Eating whole, home cooked, healthy meals is a wonderful idea. Sourcing locally grown produce, grass-fed meats, and cooking them all with love is a beautiful ideal.  My Pinterest boards would have you believing I am nothing short of Ina Garten in the kitchen. I often wear a ruffled apron to protect my pearls and house dress as I prepare our sit-down dinner.

In real life, MOST of us are spending the hours of 4-8pm (or more) driving our kids to practices, music lessons, tutors and are frequently eating a meal on the fly.

My biggest issue with this for AGES has been that I hate fast food.  Yup.  I said it.  Unless I’ve been maybe possibly overserved adult beverages the night before (hash browns, I love you) I avoid fast food at all costs.  My family and friends know this.  My kids HATE this about me.

When McDonald’s approached me to learn more about their positive changes and those yet to come, I admit my skepticism.  Like many of us, I don’t consider any fast food chain as a place to make good food choices.  I am, however, a believer in second chances.

I received information that was really encouraging–removing high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient, commitment to sourcing antibiotic-free chicken, cage-free eggs, iceberg-less salads with four types of greens–this was not the McDonald’s of the past for sure.  But how did it taste?

Enter the Signature Crafted Sandwiches.  Burgers and chicken, fresh toppings, choice of bun.  You choose your combination every time.  Take a look at these combos:

 

 

 

The boys and I ordered different options.  I got the Pico-guacamole burger on the artisan bun, Conman ordered the Maple-Bacon Dijon burger on the traditional sesame seed bun, and Tbone had grilled chicken with the Sweet BBQ and bacon on an artisan bun.

CHECK OUT THIS BURGER

Tons of toppings, spicy Pico/Guac, and an artisan bun.  I dug in and was greeted with a big, juicy bite of a delicious burger and really fresh toppings. Nothing was dry OR soggy.

Here’s the part this veggie lover enjoyed the most–LOADS of toppings!  Like going to your favorite craft-burger restaurant, these babies piled so much delicious STUFF on top that it was hard to keep it all in place.

McDonald’s has made ultimate toppings its goal.  They released a hilarious faux-infomercial last week with a solution for all the “topping dropping” you’d experience with the Signature Crafted burger–the FRORK.  Take a look HERE

The totally useless and completely hilarious FRORK was a special gift from my McDonald’s challenge.  

(But look at the topping dropping!  Seriously, this stacked and delicious burger was tremendous!)

The boys were equally impressed.  Conman, always my reserved responder, said he really enjoyed his and loved the Dijon sauce (I tried it and would use many more positive adjectives, but I’ll stick with his since it was his sandwich.  Tbone was VERY enthusiastic and said he DEFINITELY wants lots more McDonald’s in the future.  McDonald’s will love this.  He is 14, 6’2.5″ and eats ALL DAY LONG.

These sandwiches can be a smarter choice if you’re counting calories, too.  Depending on how you craft yours, you can come in around 400 calories for these bad boys.  In the future, I would even forgo the bun and put my protein and sauces on their salad for a low-carb option (the salads are looking REALLY good). Aside from the great food, our location has done a serious upgrade in decor.  Gone is the ball room and slide, in its place–sleek design and a slight hipster vibe. We sat at a communal high top table, for example. More sophisticated lighting, glass accents, and better lay out feel much more like a restaurant than anything I recall from McDonald’s ever! Coming soon: table delivery for moms of littles–a HUGE service when you’ve got arms full of babies and diaper bags–all to elevate the dining experience.
Ultimately, I prefer cooking a meal at home, but when chaos strikes (as it so often does for busy moms and dads), I am thrilled there is a significantly healthier (and extremely delicious) option on the road.

GIVEAWAYS

Make sure you check Facebook AND Instagram for GIVEAWAYS of FREE signature crafted sandwich MEALS! And get your own FRORK!

 

xo,

Sam