Paid post with BritMums and McDonald’s
I’m a flexitarian, or rather a failed vegetarian. It means I actively reduce my meat intake and the family’s. By me eating less meat, my husband eats a bit less, and my children are happy to eat vegetarian when it suits. I’m talking vegetarian nuggets and vegetarian mince in Bolognese. Every little helps. I do it for partly health reasons, animal welfare and for environmental reasons. I think our love of meat has such an impact on the environment.
I was asked to take part in a campaign with BritMums and McDonald’s, to try the new veggie Happy Meal, which we were only too happy to do. We all love McDonald’s anyway. My youngest sees the golden arches and says, “chips!” They have added to the Happy Meal range: You can now get a veggie wrap meal alongside the regular favourites. It is made with red peppers, yellow split peas, nut-free pesto, rice, and tomatoes in a crispy crumb. You also get crispy shredded lettuce in a soft tortilla wrap. It’s freshly made to order, so the quality is good.
When we go to our local McDonald’s, we always like to head straight upstairs to get a seat, then one of us heads to the screens to place our order. I like to take my time with my order and get the kids involved. We were all pretty excited to accept the challenge.
We went for the veggie wrap with the carrot sticks and a bottle of water, as chosen by William, age 9. He is into running, health and fitness so it’s perfect for him. Unfortunately, at the time we went (1.45pm) they had run out of the carrot sticks and the pineapple sticks, although they did offer us an alternative. Since I last went, they have updated their table service. It used to be that you chose an area of seating and then they came and found you, but now you take a number in the form of a table sign and input it into the screen. I think it saves time and the crew can find you easily. I love not having to talk to people and not having to queue up. They have large steps with tablets for the kids to play at, it’s a whole experience for them. Plus, free wi-fi for me…
Our meal didn’t take long to arrive and the service was excellent. Everything was as we ordered, freshly made and hot. The kids dug in with gusto, and the veggie wrap was pronounced a hit. I had a little taste in the name of research, and I found the tortilla wrap was super soft and tasty, the veggie element was crispy and had some substance to it. William said it was filling, warm and tasted better than he expected! The toy you get at the moment was Pokémon, they got a dinosaur looking one with jaws that move.
There’s also another addition to the vegetarian menu, the spicy veggie wrap, which is a grown up version of the kid’s one. It just shows that restaurants are listening to the people more and offering more options. Would you try the veggie wrap Happy Meal? I’m genuinely interested to hear your answers, perhaps you are a vegetarian family but haven’t previously tried McDonald’s, would this change your mind?
