Don’t you love it when other parents agree with you?
I had to chuckle reading fellow blogger Matt Pinkston’s take on hot dogs. The dad of four kids is as repulsed by the popular kiddie menu option as I am. As he noted in a previous post:
“After four years of undergraduate science, and understanding thoroughly what sodium nitrates and nitrates, corn syrup, food colorings, and parasites in hot dogs will do to people, I’m not a fan. The conflict intensifies when one child requests hamburger, which I then prepare, then insists on hot dogs, an item seldom in the house. What’s a beleaguered father to do?”
I know what I do. I turn to my kid and ask: “Hot dog? What’s a hot dog?”
Actually, the words “hot” and “dog” are rarely uttered in my home, especially by my young daughter. Fortunately, my little chip off the ol’ block is not a fan of the portable processed meat trimmings and fat. Unfortunately, she is quite enamored by other unhealthy picks, such as HoHos, Ding Dongs and the Cheesecake Factory’s Hershey Chocolate Bar Cheesecake. The decadent dessert consists of two moist layers of chocolate cake soaked with Hershey’s chocolate, layered with creamy chocolate ganache and chocolate cheesecake, and covered with milk chocolate icing and dozens of chocolate chips.
Of course, I don’t let her go to town on the extreme chocolate treat every day. In fact, she’s lucky if she gets to down a quarter of a slice every six months. Meanwhile, there are some parents who allow their children to consume two to three hot dogs four or five days per week.
They’re convenient. I get it; but still…
To be fair, there are “healthier” versions of hot dogs made from turkey and chicken. In addition, there are more menacing menu items you could feed your kids in lieu of hot dogs, including some of these top fast-food offenders:
*Hardee’s Monster Thickburger: 1420 calories
*Dairy Queen Large Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard: 1320 calories
*Dairy Queen 6-piece Chicken Strip Basket: 1270 calories
*Jack in the Box 24-ounce Chocolate Ice Cream Shake: 1230 calories
*Nathan’s Super Size French Fries: 1188 calories
*Del Taco Macho Beef Burrito: 1170 calories
*McDonald’s Deluxe Breakfast without butter and syrup: 1140 calories
*White Castle Chicken Rings: 1130 calories
*Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon Six Dollar Burger: 1130 calories
How much junk food do you allow your kids to consume each week?
Related Articles:
Fast Food Kids’ Meals—How Healthy Are They?
Kids And Juice—Are They A Healthy Mix?
Is There Such A Thing As A Healthy Hamburger?