Review: McDonald's Fiesta Salad

When I got in my car at 11:30, I was on my way to Boston Market for their classic rotisserie salad. I was even looking forward to it, though the nearest Boston Market is about 10 miles away. But then, right about the time I approached the McDonald's, a McDonald's commercial came on the radio. I took this as a sign from God that I should try that new Fiesta Salad.

And lo, it was good. I was a little concerned about the meat, since we are talking McDonald's here...would it be seasoned well? As it turns out, it was pretty tasty. No less taco-ey tasting than, say, Taco Bell meat. The tortilla strips were sufficiently crunchy, the salsa not overly mushy, the lettuce looked fresh and varied, lettuce was more plentiful than the cheese, and the long wide strips of carrot made them easy to pick out and throw away (not a big fan of the carrots).

Overall, the salad was no better or worse than the average taco salad that you would get anywhere else, but at least the nutritional values on this one are good--With the salsa and sour cream, it weighs in at 450 calories (10 points). The fat content (27g) is a little high for people who care about such things, but I am not one of those people (at least not until it gets to 50g or more, and/or is swimming in grease). I also don't like sour cream, so my salad was less 5g of fat, and my calories were reduced to 390 (9 points). Considering that the Boston Market salad I was planning is 11.5 points with dressing (and half the provided dressing at that), I actually made a better points choice by going to McDonalds. Not necessarily a better nutrition choice, but again--as long as it's not heart-stoppingly unhealthy, I'm not too concerned. Also, since I got the happy meal, it came with a toy! Excuse me, "stepometer". I got a red one. :)

Overall, 2 thumbs up.

Ya know what? I think the Fiesta salad in Canada is different than yours. Mine had no cheese, and very few tortilla strips and we don't get the pedometer here(that was the main reason I tried it too)!

I have to say though, that salsa instead of the litre of dressing is much appreciated!