Actually, there is a healthy choice at DQ- The grilled chicken salad isn't bad at all. Just watch your dressing. Gives me something to eat when the rest of the family wants to eat there. And if you are talking just calories, the small cone might look like a bargain, but nutritionally it has very little to offer. - 8/28/2012   8:28:34 AM

When I see articles like this, I think, "Who cares???" They both look disgusting and are obviously unhealthy. - 8/28/2012   8:26:56 AM

Well, I got it wrong!! However I did know that neither is good for me. Tracking calories especially fast food and restaurant food has taught me a lot. My husband thinks I spend way too much time researching calories online but at least if I do go out I am aware of what I'm going to eat. The last time I was at PC Chang's I couldn't let myself get the Great Wall of Chocolate. I really do love it. But at 1800 calories, that is about 300 more calories than I am allowed in a whole day! I can't bring myself to go to Red Lobster because of the calories. If I know in advance I am going to eat out I plan accordingly all day. I wish I could say I look for "healthy" choices but truthfully if I'm going to spend the time getting dressed, going out, and spending money I'm going to eat what I want. I think the people who can eat light when out are to be commended and I wish I could. I would rather stay at home. - 8/27/2012   1:35:57 AM

Thankfully I was never a deep frying fan. I was just not the way my mom cooked. Porbably my only serious weakness is fish and chips with good cod. But, I think I have had deep fried food once in over a month. I am trying to figure out how to bake my few deep fried favorites. It is a work im progress. - 8/26/2012   11:56:06 PM

wow! thanks for the info- preparation is important - 8/26/2012   10:20:21 PM

I don't eat junk food. - 8/26/2012   9:46:40 PM

There is no way a bacon cheeseburger could ever be a winner in my book. - 8/26/2012   9:20:57 PM

Blah, blah, blah. Another challenge chock full of things I would never eat anyhow. I agree with the comments above. Can we have more challenges with healthier foods? Like which fruits have the most vitamins or something? - 8/26/2012   8:42:59 PM

Why not have a food showdown using healthier foods. This article is a waste of my reading time.

DQ also has a grilled chicken sandwich for under 400 calories and about 10 grams of fat. Why not use that for a showdown?

It's not the chicken that has become unhealthy in the chicken strip basket. It's what's been done to the chicken and what's served with the chicken. - 8/26/2012   3:21:12 PM

If you go to the Dairy Queen website and look at their nutrition guide, you will find much healthier and lower calorie choices than the two used in the showdown. If SP really wanted to help Sparkers find good alternatives there, they would highlight those foods - the grilled chicken salad is a good choice, as is the grilled chicken wrap, or even the chilli dog. And you would still be lower in calorie than the choices gave in the article if you added a Fudge or Orange Vanilla bar to the choices I just mentioned. - 8/26/2012   10:46:07 AM

Since I seldom eat at DQ, when I DO go there I enjoy the Blizzard. It isn't a daily thing so I "treat" myself. We had a DQ in Coulterville and one in Sparta when I was growing up in the 50's and my father would take me and my brother there to get a cone when we were in town, so I always remember the good times about it. He liked the Hot Fudge Sundae. And my father always made us laugh. - 8/26/2012   9:41:12 AM

I rarely eat fast food and now I know why I feel so awful when I do!
#1 - It's not real food (think pink slime chicken and burgers)
#2 - There is loads of fat in it and flooding your body with that much fat stresses ALL of your organs including (but not limited to) your gallbladder, liver, stomach and heart.
#3 - There's enough sodium in this food to cause quite a bit of water retention or water weight gain.
#4 - Not much nutrition, if any at all.

In other words 4 fabulous reasons to pass up fast food for real food. - 8/26/2012   7:37:51 AM

Wow, I love DQ's cheese burgers with bacon :( And their poutines!
This article certainly makes me rethink about eating there as regular as we do.
Thanks for sharing this article. - 8/26/2012   7:30:20 AM

Good to know. Thanks - 8/26/2012   7:12:14 AM

Why a double burger. the single and a cone is a great treat once in awhile. also can have the chicken salad without the extra cheese, etc. I enjoy eating dq once in awhile. Since I am struggling now I tend to be more understanding than some of those who post here. they must have powerful wills. - 8/26/2012   6:59:40 AM

no bk for me - 8/26/2012   6:34:40 AM

I have to agree with BUBBLEJ on this one. Sure we shouldn't eat this stuff every day - that's what got alot of us in the shape we were in but I also am not about to totally restrict myself and say NEVER will eat this or that again. If i feel like it I will eat certain things then cut other things out the rest of the day. I once lost 90 pounds and I had one cheat day a week where I would let myself eat most anything I wanted - in moderation - by the time that day came I didn't feel like over eating anyway. Anyone that says NEVER is destined to fail or be miserable, take your pick. - 8/26/2012   12:48:27 AM

I think some people need to look outside the square. Just because YOU wouldn't dream of eating it and YOU think that it shouldn't be on spark doesn't mean that you're entirely correct. The purpose of spark is teaching people how to live in the real world, and for a lot of people fast food is part of that real world. If it isn't part of yours then you are a better person than I. Congrats, I guess. There may come a day when everyone wants to go to DQ and a sparker gets dragged along. They now know that the chicken is not the healthy choice it appears to be, and will order a burger and a diet coke instead. In this instance the article has helped someone!

I eat fast food. I'm an imperfect person and I'm OK with that. These articles help me to make better choices when I am in a fast food eating situation. Heck, I think this article is relevant and we don't even have a DQ in New Zealand! - 8/25/2012   11:33:37 PM

It always strikes me as odd that SP does comparisons of foods that nobody in their right mind should even consider eating. Just reading the descriptions here makes my stomach turn! - 8/25/2012   10:01:37 PM

I never eat at DQ, for this reason. There ARE no healthy options there. They have nothing that could even be considered a "lighter" option... it's all fat-soaked and deep-fried.

No thanks. I'll get Arby's instead, if I just HAVE to have fast food. - 8/25/2012   8:13:22 PM

It actually sounds very unappealing on all fronts, since I haven't had that stuff in quite awhile. If I ate it now I would probably feel ill. - 8/25/2012   5:57:10 PM

The chicken strip dinner was always my favorite at DQ....not now - 8/25/2012   4:16:21 PM

Thanks for providing a comparison to help me be only moderately wicked on those times when I decide to go crazy. I don't do DQ often, so temptation can get out of hand when I do. - 8/25/2012   3:57:43 PM

Neither sounds appealing. I never eat at DQ. Not the most helpful article. - 8/25/2012   3:33:56 PM

the best part of DQ is the soft serve ice cream and better is it is swirl!!!!! - 8/25/2012   12:04:21 PM

Not blaming the industry for providing options and neither am I afraid to eat a fat-base food once and again. Loved the Tasty Burgers DQ used to sell when I was a child. I would, however, rather have the chicken this time because it sounds good. If I were dieting, counting calories, I beleive I would arrange the balance of my week's meals to allow for this one chicken and gravy meal. - 8/25/2012   11:41:58 AM

Thankfully, NEITHER of the food options appeals to me. If I was going to indulge in a high calorie & fat meal, I'd much rather spend "invest" in a nice meal at the local martini bar. :-)

I have a coworker who keeps trying to talk a DQ Blizzard. Sure, a healthy lifestyle might include the *occasional* Blizzard now and then, but while I'm working on reducing it's best if I just stay away. - 8/25/2012   11:31:41 AM

It's best to learn to reward ourselves at home. Menus are deceiving - sometimes the very item you choose because you think it is the healthy choice has loads of hidden calories. - 8/25/2012   11:05:02 AM

Leave it to the fast food industry to create yet another unhealthy choice. Perhaps as a side note they should claim, "feeds a family of four for the whole day!" - For shame! - 8/25/2012   10:57:25 AM