Disaster in the Drive-Thru

I tweeted just yesterday about a drive-thru catastrophe that I narrowly avoided. I confess that I have been known to cruise through the Golden Arches to pick up one of those hotly debated "Happy Meals" that make many of my nutrition colleagues cringe (... and I agree. I loathe them, and yet my son who's 4 going on 40 can talk me into it. Shame on me.) Anyway, I digress... While that mistake is history and cannot be undone, I almost topped it by choosing what I thought might be a nice, cool treat on an otherwise steamy Georgia afternoon:

duh, duh, duh.... *drum roll please* ...

The McDonald's Mocha Frappe

I thought, coffee, ice, blended... how bad could it be?

I'll tell you how bad: 560 calories bad!

Here's where timing is everything. I checked the calories via my trusty G1 phone (thank you technology!) AFTER I'd ordered. By the time it was in my hands, it was not allowed to pass very much over my mouth (I confess I did take a couple of sips just to see what this behemoth of a beverage could taste like. Bottomline: Coffee Milk Shake, super sweet... not even close to the frozen coffee concotion I had hoped for.)

I applaud McDonald's for their aim in trying, at least at face value, to jazz up their menu. But c'mon, McD's... At 25% of the average consumer's daily calories needs, this is definitely not a step in the right direction.

Cut the sugar, switch to skim milk and ditch the whipped cream... then, we'll talk.

And in case you're wondering how YOUR favorite frozen bevs stack up, check out this very timely article via HealthCastle.com complete with tips on making a better choice no matter what drive-thru you find yourself sitting in.

As for me, the trip to Starbucks is on the same drive home from my son's school as the Golden Arches. I think for now, I'll be sticking with my good ole standby: a tall Non-fat, Non-whip, Mocha Frappucinno Light. At 100 calories, it's a no brainer for me. How about you...?