consider it very healthy. And it’s soooo good! 🙂 A hamburger and diet drink is just 250 calories! Katharina angelsandmusic[at]gmail[dot]com

    Reply

  283. blanking on the name but the apple walnut yogurt thingy. sooooo good! yes, i order it like that. :: blushes ::

    Reply

  310. I like just a regular cheeseburger..it is one item that has the least amount of calories on their menu.

    Reply

  327. i love mcdonalds fruit and yogurt parfaits!
    thanks for the giveaway:)
    imjessica(at)mail(d0t)com

    Reply

  337. My fave things are the coffee drinks so not healthy (ha unless you consider coffee is my life force!) but I also enjoy the salads and grilled chicken wraps.

    Reply

  356. LOL – I like their fries – is there any way I can call that healthy? Potatoes are a vegetable, right? What if I pick off the salt? 🙂 OK, OK – sigh. I’ll say the Apple Dipper.

    Reply

  384. My kids and I go to McDonalds every Sunday morning so I can get all the coupons from our fellow eaters (yes, they are definately used to us by now!) but I have the oatmeal each week!

    Reply

  393. I love the parfaits at McDonalds! Relatively healthy and delicious! Thanks for the giveaway!

    Reply

  397. I’m subscribed to your RSS feed in my Google Reader. – I want to add that the fruit and walnut salad is awesome too.

    Reply

  407. I love the Premium Fish Filet! Even thought it’s fried …Fish is way more healthy than red meat!

    Reply

  409. Thanks for the giveaway…we like the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal @ McDonalds when we need a quick breakfast !

    senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com

    Reply

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