With at least one lawsuit pending and some municipalities trying to ban Happy Meals and other fast food kids’ meals that offer some sort of prize or gift, McDonald’s has announced that it wants to healthy-up your kids’ food by making some menu tweaks, like automatically including apple slices in Happy Meals.

Starting in September, Happy Meals will no longer have the option of fries or apple slices. All Happy Meals will come with at least a half-serving (quarter cup) of sliced apples and a half-serving of fries (1.1 ounces). Kids have the option of going fry-less and getting a full serving of apples.

The company admits that, while nearly 9 out 10 customers currently know about the apple option in Happy Meals, only around 11% have actually been opting for the fruit over the fries.

McDonald’s says it is looking into adding additional fruit/vegetable options for Happy Meals that it will roll out in the coming years.

In addition to the mandatory apples, McDonald’s will soon be offering healthier beverages for kids, like fat-free chocolate milk and 1% low fat white milk.

A rep for the Golden Arches tells the AP that these menu changes are “absolutely not” related to looming regulations that would limit fast food marketing to kids.

Earlier this month, a group of 19 fast food restaurants, including Burger King, vowed to offer healthier kids’ meal menus.

McDonald’s® Announces Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices [AboutMcDonalds.com]

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