McDonalds Chicken McNuggets

So, the other part of my life, besides mother and wife trying to live healthy, is as an independent demonstrator for Uppercase Living. In this "job" I have fun, meet with ladies and party. No, not kidding...and I like to meet with my hostesses to plan their parties, whenever possible. So, yesterday I was meeting with one of my hostesses. I wanted to go to a coffee shop, they are usually the easiest places for me to meet with people, quieter, more room, no chicken McNuggets to make my kids crazy...Well, this hostess wanted to meet at McDonalds (right next to the coffee shop), so she could keep her son busy with french fries. Well, OK, I thought, I can do this.

You need a little more back story here. A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went to a little seminar about nutrition. We got to see the ingredient list of a McDonalds Chicken McNugget. Here it is for those of you that want to see it:

Chicken, water, salt, modified corn starch, sodium phosphates, chicken broth powder (chicken broth, salt, and natural flavoring (chicken source)), seasoning (vegetable oil, extracts of rosemary, mono, di- and triglycerides, lecithin). Battered and breaded with water, enriched bleached wheat flour (niacin, iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, modified corn starch, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dried whey, corn starch. Batter set in vegetable shortening. Cooked in partially hydrogenated vegetable oils, (may contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated corn oil and/or partially hydrogenated canola oil and/or cottonseed oil and/or sunflower oil and/or corn oil). TBHQ and citric acid added to help preserve freshness. Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an anti-foaming agent.

There are over 30 different sugars in it, just to start. Second, how many of those ingredients can you read, and know what they are? Third, look at the last ingredient...that is what really got me, anti-foaming agent? SERIOUSLY?!? At that moment, I decided, my kids are not ever eating these again...unless I don't know about it. We haven't been to McDonalds in awhile anyway. They like going to Culvers, while it isn't healthy, at least I know it is more chicken, than McDonalds "chicken". But, here we are...I gave him a healthy snack right before we left, cottage cheese and strawberries. My plan was to offer him some french fries, I know, probably not good, but hey, he has to have something there or this meeting isn't going to work. As soon as we pull up, "I want french fries and chicken, yay", comes out of Tommy's mouth. CRAP! I said, "Tommy, you just had a snack, how about some french fries, you don't need chicken today." At first he looked like he was going to cry. Then he said, "can I have to toy?" They get you with the toy EVERY TIME! McDonalds knows how to market! Lucky for me the toy displayer was empty, so I told him they ran out of toys, and he believed me, he didn't even cry. He asked for apple juice, and I was OK with that, at least he didn't ask for soda. We met with my hostess and her son and all went well. No tears! I was so happy! I don't know if I will get that lucky next time, but my son made some decent decisions yesterday. I was proud of him, and proud of myself for sticking strong to my values and not giving in. Seems how we used to frequent this establishment almost weekly, I felt pretty good about how it went. But, from now on, I need to avoid that place, like the plague.