John felt his meal was "good, but a little bit healthy." He added that root beer is not good for you, but he likes it. When asked how he would make the meal healthier, he thought he should take out the fatness and add something from the first step of the food pyramid.
John's meal added up to over 600 calories, which is OK for one meal, however there is a lot of sugar and refined flour in this meal. Making a grilled cheese sandwich with whole grain bread would be so much better, but whole grains are typically not found on kid' menus. John could have selected some fruit, vegetables or greens as well, although his Potato Tornado wasn't a bad choice. Denny's kids' menu also offers cucumbers, grapes, apples sauce and salads as side dishes.
Bad News and Good News
The bad news is that my kids didn't pick the healthiest meals, and looking around the restaurant, it seemed that most kids picked similar foods. The good news is that Denny's really has a good kids' menu with a lot of variety including some very healthy foods. I also like the fact that Denny's has kid-sized desserts, which are quite a bit smaller than the adult-sized desserts. My kids both agreed that the food tasted good, and that is important too. Eating fresh foods at home is always best, but because Denny's offers some healthy options for kids, and healthy portion sizes for kids, I give Denny's Kids Menu four stars.
Nutrition information for all the items on Denny's Kids Menu, plus all their other adult menu items is available at Denny's.
