I bet the burgers are healthier than mac n' cheese. At least there's a little protein in them.

I was surprised to see "healthy" and "mac n' cheese" in the same sentence...

It's low-fat milk in the mac n cheese. Perhaps that's what makes all the difference.

mac n' cheese can be healthy for you...but me thinks the "geniuses" at BK still load them with oils and fats to make them delicious so kids will eat them.

Of course, parents, who probably don't request the nutrition chart, will buy it because they think it's "healthy".

This is Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, you will show some respect! A generation and more has grown up with this staple of cheesy goodness.

Anyone else disrespecting on the Blue Box, I will send them Barenaked Ladies down to educate you on Kraft Dinner. [en.wikipedia.org]

Apple fries with lemon juice? Hate on them.

"Little King" Great, another pedophile!

Sorry, but the masked King... 100% sexual deviant. Always has been, always will be.

@doctor_cos:

But usually those generations don't make it a staple until they're in college.

@doctor_cos: Actually, it's Kraft Cheese and Macaroni. Because as we all know, it's the Cheese that makes the difference.

McDonalds is probably thinking about young children (2 and 3 years old). The ones generally won't touch the hamburger will just end up gobbling down the fries and maybe some of the deep fried chicken nuggets. My daughter affectionately refers to McDonald's as the French Fry Store (and every fast food restaurant) so I doubt the apple fries are getting ordered :)

How do advertising laws come into play here? I'll bet there's at least 40 grams of fat in that meal. Isn't that false advertising to call it "healthy"?!

Hmmm, easy mac, an apple, and milk. Sounds like a grocery list, not a fast food menu. This will fail.

Umm, EWW! Who really likes that stuff? I'm sorry but why would you buy your kids who refuse to eat anything but an over priced box of sodium and nastiness at a burger place?

The apples are ok, though but just give them a real apple, dang it! The skins are where the fiber is. Just be sure to wash them well. ;)

This meal is epic fail!

They are not fooling THIS mom. But I'm sure they will be fooling lots of others. There is nothing healthy about this meal. Maybe the apples, but as battra92 points out, they took away the best part of the apple anyway.

On the rare occasions (like once a year) I have taken my kids to a fast-food restaurant, I let them get the fries and burgers. Since we eat truly healthy food 85% of the time, I don't sweat the occasional lapse.

Why do they have to be apple "fries"? Is it that hard to get kids to eat an apple or is Burger King just trying to round out the menu since they already have the chicken fries? I suspect the latter since they're keeping the ridiculousness going with the introduction of the "Little King". Do they have a royal masked dog by chance? Insanity.

Has anyone been able to actually find the nutrition facts on this? All I found was that it has "less than 350 calories," which means it probably has 349. I'm skeptical over the mac, and the load of sugar that's in that caramel sauce. There's some yummy fat-free caramel dipping sauce in my grocery store, but the reason it's so delish is because of the metric ton of sugar in it.

and how much HFCS?

When did craft macaroni and cheese get to be a health option? It's a 15 cent portion of mac and cheese---I wonder how much they are charging for it?

@meg9: $3.49 for the meal.

The more I look at this "meal" actually, the more I think you are starving your poor kid. 40 calories worth of apple, 400 calories worth of cruddy macaroni and cheese, and a bottle of milk? This wouldn't even fit as a healthy meal for a WIC plan.

It's the Cheesiest!

"The launch will be followed by an in-restaurant merchandising and television ad campaign, with the first commercial airing July 7. That spot will introduce "Little King" meant to be the masked king's young son."

WTF? The Little King has already BEEN intriduced. Months and months ago, when they started pushing the apple fries. There's a commercial where's mom's daughter won't eat the apple, bud dad, the King, comes home with apple fries and she'll eat those. Then the little satan child junior King comes out, kicks dad in the shin, and takes the apple fries.

That video was hilarious!

@Sidecutter: Maybe it was a regional rollout? Like how McDonald's pushed the southern style chicken and sweet tea in the south over a year prior to a national push. Little King and apple fries don't seem like that big of a deal though.

they had the apples for a while at the BK near us - kids loved it - then they took it away... no BK for the kids anymore, we'll go across the street to McD's where they still have apples.

@SkokieGuy: The mac and cheese or the video?

The linked music combined with this video is classic.

Beyond that, there's no way in Hades that little dinky kid's meal is going to satisfy any normal kid. If they're anything like I was, a tiny little cup like that straight isn't enough food. Heck, the normal kids' meal before the health nut craze was barely enough food for me, and most of my friends.

In other news, [before I'm accused of morbid obesity] I've gained a pound or two this summer to put me at a healthy one-hundred and thirty pounds.

Isn't Kraft mac and cheese like all salt and food coloring and preservatives? Healthy! You know you can make this yourself on the stovetop, with real cheddar and milk. You can even add broccoli, and kids will eat it! I agree with the commenter who said if you only take your kids to fast food once or twice a year, let them get the real fries. Otherwise, don't take them, or yourself. It's gross.

@picantel: Why not just buy an apple at the grocery store and cut it up yourself? Are you really going to McDs for the apples?

That was frightening.

To me, what's so strange about this is that the meal seems to have absolutely no relation to the rest of BK's offerings.

Kraft Mac and Cheese? Why would I buy such a small serving for such a large price at BK (of all places) when I can get a whole box for less than the price of the meal? To me, it would make much more sense to offer different side items with the kids meal: a cup of fruit instead of fries, etc. Or even to just make smaller portions of regular items on the menu. That's what most other places do and it makes much more sense to me from a business standpoint than it does to offer something so off-the-wall and unrelated to the rest of the brand.

@teapartys_over: we do... just on those days when the kids want McDs or BK, the choice would always be McDs over BK anyday.

If I had kids, I'd allow them to eat at BK or McDonalds or the like once in a while... definitely more than once a year, probably like a couple times a month... like I do.

and I would definitely let them eat the burger and fries... it's a once-in-a-while treat. Like it is for me.

But I was eating Big Macs at 5 years old. And I turned out OK.

Hey parents; if you're going to do this, keep in mind that a bowl of Easy Mac, a sliced apple, and a cup of milk takes about 2 minutes to prepare at home and costs about a buck. And it's exactly what you're getting here.

Plus, mac and cheese is pretty much empty calories. Replace that with a nice grilled chicken sandwich with low-fat mayo, and you've got the same amount of calories for a meal that gives a good amount of protein. Of course, that'd cost BK more than 50 cents to make, so they won't do it.

@Sidecutter: Clearly you live in a test market. I've seen no such thing, and there have been no apple fries in my BK market.

@HeartBurnKid: And, you know, all kids crave a nice grilled chicken sandwich with low fat mayo.

Instead of "Little King" wouldn't the King's son be the Burger Prince?

Also, I'm sure the kids are going to love their apple slices while they sit next to their parents who will no doubt still be eating fatty fries.

because we all know that Kraft macaroni and cheese is just *SO* much healthier than 4 chicken nuggets, right?

I put apple fries in the same category as candy cigarettes...they're just getting you prepared psychologically for the hard stuff later in life.

Stupid people shouldn't breed.

@thelushie: When I was a kid, I loved chicken any way I could get it. The fact that kids crave all this fatty garbage is down to marketing, pure and simple.

I'd have to agree that 4 ounces of anything isn't enough food, especially since it's supposedly for growing kids.
The apple fries seem like a fun idea, but has anyone actually tried to eat low-fat carmel sauce? Yeccchh!
I would just make a grill-cheeze sandwich, tomato soup and have a 6 oz cup of yogurt for dessert. More real nutrition for a fraction of what they'd charge for empty crap.

@HeartBurnKid: I love chicken, too, and have since childhood. But, for most kids, this sort of meal is what is going to appeal to them. You make an excellent point about the marketing bit. But, then again, it is the parent's job to teach their kids about marketing and the tactics they use. Here is a great resource (not directed at you, but in general): [pbskids.org]

The way I see it is that BK and the like are trying. If a parent doesn't want their kid to have that sort of food, then don't buy it for them. But people can't expect a business, whose sole purpose is to make money, to cave to parents who can't stand up to their children.

@thelushie: They would if it was what they were raised on. It's amazing how fast you'll eat healthy food when the alternative is not eating.

I agree with the few others that eating fast food now and then as a treat is nothing to sweat. It's when going through the McD drive-thru every day for every meal that has gotten so many kids looking like the Hindenburg.

This is asinine. Who the hell goes to Burger King to eat salads, mac & cheese and apples? We go there for burgers and actual french fries, made of potatoes and fried in oil. Nobody wants this shit. Nobody orders it. If I wanted a fucking salad sandwich I'd go to Subway.

Is this really meant to be a promo video? Ew.

The kid in the end in the car has a terrible look on his face as he's forcing the "apple fry" in his mouth. I know he spit it out and screamed the moment they yelled cut. Then the mother scolded the director for "making him eat that healthy stuff he don't like."

@blythedesign: We believe it's footage specifically made to be used by media outlets to run exciting Burger King stories, like this one.

who the f*ck goes to BK for mac & cheese and apples?!

if you want your kids to eat healthy, um, keep on drivin', fatties. drive right home and make them something.

or let them eat a damn kids meal with a burger.

That's like saying, oh man, i'm totally craving some Popeyes/Bojangles' for their fruit salad and cottage cheese.

@me and the sysop: Burgerking.com has complete nutrition info ... but not on this stuff. I guess it's too new.

@OnlyTheBritishFly: Instead of "Little King" wouldn't the King's son be the Burger Prince?

Wasn't King Tut called the Little King or somesuch?