The fast food restaurant McDonald's--founded in 1948--has a dubious nutritional reputation because some menu items are high in calories, fat and salt content. The 2004 movie "Super Size Me" documented the illnesses and weight gain experienced by the film's director, Morgan Spurlock as he ate every meal for a month at McDonald's. In some parts of the United States, such as New York City, local governments are starting to require restaurants to list calorie contents on their menus. Like many restaurants, McDonald's already provides nutritional information--including calories--on its Web site, but that may be difficult to access if you are standing in line waiting to order.
Sandwiches
The highest-calorie sandwiches on the McDonald's menu are the Angus Bacon & Cheese (790 calories), the Angus Mushroom & Swiss (770 calories), the Angus Deluxe (750 calories) and the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese (740 calories). The two lowest-calorie choices are the Hamburger (250 calories) and Grilled Ranch Snack Wrap (270 calories). The classic Big Mac has 540 calories. Making its debut in 2010, the Mac Snack Wrap has 330 calories.
Fries
French fries are a staple on the McDonald's menu, and their calorie content varies with the size of their packaging. Small fries contain 230 calories. A medium contains 380 calories. A large is 500 calories. For each packet of ketchup you consume, add 15 calories.
Chicken
Chicken McNuggets and Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips are alternatives to burgers on the McDonald's menu. Each McNugget is about 47 calories. You can order four pieces, six pieces or 10 pieces, for 190 calories, 280 calories or 460 calories, respectively. The Strips are about 133 calories each. You can order three pieces for 400 calories, or five for 660 calories.
Do not forget to add the calories of your dipping sauce. Fifty-calorie choices include barbeque, honey and sweet-n-sour sauce. Hot mustard has 60 calories. Seventy-calorie choices include spicy Buffalo sauce, tangy honey mustard and Southwestern chipotle barbeque sauce. The creamy ranch sauce has 200 calories.
Salads
A plain side salad at McDonald's is 20 calories. Larger salads are 90 calories for the Premium Caesar or 140 calories for either the Premium Southwest or the Premium Bacon Ranch salads.
Add grilled chicken, and you add calories: 220 for the Premium Caesar with grilled chicken; 260 for the Premium Bacon Ranch with grilled chicken; and 320 for the Premium Southwest with grilled chicken.
Add crispy, or fried chicken, and you get even more calories: 330 for the Premium Caesar; 370 for the Premium Bacon Ranch; and 430 for the Premium Southwest.
Butter garlic croutons add an additional 60 calories.
For salad dressings, the low-fat balsamic vinaigrette and Italian options are 40 calories and 60 calories, respectively. Creamy Southwest ranch is 100 calories. Ranch is 170 calories. And creamy Caesar is 190 calories.
A fruit and walnut salad, listed as a snack, has 210 calories.
Breakfasts
The breakfast menu at McDonald's is extensive. Topping the calorie count with 1,150 is the "Deluxe Breakfast," which includes scrambled eggs (170 calories), sausage patty (170 calories), large biscuit (320 calories), hash browns (150 calories) and three hotcakes (350 calories). Each pat of whipped margarine is 40 calories. Grape jam or strawberry preserves are 35 calories each. And hotcake syrup is 180 calories.
The lower-calorie offerings include an Egg McMuffin or sausage burrito, each with 300 calories, a regular-sized sausage biscuit with 420 calories, or a bacon, egg and cheese McGriddle with 420 calories.
Desserts/Shakes
McDonald's sells 32-ounce "triple thick" shakes. They come in vanilla or strawberry, which are 1,110 calories each, or chocolate, which is 1,160. Smaller, 12-ounce versions are 420 calories for vanilla or strawberry, or 440 for chocolate.
Twelve-ounce McFlurrys are 550 calories for the Oreo cookie flavor or 620 for the M&M candies flavor.
A plain reduced fat ice cream cone has 150 calories. A set of "Apple Dippers" has 35 calories, and low-fat caramel dipping sauce has 70 calories.
A 7-ounce fruit and yogurt parfait is 130 calories, or 160 with granola.
Beverages
Drinks that are popular for breakfast include milk (100 calories for low-fat, 170 calories for chocolate) and orange juice, which is 180 calories for a medium.
Diet Coke contains no calories, but medium Coca-Cola, Sprite, Hi-C Orange Lavaburst and Powerade Mountain Blast contain from 150 to 240 calories.
Regular iced tea contains no calories, but the medium "Sweet Tea" contains 150 calories.
Medium iced coffees--caramel, haselnut, regular or vanilla--contain from 190 to 200 calories.
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