Restaurants have always been hubs for indulgence, but nationwide, they’re also feeling the pressure to offer healthier options for adults and children.
As Business Report details in a feature from the 2017 Trends in Health Care special issue, the National Restaurant Association says natural ingredients, clean foods and legitimately healthy kids’ menus are among the hottest trends this year, sparking a growing number of restaurants to ponder how to capture health-conscious diners while also staying true to their brands.
Rather than go in alone, some establishments—including slightly more than two dozen in East Baton Rouge Parish—are opting to earn seals-of-approval by third parties that signal a commitment to health and wellness, and point consumers to menu items that include less saturated fat, sodium and sugar.
In early March, the Louisiana Restaurant Association and the Department of Health’s Well-Ahead Louisiana program announced a partnership to encourage restaurants to become “WellSpots,” a designation earned by offering a certain number of healthy options on menus, going smoke free and having staff trained to offer healthy menu options, among other benchmarks.
Also involved in the project is Ochsner Health System’s nonprofit Eat Fit program, which is connecting its registered dietitians with restaurants interested in analyzing and improving the nutritional content of menu items. The service is offered at no charge to participating restaurants, says Ochsner Eat Fit founder and registered dietitian Molly Kimball.
Both programs are slowly gaining traction in the state. So far, about 70 restaurants statewide have become designated WellSpots, including about 25 in East Baton Rouge Parish. Mestizo Louisiana Mexican Restaurant is one of them.
“I really want to build a footprint in clean-eating,” says Mestizo chef and owner Jim Urdiales. “I’m going to use this extensively to build traction with new customers and continue to make adjustments to menu items that can be made healthier.”
Urdiales spent the last few years adding nutrient-dense and vegetable-centric menu options to appeal to diners wary of the cheese-laden dishes that define most Mexican eateries. He believes that including a solid list of healthy dishes is an effective way to stand out in a crowded field. He is also working with Eat Fit to obtain a nutritional analysis of about a dozen of his menu items, which he’ll be able to share with customers later this year.
Read the full feature, and check out other stories included in the 2017 Trends in Health Care issue. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
