More and more fast food joints are now selling kid's meals. They features fares that are popular to the little ones, served in smaller portions and usually, there's a toy of some sort included... the hook that draws the kids in. To woe the parents (or to make them less guilty, I suppose) some restos offer healthier side dishes to improve the meals' nutritional quality. But do they, really? A team of researchers - a nutritionist, an economist and a pediatrician- investigated. The verdict? Based on their assessment of the quality of kids' meals in Houston, the fourth largest U.S. city, only 3 percent of kids' meals served at fast-food restaurants met federal dietary guidelines.

The small percentage of meals that did meet dietary guidelines included fruit as a side dish and milk, and nearly all were deli-sandwich meals. They also had about one-third the fat, one-sixth the added sugars, twice the iron and three times the amount of vitamin A and calcium as did meals not meeting the criteria.

The choice of main entree by itself didn't influence the nutrient content of typical meals studied, the group found, but side choices did. Raisins appeared to be the most nutritious fruit side, due to their high iron content.

Nowadays, it's getting more and more difficult to avoid fast food. If you can prepare your kids' meals yourself, well and good. But for many others, their busy lifestyle puts convenience to the fore. But, with a little bit more conscious effort, fast food can be an acceptable option. They also recommend sparing use of dipping sauces and other condiments to help to keep sodium, added sugars and fat low.