Fast Fruit - McDonald's Yogurt Parfait - Brief Article

Nutrition Action Healthletter, Nov, 2000

Low-fat yogurt, low-fat granola, strawberries, and blueberries ... at your local McDonald's?

The fast-food giant has been rolling out its Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait--a plastic domed cup with a layer of berries sandwiched between two layers of vanilla yogurt. Did somebody say m-m-m?

The refreshing coolness of the berries and the creamy smoothness of the yogurt taste like dessert. And although the vanilla yogurt has some added sugar, this is no empty-calorie splurge.

For 280 calories and only four grams of fat (just two of them saturated), you get eight grams of protein, 25 percent of a day's calcium, 40 percent of a day's vitamin C, and six percent of a day's iron.

The granola topping adds 100 calories plus some extra fiber, calcium, iron, protein, and a welcome whole-grain crunch (if you ask for it on the side).

It's not often that McDonald's adds something healthy to its menu. (Let's see ... there was the grilled chicken sandwich, the salads, the 1% milk, the orange juice, the....)

Until now, the closest you could get to whole fruit was the fraction of an apple buried deep within a fatty Baked Apple Pie or a Lowfat Apple Bran Muffin.

It's too early to call the Parfait a new trend in fast food. But its berries sure beat the artificial colors and flavors in McD's strawberry shakes.

McDonald's: (630) 623-6198.