Can I Eat Low Sodium at Dairy Queen
There are a few selections from the Grill Menu that work out, but let’s face it. You are really here to find out the salty truth about the Blizzards and Dilly Bars! Dairy Queen has been a childhood favorite for most of the people I know. Dairy Queen launched in my home state of Minnesota and has expanded globally. Famous for their frozen treats and ice cream cakes (I will have do do a separate post about the cakes, there were too many treats to cover). So, let’s get on with it and find out the answer to: “Can I eat low sodium at Dairy Queen?”
The Grill or Brazier Menu (depending on your local store branding) is heavily laden with fried food options. One really positive step that the Chain has taken is to partner with the Kids Live Well initiative of the National Restaurant Association. The National Restaurant Association’s Kids LiveWell initiative helps parents and children select healthful menu options when dining out – making the healthy choice the easy choice. Participating restaurants commit to offer and promote healthful meal items for children, with a particular focus on increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and low-fat dairy; and limiting unhealthy fats, sugars and sodium. Restaurants like Dairy Queen can put together a meal that qualifies under these guidelines.
Dairy Queen has a kids meal that consists of a Grilled Chicken Wrap, banana, and a bottle of water. It is 770 mg of sodium total. I know each and every one of us has a different number of milligrams of sodium we are limited to, so we must use these guides accordingly. The USDA recommends a healthy person stays within 2300 milligrams of sodium consumed daily. The American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic recommend for heart health, that no more than 1500 milligrams of sodium should be consumed daily. The information used is from the Nutrition Information on the Dairy Queen website posted here.
So here is the list:
Grill/Brazier Menu:
A plain Hamburger is 610 mg. Without the bun it is 400 mg.
The Mushroom & Swiss Burger is 620 mg.
A Corn Dog is 390 mg.
Side Orders:
A regular French Fry has 590 mg.
A Kid’s French Fry has 520 mg.
A bag of Lay’s Original Potato Chips is 250 mg.
A bag of Lay’s BBQ Chips is 230 mg.
A bag of Oven Baked Lay’s is 150 mg.
A side salad with no dressing is only 15 mg.
You could bring your own low sodium dressing, or their Honey Mustard Dressing is 230 mg.
Breakfast:
Pancake Platter is 530 mg.
The 2 eggs option is 340 mg.
Now on to the good stuff…
Desserts:
Blizzards:
The Blizzards come in 4 sizes: Mini, Small, Medium, and Large. You should be within decent sodium points if you stick to the smaller sizes. I will list the ranges of points and let you decide.
Banana Split – 105-300 mg.
Brownie Batter – 190-610 mg.
Brownie Cookie Dough – 220-790 mg.
Butterfinger – 150-400 mg.
Chocolate Xtreme – 190-540 mg.
Cookie Dough – 220-750 mg.
Heath – 180-580 mg.
M & M’s – 125-350 mg.
Oreo – 210-670 mg.
Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Smash – 280-890 mg.
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup – 170-570 mg.
Salted Caramel Truffle – 220-720 mg.
Snicker’s – 150-450 mg.
Strawberry Cheesecake – 150-440 mg.
Turtle Pecan Cluster – 160-500 mg.
Shakes & Malts:
Shakes also come in small medium or large. If you add malt powder, you will add 40, 60, and 80 mg. per size.
Almost all shake flavors hit the 200-500 mg range for all three sizes. The exception is the Peanut Butter shake that is 590 mg for a medium and 830 mg for a large.
Ice Cream Bars:
The Dilly Bars are 80 mg each.
The Peanut Buster Bar ( a favorite of mine) is 220 mg.
Arctic Rush (Formerly Mr. Misty):
These come in small 35 mg, Medium 40 mg, and Large at 55 mg.
MooLattes:
These are all under 300 mg except a large Caramel has 390 mg.
Smoothies:
All of the regular smoothies are under 200 mg. All of the Julius’s are under 150 mg, and the Premium Light Smoothies are all under 50 mg.
Sundaes:
All sundaes are under 300 mg except again for the Peanut Butter ones. The medium is 380 mg and the large is 520 mg.
Specialties:
The Peanut Buster Parfait is 340 mg.
The Banana Split is 150 mg.
The Cookie a la Mode is 380 mg.
The Brownie a la Mode is 280 mg.
The Apple Tart a la Mode is 290 mg.
So what is your favorite DQ treat? Let me know in the comments below!