McDonald's Premium Grilled Chicken Clubhouse Sandwich

I received a Klout perk to try out the new McDonald's Premium Grilled Chicken Clubhouse Sandwich so upon receiving my gift card I hopped onto the McDonald's website and did a little nutrition fact researching. I was actually quite surprised to find the grilled chicken version being lower in calories (or for the WW folks - points) than some of the recent sandwich releases from McDonald's.  Yesterday, my dinner didn't turn out to be the greatest so I was left with not very many options ... so I decided to go to McDonald's and give this sandwich a whirl.

 

The sandwich is a combination of grilled chicken, thick cut apple wood smoked bacon, "special sauce" (Big Mac secret sauce), caramelized grilled onions, white cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato all served on a grilled artisan roll.  For those who aren't necessarily a fan of grilled chicken sandwiches this also available in a crispy chicken and beef hamburger version. As per the normal routine at McDonald's, this is one of their new sandwich launches which helps keep the menu interesting and new.

 

The Grilled Chicken Clubhouse Sandwich itself i actually quite delicious. The flavors go together well ... and that means, even with the special sauce on a grilled chicken sandwich. At first I was a little wary because I typically relate special sauce to a Big Mac/hamburger. Overall, it gives the sandwich a nice little zip. I would suggest getting the sandwich the way it's made and since I'm a bacon fan ... I'd say don't skip on the bacon. If you wanted to save 50 calories/1 points plus, get rid of the cheese. But the bacon, caramelized onions, special sauce and chicken itself are the game changers on this sandwich. It just really makes it a delicious sandwich.

 

It's delicious ... but it's messy. Then again, that's why we have such a thing called napkins and wet wipes. So roll up your sleeves (if you have any) and dig in. Don't be afraid to get your hands a little messy ... because it's inevitable.

 

Also ... just a little tip for the smartphone users ... McDonald's has an app you can download. Once you sign up and create an account there are special deals that are available to McDonald's customers. Most importantly on your first use, there's a free large sandwich (which is currently the Clubhouse sandwich) deal where the sandwich is free with any purchase. The deals will be removed from your phone once used ... and you typically have 2 minutes to show your phone to the order taker before your mobile coupon becomes invalid.

 

The grilled chicken sandwich as is is 590 calories or 15 points plus values. BUT if you want to have it without cheese it's 540 calories or 14 points plus. OR if you'd rather have it without bacon it's 490 calories or 13 points plus. OR if you're being really good and having it without cheese and bacon it's 440 calories or 11 points plus values.

 

If you wonder what the calories/points are for the original Bacon Clubhouse sandwich is it's 720 calories or 19 points plus values. Whereas the Crispy Chicken Clubhouse Sandwich is 750 calories or 20 points plus values. If you'd like the calculations for these without toppings check out the McDonald's website.

McDonald’s Vanilla Cone

Every once in a while I’m in the mood for soft serve ice cream. I’ve found over time that McDonald’s has one of the best vanilla cones! During the summer time, I bypass the ridiculously long lines at Dairy Queen and go straight to Mickey D’s!

Unlike other ice cream stands, the cones at McDonald’s are one standard size. There’s no temptation in getting a small/medium/large cone for a few cents more.  The cones are filled with McDonald’s classic reduced fat vanilla ice cream, which is your standard state of the art soft serve ice cream. I find the frozen treat to be filling, delightful and when others are having ice cream I’m not the one standing to the side saying “no thanks.”

One of the greatest parts is the ice cream cones are $1 and sometimes during the summer (at least in my area) they’re 2 for $1.  The only downside is they’re only available in vanilla … no swirl or chocolate available (except during the summer McDonald’s is known to offer a chocolate dip cone).

Each cone is 170 calories or 5 points plus values.

McDonald’s Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken

While running a bunch of errands I was away from the house initially a lot longer than I anticipated. When my stomach started grumbling I realized it was well past lunch-time and I needed to eat something before a case of hangry set in. So pulling into McDonald’s parking lot, I parked my car and pulled up my Weight Watchers app on my phone. To avoid just ordering whatever sounded tasty on the menu I looked thru the menu on my phone for something that was point comfortable and ultimately decided on the McDonald’s Premium Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken.

The salad itself is served as McDonald’s salads typically are – mixed greens and shaved carrots. It’s presented alongside fire-roasted corn, black beans, roasted tomatoes and poblano peppers, cheddar and jack cheese, chile-lime tortilla chips, and grilled chicken all alongside a fresh lime wedge. The salad is a pretty decent size, is pretty to look at due to the vibrant colors and is mighty tasty and filling. The salad has a little bit of spice to it, but there’s nothing overwhelming or uncomfortable about it.

The salad typically is served with Newman’s Own Southwest Dressing but I find that to be a little spicier than I prefer my dressing to be … so I opted to go with the Newman’s Own Low Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette. Drizzling about ¼ of the package over my salad, I found it to be more than enough.

The salad with grilled chicken is 290 calories or 7 points plus values. With my choice of dressing my whole meal was 8 points plus values. Quite worth it for lunch out on the go!

McDonald’s Holiday Pie

McDonald’s makes one of the best apple pies which has been a staple on their menu for as long as I can remember.  A number of years ago McDonald’s started offering limited edition pies depending on the season. I know that they had offered a S’Mores pie (which is gross), a pumpkin pie (which is fabulous), and Strawberry & Cream pie (which is alright, but nothing to write home about). But I had never known that they had offered a McDonald’s Holiday Pie up until a few weeks ago.

On the way home from running a few errands, I swung through McDonald’s and decided to pick up a holiday pie to give it a try. Incase you’re not familiar; the holiday pie is a vanilla custard pie which is held inside a flaky, crusty and then topped with a bit of sugar and rainbow sprinkles.  The pies are served warm as is the case in all McDonald’s dessert pies. It’s a holiday party in a little handheld pie … and upon the first bite it brings that party to your mouth.

It reminded me of a Boston Cream donut without the chocolate atop of it. If you go into it with an open mind, not expecting to taste an apple pie, it’s truly delicious.  Secondly, if you enjoy custard in any way, I think you’d find this to be a slam dunk.  My mother tried it and since she truly only likes the apple pie and typically is a fan of flan or coconut custard pie, she wasn’t a fan. But regardless … this was a slam dunk for me.

A pie is 270 calories or 7 points plus values.

QUESTION:

What is your favorite pie at McDonald’s?

McDonald’s Southwest Grilled Chicken Premium McWrap

I was awarded a Klout perk to try the new McDonald’s Southwest Grilled Chicken Premium McWrap. I was interested in trying it because I’ve tried the Sweet Chili Grilled Chicken McWrap and found I quite enjoyed that one. I figured with “southwest” in the title, it was going to be spicy.

The McWraps come in both grilled and crispy (fried). I always opt for the grilled version because I just find that to be more satisfying. The grilled sandwich itself is described as “Grilled chicken breast with cilantro lime glaze, crunchy tortilla strips, fresh spring greens, sliced tomato, shredded cheddar jack cheese, and a spicy, creamy habanero ranch sauce — wrapped up in a soft, warm flour tortilla.” Upon ordering my McWrap I opted to order it without cheese and tortilla strips because it was just a personal preference.

Bringing my sandwich home I unwrapped it and was anticipating it to be a little spicy … after all McDonald’s slogan on their nutrition page for the sandwich says “add a little spice to your day.” Now, I’m not a wimp when it comes to spice – I can pretty much handle my own.  I took one bite and it was okay, but rather plain because the sauce wasn’t on that part. I took another bite and whoooooo-weeee! It was spicy. I took another bite and my mouth was on fire.  After taking a fourth bite my nose was running, my mouth was in a blaze (I felt like I could breathe fire), and I was just overall uncomfortable. McDonald’s calls this sandwich spicy? This sandwich takes that statement to a WHOLE new level. In fact this should come with a warning because this is not for the faint of heart … nor is it for those who, like me, enjoy a pretty moderate level of spice in their food.  It was too spicy to be enjoyable, let alone palatable.

One day while out with my mother she mentioned something about the new McWrap.  She’s not a spice lover, so I told her to not even bother. I actually told her, I feel this sandwich could be fed to people on Fear Factor – except those folks would have to eat 5+ of these before their head blew off their shoulders from all the internal “steam”.

The grilled southwest McWrap as is without any substitutions is 520 calories or 14 points plus values.

The grilled southwest McWrap as I ordered it without cheese and tortilla strips is 430 calories or 11 points plus values.

If you wanted to order it without cheese but with the tortilla strips it would be 470 calories or 12 points plus values.

I can’t say I’d ever order this again … in fact, I’ll stay as far away from it as I can.

QUESTION:

Have you given the new Southwest McWrap a shot? If so, how’d it fare on your taste buds?

McDonald's Baked Pumpkin Pie

McDonald`s makes hands down the best fast food pies - at least in my opinion. I do enjoy them, but I do not have them often – maybe once or twice a year. I’m a fan of their apple pie, and I am also “guilty” of occasionally sampling some of their seasonal pies. There have been some flops, but the McDonald’s Baked Pumpkin Pie is definitely a win-win for me.

I was surprised with how yummy their pumpkin pie is! It had real pumpkin filling in it and it wasn’t very sweet.  All around it was delicious. The pumpkin pie tasted like you took a slice of pumpkin pie, wrapped it in McDonald’s signature pie crust and served it up luke warm.  I find these little pies to be handy especially since it’s not always easy to find single servings of pumpkin pie in the market. Having one of these gives the flavor of pumpkin pie, but without having a whole pie sitting in your house.  A yummy treat without any added temptation.

Calorie wise a pie is 240 calories which is equal to 6 points plus.

QUESTION:
Have you tried the McDonald`s pumpkin pie?

McDonald’s Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie

I received a Klout Perk containing a $5 McDonald’s Arch Card (gift card) to try out the new McDonald’s Blueberry Pomegranate Smoothie.  I have tried a few variations of McDonald’s smoothies since they’ve been introduced to the menu and I have found they’re pretty tasty and one of the better “on the go” smoothies to purchase in comparison to other items out there (like milkshakes, juices, etc).

The smoothie, as expected, was quite delicious.  I’ve tried a few different smoothies at McDonald’s and have yet to find one that I didn’t think was tasty.  I’m a big smoothie fan. I make them at home, granted, for a lot less points, but when out and about for convenience I occasionally splurge, especially if it’s something I want.  The smoothie is moderately thick and it does thin out as the ice in it begins to melt.  Flavor wise it was definitely blueberry pomegranate – both flavors being equally prominent in the beverage. The blueberry was a bit more noticeable, but either way it was tasty.  Not too sweet, not to tart it was just a perfect blend of the two fruits.  Refreshing and delicious.

I purchased a large smoothie which would have cost me 9 points plus values if I drank the entire thing – but I decided to split it with my boyfriend.  Half of the large ended up being 4 points plus values.  It was actually a lot cheaper (as it is with most fast food places) to buy the large size and since we were going to share it, it was worthwhile.

QUESTION:

Have you tried any smoothies from McDonald’s?

McDonald’s Sweet Chili Grilled Chicken Premium McWrap

I received a Klout perk to try out the new Premium McWrap’s which are available at McDonald’s.  Before being invited into the perk I had heard about the McWrap’s because they had pretty decent Weight Watchers Points Plus values associated with them (the grilled variety at least).  Granted, when making things at home you can make them for less (points) but I admit when going out to eat sometimes finding point friendly foods can be a pain in the keester.

Prior to the McWrap’s I used to order the grilled chicken sandwich, without mayo.  It’s nice to know there is now a new option, which is a lot tastier in my opinion that I can now choose from.

According to McDonald’s the Sweet Chili Chicken wrap is: The unique mix of juicy, grilled chicken breast filet, crisp cucumber slices, spring greens, shredded lettuce, all drizzled with sweet chili and creamy garlic sauce, wrapped in a warm flour tortilla.

The fact that there are actual VEGETABLES in a McDonald’s food item purely excites me!  Between the vegetables, the grilled chicken and the delicious blend of sauce (Sweet chili with a creamy garlic sauce – which reminds me of ranch) is just a straight up homerun.  The sandwich was delicious (granted it took me 2 trips to actually GET the correct sandwich – originally they assumed my grilled request meant crispy).  The grilled variety, as is, without substitutions is 9 points plus and PURE deliciousness.  It’s actually quite massive and VERY filling for something you’d get at McDonald’s.

There are 2 other varieties available – both of which come in grilled or crispy (fried) varieties.  The other two flavor choices are a Premium McWrap Chicken & Bacon and a Premium McWrap Chicken & Ranch.  I have not tried either of these varieties but I typically wouldn’t order either of those anyway because I’m more of a sweet chili fan on chicken sandwiches.

Nonetheless – great new addition, McDonald’s!  And bravo for it being relatively health conscious!

QUESTION:

Have you tried any of the new McDonald’s Premium McWraps?  If so, which one is your favorite?