Dinner at Denny's

A Great Kids Menu

I took my two favorite dining partners, Kendyl and John, to a Denny's Classic Diner. Ten year-old Kendyl and nine-year old John are my children, and like most kids, they love to eat out in restaurants. This particular Denny's turned out to be one of John's favorite restaurants. I told my kids that they were to study the Kids Menu, order whatever they wanted to eat, then tell me how the meals tasted and if those meals were healthy or not.

Denny's Classic Diners are designed to look and feel like a 1950s diner with lots of chrome, a juke box, and bright colors. My kids chose to sit at the counter, which is always my favorite choice, so I am able to watch the kitchen and wait staff. This particular Denny's was clean and the service was great. The wait staff was friendly and everything appeared to run smoothly between the kitchen and the dining room.

The Kids Menu at Denny's offers a lot of selections for kids. Macaroni and Cheese, burgers, pizza and several side dishes were offered on a color menu, separate from the adult menu. The side dishes included grapes, cucumbers, salads, crackers, and mashed potatoes as well as the usual high-calorie French fries. I like the idea of a separate kids' menu. Great colorful photos show the variety of kids' meals offered by Denny's, and I think this is much more appealing than the usual tiny list of four or five kids' meals hidden away on the back of an adult menu.

After studying the Kids Menu, John ordered a Big Cheese with a Potato Tornado as his side dish. This translates into a grilled cheese sandwich and a serving of mashed potatoes with gravy. Kendyl ordered a Mac and Cheesaroni with French fries as her side dish. John drank water and root beer, and Kendyl ordered a kids-size chocolate shake and a glass of water.

The kids enjoyed their beverages an then the meals were served promptly, which is always nice when you have two hungry kids. They were served in portions that were appropriate for children, and not too large. The kids dug into their meals and then gave me their impressions.

Kendyl's Macaroni and Cheese

Kendyl's Mac and Cheesaroni contained seven ounces of macaroni and cheese, accompanied by about five ounces of French fries. The macaroni and cheese has 334 calories, with 13 grams of fat, over 650 milligrams of sodium, 48 grams of carbohydrates, two grams of fiber, 12 grams of protein, and supplies iron, vitamin A, and calcium. Her french fries had over 400 calories, with 20 grams of fat, 556 milligrams of sodium, and 35 grams of carbohydrates. Her chocolate shake added another 400 calories, from carbohydrates and fats, and the chocolate shake added calcium and vitamin D to her meal.

Kendyl didn't finish the fries or the chocolate shake, and when she was done eating, I asked her how she felt. Kendyl told me her stomach hurt and she felt kind of icky. I asked Kendyl if she thought this was a healthy meal. She thought it was not too good, but not too bad. She decided that the macaroni and cheese was good, but the meal could be healthier by choosing salad instead of the fries, and by just drinking water and not the chocolate shake.

Kendyl's meal had way too many calories from sugar and fat, without much nutritional value beyond calcium. If she had finished her meal, she would have eaten over 1200 calories. There is also a lot of sodium for one meal. When she didn't feel well she realized it was a mistake to order the way she did. Hopefully, she will think about that next time we eat at a restaurant. If not, her mother will remind her.

John's Grilled Cheese and Potatoes

John's meal was the Big Cheese grilled cheese sandwich, and his side dish was a potato tornado, which is a fun name for potatoes and gravy. The grilled cheese sandwich has 334 calories, with 20 grams of fat, 838 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of carbohydrates, two grams of fiber, nine grams of protein, nine percent of a day's iron, 20 percent of a day's calcium, and 24 percent of a day's vitamin A. His potatoes had 145 calories, with six grams of fat, 557 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, three grams of protein, plus some iron, calcium, and 7% of a day's vitamin C. Ten ounces of root beer has 125 calories and no nutritional value.