Get Out puts 3 fast food alternatives to the test
By CRYSTAL PETROCELLI
GET OUT

Has Ronald McDonald gone granola?

Not quite. But the clown has been hobnobbing with — gasp! — a nutritionist and he’s pushing fruit instead of fries as part of Mickey D’s new healthy living campaign.

The burger giant says it’s hoping to give females a “buzz” off its new fruit-and-walnut salad and make them swoon “aaahhhhhh” with each
bite.

A little lewd, but I gave it a whirl anyway along with two other fast-food fruit offerings to find out who gives the best drive-through buzz.

CHICK-FIL-A’S LARGE FRUIT CUP

More like a small fruit bowl, this was the weakest of the three salads. Bite-size pieces of red and green apples, not-so-golden pineapple, a few shoddy sections of orange and four seedless red grapes were tossed together and pulled from a not-cold-enough fridge. The floppy orange bit I tried was so yuck, I had to bury it in a napkin. A couple of pungent pineapple parts (half were pale and tasteless) penetrated the apples, creating little flavor difference between the two. It was mostly inedible, but then again, it's the healthiest by far.
Price with tax: $3.08
Nutrition: 100 calories, 0 fat grams, 26 carbohydrate grams, 20 sugar grams
Weight: 6.5 ounces
Verdict: Stick to chicken

MCDONALD’S FRUIT AND WALNUT SALAD

This salad was served cold and was almost entirely delicious, save for three mushy, seedless red grapes. The eight thin wedges of crunchy green apple, five slim slices of red apple and 11 seedless red grapes was more fruit than I could handle for breakfast, but it would make a great light lunch. Sampled solo, the small cup of low-fat vanilla yogurt was reminiscent of cake frosting, but it mellowed the tang of the apples nicely. My favorite part was the -ounce bag of candied walnuts. Sure, the nuts add 12 grams of fat and 140 calories to what started out as an über-healthy meal. But who cares? Nothing can stop the power of the salt-and-sugar sensation.
Price with tax: $3.76
Nutrition: 310 calories, 13 fat grams, 44 carbohydrate grams, 32 sugar grams
Weight: 9.3 ounces
Verdict: Add a second pack of nuts and Ronald may get that “aaahhhhhh” he’s hoping for.

WENDY’S FRUIT BOWL

The prettiest bowl of the bunch — and also the most expensive — my clear container was divided into four sections: Eight pieces of pineapple, 10 chunks of cantaloupe, 18 seedless red grapes and nine honeydew melon squares. The center slot held a small cup of low-fat strawberry yogurt, and the whole ensemble was set on a bed of romaine lettuce. It looked a lot snazzier than it tasted. There was a mere four soft grapes, but the entire lot of green melon was white and blah. The rest of the fruit was average to above-average quality, but why the giant bed of greens? They should serve this thing with a side of ranch, or eliminate the lettuce and put in heartier honeydew.
Price with tax: $4.51
Nutrition:220 calories, 1 fat gram, 50 carbohydrate grams, 34 sugar grams
Weight: 13.5 ounces
Verdict: It’s a fruit salad, people. Fruit.