Kids Cuisine

In deciding to research the nutritional information for chain restaurant children’s meals, I came across an even more startling finding than I expected. Sure, there are some children’s meals that have a shocking amount of fat or calories. Worse yet, though, there are some children’s meals that are a complete mystery. That’s because some restaurants don’t provide nutritional information at all.

I first noticed it when I went to research Cracker Barrel. The main reason I wanted to research them is because they have so many vegetable side options and I figure many moms, like me, encourage their children to order them because they are vegetables. But I also wondered how healthy they are, since many times they seem like other ingredients have been added. I had also noticed there is only one green vegetable on the menu.

So I fished around their web site, and found nothing. I decided to Google “Cracker Barrel nutritional information.” That led me to this passage on the Cracker Barrel FAQ:

Here at Cracker Barrel, we pride ourselves on using recipes and ingredients that are authentic, genuine, and of the highest quality available. We strive to prepare and present these food items to you in a way that upholds those authentic traditions of days gone by.

Cracker Barrel certainly understands the health-conscious concerns that some of our guests have. While we are unable to give you any exact calorie or fat content information, the following choices may help you in your selection.

That was followed by a bulleted list of alternatives, such as turkey sausage and Egg Beaters, that are available for diners. You can see the full FAQ answer here.

Umm… what? Why exactly can’t Cracker Barrel give exact calorie and fat content? And knowing that Egg Beaters is available isn’t helpful if they cook it in butter, served with a side dish with 20 grams of saturated fat. My kids love to eat there, but if a joint can’t even be open about their nutritional information, that doesn’t bode well for the actual nutritional value.

So as I researched further, I discovered that Cracker Barrel isn’t the only major chain with no nutritional information on its site. In fact, Consumerist developed The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Nutrition Guide: Who Is Hiding Information About the Food, and Who Isn’t.

You might be surprised at some of the other big names who don’t provide nutritional information, or make it really hard to find. The list includes Applebee’s, Bennigan’s, California Pizza Kitchen, International House of Pancakes, Olive Garden, TGIFriday’s, and more.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t get a warm and fuzzy feeling about feeding my kids food from a restaurant that won’t even reveal how much fat is in their mashed potatoes.

_{Image of plate with nutritional information, © Jay Lopez}