Last updated July 25, 2005

The restaurant industry has a longstanding commitment to promoting healthy lifestyles, which can best be obtained via balance and moderation in diet combined with physical activity. Healthy options have always been available on restaurant menus everywhere. While 76 percent of meals are eaten at home, when individuals do dine out, the nation’s 878,000 restaurants are responding to consumer demand with even more menu options.

As an industry of choice, restaurants offer myriad menu options to satisfy the diverse needs of a diverse population. In addition, 75 percent of consumers customize their meals by asking for alternative preparation methods, off-the-menu orders and substitutions -- requests which virtually all restaurants welcome and encourage.

To cater to increasingly health-conscious diners, restaurants across the country are increasing their efforts to provide what their guests ask for, including developing special menu items for those watching their calorie, carbohydrate and/or fat intake, voluntarily providing nutritional information in brochures and on Web sites, and establishing their own initiatives to assist consumers live a healthy lifestyle. Below is a sampling of those efforts.

Note: Information is collected from restaurant companies and public statements. The National Restaurant Association cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information, nor does a listing connote an Association endorsement or recommendation. Options may vary by restaurant location. Visit each company’s Web site for complete information.

Applebee's International, Inc.™
Teamed up with Weight Watchers, International™ in May 2004 to launch line of menu items, including appetizers, entrees and desserts, for health-conscious guests (read more on company Web site). Item descriptions include the number of calories, plus fat and fiber grams. Also offers healthy options on its children's menu.

ARAMARK
ARAMARK serves meals to more than 15 million customers daily, and company research has shown that half of those customers are interested in healthy meal offerings. To meet those needs, ARAMARK introduced its innovative Just4U® healthy-menu program at hospitals, businesses and universities across the United States. Based on the company's DiningStyles® research that explores adult dining habits, Just4U makes it easy for customers to find healthier menu items through menu identifiers and point-of-sale nutritional information. Customer feedback at every location helps to create a customized mix of traditional and Just4U menu items -- all designed to appeal to the taste profiles of today's consumers. Just4U nutritional information is available at point-of-service locations. Some locations also provide nutritional information for other menu items as well. Both the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association provided guidance in the development of the Just4U program. Each of these groups has favorably reviewed the program and approved the use of their logos on all Just4U printed materials. In addition, ARAMARK has a long-standing commitment to provide nutritious meals for America's schoolchildren. Menu development is conducted with an eye toward student-tested healthier meals, often exceeding U.S. Department of Agriculture requirements for healthy school breakfasts and lunches. Nutrition awareness programs include live shows, videos and informational materials that showcase Spike®, ARAMARK's own nutrition mascot for grades K-5; the new middle school and high school brands 12 Spot and U.B.U. Lounge feature healthy menu items; and the new Celebrity Lunch Lady campaign relies on famous entertainment and sports personalities recognized by middle and high school students to underscore the messages of health and nutrition.

Au Bon Pain
• Offers patrons a wide variety of healthy options at its cafes, including fruit; vegetables; soy milk; enriched drinks; granola; oatmeal; salad dressings enhanced with vitamin E, omega 3 or low-fat yogurt; and low-fat and reduced sodium vegetarian soups.
• Au Bon Pain's Web site offers nutrition information for all menu items, plus a Healthy Choices section to help customers sort products by various criteria.
• Provides nutrition kiosks in its cafes, where consumers can access nutrition information before ordering. And under a pilot program launched in 2005, some suburban locations offer children's nutrition kiosks to teach the values of proper diet.

Chili's
See listing for all Brinker International restaurants.

Auntie Anne's
Auntie Anne's offers Smart Bites low-carbohydrate menu items, and bakes six pretzels with 5 grams of fat or less: Whole Wheat, Original, Jalapeño, Sour Cream & Onion, Garlic, and Glazin' Raisin®. Auntie Anne's Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzels stores also can choose to carry a milk beverage product for their younger consumers. Nutrition guides are available at Auntie Anne’s Hand-Rolled Soft Pretzel locations. Guests also can access a partial nutrition chart on the Auntie Anne's Web site, where a PDF file of the complete nutrition chart can be downloaded. A general nutrition e-mail address is available for additional assistance.

BLIMPIE
BLIMPIE's menu appeals to a variety of palates and nutrition needs. In addition to panini-grilled sandwiches, BLIMPIE restaurants feature Gardenburger® vegetarian patties, low-carb bread and premium and freshly sliced Dietz & Watson meats. The company provides nutrition information for all menu items on its Web site and in-store posters.

Bob Evans Restaurants
Bob Evans Restaurants currently feature a Low-Carb and Lighter Fare section on its menu, which guides customers to smart choices among existing Bob Evans menu items and offers tips for adjusting menu items to fit specific dietary needs. Two of the most popular items on the Low-Carb and Lighter Fare menu are two carb-conscious menu items -- the Protein Lover's Breakfast and the Protein Lover's Plus Breakfast, both with only 2 grams of carbohydrates. In addition, Bob Evans posts nutrition information for all menu items on its Web site. Also, consumers can see nutritional information in Bob Evans Restaurants upon request.

Brinker International
In January 2004, Brinker International formed its Nutrition Advisory Council -- consisting of recognized authorities in health and wellness, culinary arts and food science -- that lends guidance to ongoing culinary development and nutrition strategy. Brinker also has hired a full-time registered dietician to consult with concept culinary teams, and food-and-beverage purchasing teams. Currently, Brinker is developing new menu initiatives at Chili's Grill & Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill and On the Border. In addition, Brinker concepts now use a trans fat-free cooking oil in all restaurants. All concepts prepare their food to order and can accommodate requests for substitutions on almost any menu item.

• Chili'shas introduced two new Guiltless Grill menu selections, accompanied by an updated menu design displaying six key nutritional values, including fiber amounts, for each Guiltless Grill meal choice. Additionally, the new menu offers a variety of side items -- such as steamed broccoli; sautéed mushrooms, onions and bell peppers; and fresh veggies -- that can be substituted with any entree. Chili's recently added its new Pepper Pals kids menu, which features a variety of nutritious options in an easy, three-step ordering process. On this menu, children get to customize their meals by picking an entree (such as a grilled chicken sandwich or Pepper Pals Pasta), side item (including mashed potatoes, cinnamon apples or steamed broccoli) and beverage (such as milk, juice or lemonade). Young diners also receive an activity book with coloring activities, games and crosswords focused on fitness and nutrition.
• Romano's Macaroni Grill restaurants offer guests lower-carbohydrate side-dish substitutes, whole wheat pasta, and new Sensible Fare entrees with reduced fat, carbohydrate and calorie content. In addition, the restaurants encourage guests to customize menu options to fit individual dietary preference and needs. Romano's Macaroni Grill's kids menus features 10 entrees (including grilled chicken and broccoli, and spaghetti with red or meat sauce) that come with a choice of fresh fruit or ice cream for dessert.
• On the Border: On the Border restaurants recently introduced a new children's menu that includes grilled chicken entrees and an expanded choice of side items. Adult diners may substitute low-carbohydrate sides for traditional rice and beans. Additional lower-fat and lower-calorie entrees continually are being explored.

Buca di Beppo
Buca di Beppo currently offers its Watching Your Carbs? program that highlights 16 dishes that have 8 net grams or less of carbohydrates per serving. Available at all Buca di Beppo restaurants upon request, the Watching Your Carbs? menu includes Chicken With Lemon, Shrimp Parmigiana, Italian Sausage, Baked Manicotti and Latini Meat Platter.

Guests also can order several healthy alternative items, such as Tuscan Beans and Escarole, Roasted Vegetables, and Green Beans With Olive Oil and Lemon. Newly introduced to the menu is Warm Tomato and Spinach Salad With Balsamic Dressing and Goat Cheese.

Keeping up with current dining trends, the new Buca Small menu offers the opportunity to enjoy smaller portions of favorite items at lower prices.

In addition, Buca Inc. teamed up with Con Agra Foods and the ADA to develop a national Food-Safety Labeling Program. All items a guest takes home as leftovers or picks up as Buca ToGo have a custom-designed food-safety label with a place to record the date the food was purchased. Several tips for safe food handling also are included. Buca di Beppo’s Web site provides additional food-safety handling information.

Burger King
Burger King has an interactive Nutrition Guide available on the company's Web site. The guide allows diners to access nutritional information, ingredients and allergens on each menu item, to build their own meals, and to calculate nutritional content of customized items. Guests also can look at nutrition exchanges, print nutrition handouts and check out "Eating Strategies" for carbohydrates, fat, and/or calories.

Burger King also has a new easy-to-follow nutrition information poster in its stores. Symbols on the poster guide customers on fat-, carbohydrate- and calorie-conscious diets to customize meals. In addition to the poster, a nutrition brochure, available at restaurants, highlights this same nutrition information and offers "Eating Strategies" that feature low-carb, low-fat and low-calorie items. Both the poster and the brochure contain nutrition breakdown, ingredients and allergen information of all Burger King core menu items.

Burger King has a low-carbohydrate version of its signature Whopper hamburger that omits the bun. The low-carb Whoppers also can be ordered as part of a value meal with a side salad and diet soda. Additional low-carbohydrate menu items are the Angus Steak Burger, and the Angus Bacon and Cheese Burger without the bun. Low-calorie items include the BK Veggie burger without mayo, Fire Grilled Salads, side salad and honey mustard dressing.

During the fall of 2004, Burger King started offering additional nutritious options in its kids meals, including a side of applesauce instead of french fries, milk and apple juice. In addition, the restaurant is sponsoring 207 schools nationwide to participate in the President's Challenge, the physical activity and fitness awards program of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

CKE Restaurants, Inc.
CKE Restaurants, Inc., provides nutritional information online for its Carl’s Jr. (www.carlsjr.com) and Hardee’s (www.hardees.com) restaurants. For new products and limited-time offers, nutritional information is available upon request and is frequently made public in the media. Carl’s Jr. also provides in-store nutritional information via posters.

• Carl’s Jr.
offers consumers several healthy options, ranging from charbroiled chicken sandwiches and a garden salad to Low Carb Breakfast Bowl, Low Carb Chicken Club Sandwich and Low Carb Six Dollar Burger.
• Hardee’s
also offers healthy menu items, including the third-pound Low Carb Thickburger, charbroiled chicken sandwiches and Low Carb Breakfast Bowl.

Cousins Subs
Cousins Subs recently introduced two new salads—Chicken Sedona Salad and Oriental Sesame Chicken Salad—as additions to its salad line. The sub shop also offers a “Better Bunch” program that features seven sub sandwiches without mayonnaise, cheese or salt that have 7 grams of fat or less. Nutritional information for Cousins Subs menu items is available online.

Dairy Queen
Dairy Queen offers consumers a variety of no-fat and no-sugar-added novelty bars, including DQ Fudge bar, DQ Vanilla Orange bar, DQ Raspberry bar and DQ Vanilla/Fudge bar, which has no fat and only 60 calories. Dairy Queen’s soft-serve ice cream contains only 5 percent butterfat. The restaurant menu includes garden salads with low-fat dressings, grilled chicken salads and a low-fat grilled chicken sandwich (without mayonnaise). Customers also can substitute a side salad for french fries. This July, Dairy Queen will be launching milk as a drink replacement for a children’s meal and applesauce for a fry replacement. Dairy Queen continually tests other healthy options as well.

Nutritional brochures and posters are available at every Dairy Queen location, and nutritional information can be found on the company’s Web site. Nutritional information, which includes trans-fatty acids, is updated for new products on a quarterly basis.

Darden Restaurants
Darden Restaurants provide patrons with selections that allow them to “eat as light as they wish or be as indulgent as they wish.”

• Red Lobster’s (www.redlobster.com) LightHouse menu features items low in fat, calories and carbs, and its kids menu has lighter alternatives, such as grilled fish and chicken, snow crab legs and steamed vegetables.
• Olive Garden has offered its lower-calorie Garden Fare menu since 1986. That menu now includes a lower-carb whole-wheat pasta alternative.
• Bahama Breeze and Smokey Bones Barbeque & Grill offer chicken and seafood salads.
• Seasons 52, the company’s test fresh grill and wine bar, serves only offerings that are less than 475 calories and nutritionally balanced.

Denny's
During the mid-1990s, Denny’s introduced its low-fat Fit Fare menu selections and has since added more items. Each item has less than 15 grams of fat. The restaurant also offers healthy alternatives, such as fat-free salad dressing, reduced-calorie syrup, low-cholesterol egg substitute, and fruit and cottage cheese, in many of its dishes. Denny’s also offers nine Carb-Watch options and provides carbohydrate, calorie, fat and fiber information for those selections. Nutritional information for Denny’s menu items can be found on the restaurant’s Web site.

During the summer of 2004, Denny’s introduced its new D-Zone kids’ menu and program. The menu includes nutritious options, including fruit and fresh vegetables, and new games and activities designed for children under age 10. D-Zone also highlights the importance of quality family time shared during a meal.

Domino's Pizza
Domino’s Pizza provides a nutritional brochure in a PDF format on its Web site. Additionally, the pizza chain offers nutritional brochures through its customer-care center; consumers also can request a copy to be sent via the U.S. Post Office. The nutritional information covers all side items, all feast pizzas and eight of the most requested pizza combinations.

Don Pablo's
Don Pablo’s has a low-carbohydrate fajita line, along with a low-carbohydrate margarita. The fajita features lettuce instead of a tortilla for wrapping, and the drink is sweetened with fruit-juice and artificial sweetener. Nutritional information for Don Pablo’s menu items can be accessed on its Web site. In addition, each restaurant has a copy of the nutritional guide to answer guest inquiries.

El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco provides fresh, hormone-free chicken marinated in herbs, spices and fruit juices, and then cooked over an open grill. This technique contributes a deep flavor without adding fat and calories. Individual and family meals are served with warm tortillas, fresh salsas and a wide variety of sides that include fresh steamed vegetables, pinto beans, salads and rice. El Pollo Loco also serves a variety of fresh, healthy Mexican entrees, including its signature Pollo Bowl and Monterrey Pollo Salad. El Pollo Loco offers an interactive nutrition calculator on its Web site, which invites users to customize menu selections and adjust ingredients according to dietary intake and lifestyle.

El Pollo Loco partners with Healthy Dining, a team of nutritional professionals committed to helping people identify healthy menu selections at their favorite restaurants. Focusing on Southern California counties, Healthy Dining publishes county-specific restaurant guides that provide nutritional information for each featured menu item. El Pollo Loco features numerous items that meet the nutritional guidelines recommended by leading health organizations. Also, El Pollo Loco participates in community events throughout the year aimed at helping consumers dine out healthfully.

In October 2004, El Pollo Loco announced an alliance with Lindora, California’s number-one medical weight-control program, to provide Lean for Life Certified meal choices. El Pollo Loco is the first restaurant chain to receive Lindora's Lean for Life Certified stamp of approval, which guides the public in making healthy food choices. Certification, which cannot be purchased by restaurants, is awarded only after careful nutritional analysis. Items bearing the Lindora Lean for Life Certified healthy heart logo are low-calorie, low-fat, moderate-protein choices in accordance with guidelines set forth by the Lindora Medical Advisory Council.

Figaro's Italian Pizza
Later this year, Figaro’s Italian Pizza will be offering nutritional information on its Web site.

Golden Corral
In May 2005, Golden Corral launched a healthy dining national platform that showcases the buffet chain’s nutritional values. As part of this initiative, Golden Corral will label close to half of its buffet items with the food’s fat grams, calories and carbohydrate information. No-sugar-added desserts also will be identified. Additionally, the same items will have their “point value” available on the Weight Watchers Web site, and the items will appear in a Weight Watchers book scheduled for release in January 2006. Complete nutritional information for all Golden Corral menu items is available online.

Hops Grillhouse & Brewery
Hops Grillhouse & Brewery provides nutritional information on its Web site. In addition, each restaurant has a copy of the nutritional guide to answer guest inquiries.

Jack in the Box
Jack in the Box provides nutritional information on all menu items online, as well as offering nutritional information brochures, available upon request, in all its restaurants. Also on its Web site is an interactive nutrition calculator called “Build Your Meal” that provides guests with the ability to evaluate nutritional information and to customize their menu favorites. For children, Jack in the Box serves a 4-ounce serving of Mott’s Applesauce and the choice of 2 percent milk with its Kid’s Meal®.

In addition to nutritional information offered in restaurants and on its company Web site, Jack in the Box serves a variety of menu items to fit guests’ tastes and appetites. In 2003, the company introduced the Jack’s Ultimate Salads® line. The salad line, which includes Asian Chicken, Southwest Chicken, Chicken Club and Chicken Caesar, all feature a mix of greens topped with chicken and vegetables. Additional toppings—nuts, croutons and dressings, such as low-fat balsamic and light ranch—are served on the side. Jack in the Box also has a side salad.

In 2004, Jack in the Box introduced the Southwest Chicken Pita. Stuffed with fajita-style chicken, black beans and roasted corn, the pita has only 260 calories and 4.5 grams of fat. That same year, the company began offering guests the option to customize their favorite burgers and chicken sandwiches by choosing reduced-fat herb mayonnaise over regular sauce. Guests also can order a “bunless” low-carb option featuring a burger or chicken patty served in a container with a knife and fork.

Landry’s Restaurants
To accommodate customer desires for healthy alternatives, any of Landry’s Restaurants are more than happy to honor any requests for dishes not present on the menus. The following restaurants are in the Landry’s Restaurants family: Aquarium, Babin's Seafood House, Big Fish, Brenner's Steakhouse, Cadillac Bar, Charley's Crab, Chart House, Chuck and Harold's, Crab House, Fish Tales, Fisherman's Wharf, Gandy Dancer, Grand Concourse, Grotto, Joe's Crab Shack, La Griglia, Landry's Seafood House, Peohe's, Pesce, Rainforest Cafe, River Crab, Rusty Duck, Saltgrass Steak House, Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse, and Willie G's Seafood and Steak House.

Legal Sea Foods
Legal Sea Foods has eliminated trans fat from its menu items, switching to a trans fat-free vegetable oil. Legal Sea Foods promotes healthy eating for kids by serving a fruit and vegetable with every entree and by offering several kid-friendly seafood choices, such as crunchy baked cod and a half lobster. The seafood restaurant also offers a Wheat and Gluten Sensitive Menu.

Max & Erma's
Max & Erma’s offers low-carb selections and “no guilt” items that are lower in fat and calories. Nutritional information is available for these items. In addition, the restaurant’s Web site provides smart eating tips for diners. Suggestions include ordering salads without cheese and croutons, and baked potatoes with salsa instead of butter and sour cream.

McDonald's
As a global leader, McDonald’s has a long-standing commitment to be responsive to customers’ needs. As part of this commitment, the company is helping its customers understand the importance of leading a balanced, active lifestyle. McDonald’s worldwide Balanced, Active Lifestyles initiative is comprised of three priorities: offering menu choice, promoting physical activity, and providing education programs and information to consumers worldwide. The goal of this outreach is to empower individuals to make informed choices about how to maintain the essential balance in their daily lives.

In March 2005, McDonald’s unveiled its new initiative to help customers understand the importance of energy balance through a new public awareness campaign–“ it’s what i eat and what i do … i’m lovin’ it.” This new education program further extends McDonald’s commitment to inspire and motivate people to live balanced, active lives and captures the message that people should pay attention to energy in—the foods they eat—and energy out—their level of activity or exercise.

McDonald’s has enlisted the help of worldwide Olympians past and present, Olympic hopefuls in training and Olympic moms to be ambassadors for the balanced, active lifestyles message. Rolling out soon, McDonald’s team of athletes, hopefuls and mothers will present a “Finding Your Balance” quiz to provide a global “pulse check” of the overall knowledge about energy balance. The quiz, developed in conjunction with health professionals and physical activity experts, features basic questions about nutrition and physical activity and appears on McDonald’s refreshed GoActive!™ Web site, www.GoActive.com.

In March 2003, McDonald’s added three entree-sized Premium Salads to the menu. Each salad is topped with a grilled or crispy chicken breast paired with Newman’s Own® all-natural salad dressings. Each Premium Salad provides two servings of vegetables. During the spring of 2005, the company will launch a new Premium Salad—Fruit & Walnut—that will provide 2.5 servings of the recommended daily fruit and vegetable servings.

In May 2004, McDonald’s introduced the Go Active! Happy Meal for adults, which contained a Stepometer™, a Step with It!™ booklet developed by noted exercise physiologist, personal trainer to Oprah Winfrey and best-selling author Bob Greene, a McDonald’s Premium Salad and bottled water or a soft drink.

McDonald’s also offers a Chicken McGrill sandwich, Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfaits, 100 percent orange juice, 1 percent low-fat white and chocolate milk. and, at many restaurants, soup. Customers may special-order menu items to help meet their nutrition needs. In November 2003, McDonald’s introduced new Chicken McNuggets made with white meat, reducing both the fat and calories of the product.

In June 2004, McDonald's introduced new menu choices for Happy Meals that include 1 percent low-fat white and chocolate milk, 100 percent pure apple juice and Apple Dippers (sliced apples served with an optional low-fat caramel dip). Each package of Apple Dippers contains one serving of the recommended daily intake of fruit.

McDonald’s USA continues to partner with Greene to bring his expertise about health and fitness to a range of educational materials available in McDonald’s U.S. restaurants. In 2005, Greene and McDonald’s will continue to work in partnership to provide motivational resources and programming as part of Go Active! American Challenge II. Since February 2005, while supplies last, McDonald’s customers can receive a coupon for a 60 percent discount on Greene’s new book, Bob Greene’s Total Body Makeover.

McDonald’s inspires children to be more active with a unique program called “Get Moving with Ronald McDonald.” Since 2003, more than 1 million children in the United States have seen this show at McDonald’s restaurants and in other community venues. Ronald McDonald gets children up and moving in a fun and playful way to teach exercise and fitness facts.

McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Game celebrated its 27th year in March 2005. This premier high school basketball classic recognizes exceptional student athletes around the country for accomplishments both on and off the basketball court. In 2004, 2,500 top male and female high school basketball players were nominated and 48 final team members selected. The program raises funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities.

The goal of the McDonald's USA Food & Nutrition Web site is to help educate consumers about the nutrition content of McDonald’s menu items and plan menu choices that fit their needs. Site features include “Bag a McMeal,” which lets customers get nutrition facts on a meal of their choice; “Customize a Menu Item,” which allows customers to recalculate the nutrition information of menu items based on personal changes they specify, such as leaving off mayonnaise; printable nutrition tip sheets that cover topics such as how to cut calories, fat and carbohydrates at McDonald’s, as well as meal choices for people who are vegetarians or have diabetes; McDonald’s meal suggestions; Happy Meal nutrition values; health topics; and frequently asked questions about nutrition.

McDonald’s also offers a variety of nutrition materials in its restaurants. These include McDonald’s & You brochures (wallet cards that show nutrient breakdowns and food exchanges), menu information for people with food allergies and sensitivities, and nutrition fact sheets on topics such as how to cut calories, carbohydrates or fat at McDonald’s and choices for people with diabetes. In 2004, McDonald’s introduced trayliners that feature nutrition information for McDonald’s menu items, as well as quick tips for achieving balanced, active lifestyles.

In partnership with health and fitness experts, McDonald’s introduced Happy Meal packaging in 2004 that offers children fun information and activities on nutrition and physical activity under the banner of “it’s what i eat and what i do.”

Originally introduced and embraced by nutritionists in 1992, “What's On Your Plate®,” featuring host Willie Munchright, teaches elementary schoolchildren throughout the United States about the importance of physical activity and making smart food choices in school and at home. The program, which includes vignettes, leader guides and activity books, has been updated to reflect current knowledge in the nutrition community and to address the relevant needs of today’s children. McDonald’s offers this curriculum to schools free of charge.

Papa John's
On its Web site, Papa John’s provides nutritional information on its standard and promotional pizzas, along with a telephone number consumers can call for more dietary data on specific pizzas. Papa John’s offers chicken and vegetable toppings and light cheese as healthy options.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro
In conjunction with its sponsorship of the P.F. Chang’s Rock N Roll Arizona Marathon and Half Marathon, P.F. Chang’s created the Training Table Menu for guests who are in training for the marathon or who participate in other physical activities. An elite group of athletes helped to develop the menu, which highlights 14 entrees high in protein and carbohydrates that are ideal for fitness training. The Training Table Menu lists nutritional information next to each dish and is available in all restaurant locations for both lunch and dinner.

P.F. Chang’s also provides nutritional information (calories, protein, carbohydrates, total fat and saturated fat) for all dishes on the company’s Web site. A printed version of the information also is available in each restaurant.

Popeye’s
Popeyes, an AFC Enterprises, Inc., restaurant, is currently testing Naked Chicken—a zero-carb, skinless, bone-in alternative to fried chicken.

Rock Bottom Restaurants
Rock Bottom Restaurants recently revamped its children’s menu to delete unhealthy items and to add grilled items and vegetable options. In addition, the restaurant also promotes a salad option for children. Currently, consumers can access partial nutritional information on Rock Bottom menu items on its Web site. Soon, Rock Bottom intends to expand the information about menu items and nutrition.

Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill (SM)
Since its more than a decade ago, Rubio’s® HealthMex® menu—afull line of salads, and low-calorie, low-fat menu items—offers guests items with 20 percent or less of its calories from fat. Today, Rubio’s HealthMex menu includes a variety of distinctive items that are lower in fat, including the HealthMex Chicken Salad, made with its own signature, fat-free Serrano Grape dressing; HealthMex burritos and tacos, made with chargrilled all-white-meat chicken; and a HealthMex Veggie Burrito, made with freshly grilled vegetables. Introduced in 2004, the popular Low Carb Chicken Salad features only 7 net carbs.

Nutritional information for these items is available on the company’s Web site, which also educates guests on the variety of healthy options available on the menu. Visitors can download nutritional information and use the new online nutritional calculator to determine the total nutritional value of their meal. Rubio’s promotes its HealthMex menu online with a link to its line of HealthMex products that have less than 20 percent of calories from fat.

Ryan's Restaurant Group, Inc.
Ryan's Grill Buffet & Bakery and Fire Mountain restaurants promote low-carb items and sugar-free/no-sugar-added items on its all-you-can-eat Mega Bar®. Low-carb selections are tagged with the number of carbohydrate grams. The menus include a variety of grilled or baked meat, chicken and fish items daily, in addition to cooked vegetables, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, low-fat cottage cheese and low-fat sour cream. Dessert selections have a variety of sugar-free or no-sugar-added options, which are promoted within the restaurant, including a low-fat frozen yogurt and a fat-free, no-sugar-added frozen yogurt. At both restaurants, food to-go is priced by the pound. Ryan’s Grill Buffet & Bakery has a Sensible Choices™ section of its menu board that indicates lean meat selections.

Children have a wide variety of nutritious options at Ryan's and Fire Mountain, including caffeine-free or sugar-free beverages and milk. Macaroni and cheese, corn, and cantaloupe are among favorite selections for kids.

Nutritional information is available on Ryan’s Restaurant Group Web site, and guests also can e-mail specific questions about allergies and gluten-free diets. Also online is a section devoted to gluten-free items on the buffets. In addition, customers can request printed nutritional information at any Ryan’s or Fire Mountain restaurant. Ryan’s is listed in the Dining Out Companion, a Weight Watchers book that features Weight Watchers-friendly restaurants.

Sizzler
Sizzler offers guests a fresh salad bar in the middle of every restaurant with more than 90 items. For years, the buffet-style restaurant has given guests a choice of side dishes, including steamed broccoli. Last year, Sizzler developed several Low-Carb Grill options, which highlight the steamed broccoli side dish option paired with a grilled protein. Low-Carb Grill options include Hibachi Chicken, Steak and Grilled Shrimp Skewers, and Grilled Salmon.

Sizzler’s number-one selling children’s menu item is its salad bar, and the restaurant continues to look at other healthy offerings for kids. All kids' meals at Sizzler come with fresh fruit. Healthy Dining recently completed an entire analysis of Sizzler's core menu, and the restaurant’s nutrition information is displayed on its Web site.

Sodexho USA

• School Services
  In Spring 2003, Sodexho USA announced a series of healthy lifestyle initiatives aimed at school-age children. Programs include School Stars, an initiative that teaches elementary schoolchildren skills for healthy living, and Performance Zone, a similar program for middle and high school students that not only focuses on healthy living but also encompasses the mental and physical characteristics that teenagers face. The programs are part of Sodexho’s longtime commitment to nutrition and healthy lifestyles in schools, which also includes nutritious menu items and software for foodservice directors to create menus with nutritious items.
  
  
• Campus Services
  Balance, Mind Body and Soul is a holistic approach to wellness that introduces college-aged students to not only eating healthy but learning more about how to maintain overall mental and physical physique. The cornerstone of the program is a Web site that allows visitors access to a registered dietitian, as well as nutrition information for all 6,000-plus recipes in Sodexho USA’s database. Freshmen students receive welcome kits to assist them in navigating their new dining halls, and brochures and informational packets are located at many dining facilities.
  
  
• Corporate Services
  Your Health, Your Way (SM) is Sodexho USA’s innovative wellness program developed by leading professional dietitians and executive chefs. It combines sensible nutrition guidelines with top quality ingredients and healthful cooking methods to deliver a collection of satisfying menu offerings. Your Health, Your Way meals can be customized to fit most any dietary lifestyle and share three main essential characteristics: all taste great, all are power- packed with essential nutrients, and all meet the guidelines of less than 30 percent of calories from fat, no more than 3 grams of saturated fat, less than 100 mg of cholesterol, less than 1000 mg of sodium, less than 600 calories and at least 3 grams of fiber.
  
  
• Healthcare
  Create Your Weight is an outpatient program that uses cutting-edge technology to help people make healthier choices at mealtime and to manage their weight more effectively. It addresses issues surrounding obesity by educating and guiding patients through a nine-week program that provides tools and training for effective weight management. One tool uses a handheld breath-test device to measure a patient’s metabolic rate, thus determining an accurate individualized assessment of caloric requirements for their diet within 10 minutes. The second tool provides immediate, on-demand feedback using wellness software and dietitian interaction via the Internet. Both tools allow the patient and the Sodexho USA dietitian to monitor and maintain the patient’s progress.

Sonic Drive-In
During the spring and summer of 2004, Sonic Drive-In introduced new menu items for consumers watching their calorie intake, including salads and beverages. Nutritional information is available on its Web site.

SUBWAY
The SUBWAY restaurant chain launched its new F.R.E.S.H. Steps childhood obesity prevention initiative in 2004, a multi-layered national campaign to raise awareness and to educate communities on the need to prevent and treat childhood obesity. The SUBWAYy F.R.E.S.H. Steps initiative empowers kids and adults to Feel Responsible, Energized, Satisfied and Happy by seeking healthy choices in their food intake and overall lifestyle. Information about F.R.E.S.H. Steps can be found under the Guide to Healthier Living on the company’s Web site. The chain also expanded its relationship with the American Heart Association (AHA), as the first sponsor of their Jump Rope for Heart program. SUBWAY is already a national sponsor of the AHA’s American Heart Walks and company weight-loss hero Jared Fogle serves as chairman at many of the walks. The restaurant’s Web site for children (www.subwaykids.com) includes educational games and health information for kids. The chain also provides nutritional information for its customers in its restaurants and on its Web site. For several years, SUBWAY has offered consumers a range of healthy menu options. The restaurant’s “7 Under 6” menu features seven sub-sandwiches with 6 grams of fat or less, and all items on the menu are customizable to fit each consumer’s dietary needs. Options include turning any sandwich into a salad or a wrap. In January 2005, those options were expanded with the introduction of new speed ovens, which can toast any sandwich.

Taco John's
In 2004, Taco John’s extensively tested a low-carb product called Taco in a Bag, which will possibly be re-tested in 2005 and introduced broadly in 2006. In May and June 2005, Taco John’s will promote its line of salads. The restaurant offers consumers a nutrition brochure in all its stores, which it plans on updating in 2005. In addition, nutritional information is posted on its Web site, which the company keeps up-to-date as new products are introduced, or other ingredient or menu changes are made.

T.G.I. Friday's
Forming a partnership with Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., T.G.I. Fridays introduced new Atkins®-approved, low-carb menu items in December 2003 to cater to consumers who are limiting their carbohydrate intake. The menu lists the net carb information for the Atkins-approved dishes. Periodically, the restaurant debuts new items, which include appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts. Some are completely new creations, while others are slightly altered signature dishes. T.G.I. Friday’s recently added a few items low in fat and calories to its menu. Also in 2005, T.G.I. Friday’s launched new menu options for children, which include a macaroni-and-cheese dish that has only 240 calories and 7 fat grams.

Wendy’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers
Wendy’s continues to offer a variety of menu options for customers who are watching their calorie and/or fat intake, including a selection of entree salads with reduced fat or fat-free dressings, and grilled sandwiches. For consumers looking for other nutritious menu options, Wendy’s also offers a Fresh Fruit Cup and Fresh Fruit Bowl, with fresh cantaloupe, honeydew melon, pineapple chunks and red seedless grapes. The entree-sized fruit bowl comes with a low-fat, strawberry-flavored yogurt for dipping.

In December 2004, Wendy’s introduced a Combo Choices menu whereby customers can substitute, at no additional charge, either a baked potato, small chili or one of two side salads for french fries when ordering a combo meal.

Also in 2004, the company gave a choice between a mandarin orange cup or french fries when purchasing a Kids’ Meal. In addition, 2 percent reduced-fat white milk or 1 percent low-fat chocolate milk can be substituted for a soft drink at no additional charge. Both the milk and the mandarin oranges can be purchased a la carte.

Wendy’s has provided nutritional information since the 1970s, and now offers nutrition brochures in Wendy’s restaurants nationwide and on the company’s Web site. A Spanish version of the Web site (www.wendysenespanol.com) also provides nutritional information. The site also includes a “Build a Meal” section, where customers can create their own Wendy’s meal—from sandwiches with favorite toppings to side dishes and beverages—and determine the nutrition information.

During the summer of 2004, Wendy’s entered into a nutrition education initiative with the American Dietetic Association. In addition to the nutrition information it already provides, the restaurant will give healthy eating tips on the back of trayliners and encourage consumers to consult a registered dietitian to learn how to make smart food choices.

Whataburger
Whataburger offers nutritional information on its Web site.

White Castle
White Castle provides complete nutritional information on its Web site. In addition, nutrition brochures are available upon request in restaurants and via White Castle’s toll-free phone number.

Yum! Brands, Inc
Yum! Brands believes consumers should lead a balanced lifestyle; Yum! provides educational information, tools and product choices to help them accomplish that. With input from Chief Nutrition and Regulatory Officer, Marilyn Schorin, PhD, RD, the company has created Keep It Balanced (www.keepitbalanced.com) posters for its restaurants that offer consumers practical health, nutrition and fitness tips. The company offers nutritional information for all its brands via guides and interactive calculators for customized meals. In addition to nutritional brochures available in stores, consumers can download a printable version by visiting any of the company's Web sites. The Web sites also feature easy-to-use meal calculators to look up menu nutritional information instantly.

• KFC allows customers to create a variety of relevant meals from its menu. For example, removing the skin and breading on KFC's Original Recipe® chicken breast lowers its fat grams to three. Homestyle sides, such as corn on the cob (3 fat grams), mashed potatoes and gravy (4 fat grams), green beans (1.5 fat grams) or barbecue beans (1 fat gram), also have low fat grams. Customers also can select the Tender Roast® Sandwich without the sauce (5 fat grams), a marinated white-meat filet slow-roasted and topped with fresh lettuce and tomato served on a signature split-top bun or the Tender Roast® Meal (where available) with a side of long-grain rice and Southern-style green beans.
• Pizza Hut® offers a new Fit ‘N Delicious™ menu, making it the first national pizza company to offer choices to those tracking carbs or watching fat grams. The Fit 'N Delicious menu offers Carb Tracker™ pizza, Lower Fat Pizza and Fresh Express® salads. The Carb Tracker™ pizza is a 6-inch individually-sized pizza specially formulated to give customers between 22 grams and 26 grams of net carbs. Carb Tracker pizza is available in Pepperoni; Meat Lover’s®; Pepperoni and Mushroom. With half the amount of cheese, more original sauce, and select lean meats and vegetable toppings, the Lower Fat Pizza has 25 percent less fat than the regular-recipe Thin ‘N Crispy® pizzas. Lower Fat Pizzas come in medium and large sizes. Customers can choose from three set recipes or create their own by selecting either chicken or ham, and choosing two or three vegetables from green peppers, red onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, pineapples or jalapenos. Fresh Express® salads can provide families with a quick, easy solution for a more balanced meal. The pre-packaged salads are available for carryout or delivery (where available), serve a family of four, and include romaine and iceberg lettuce, cabbage and carrots with Ranch dressing (regular and fat-free). For additional nutritional information on these products, customers can obtain a copy of the nutritional brochure in the restaurants or go to the Pizza Hut Web site.
• Taco Bell® offers its Fresco Style alternative on nearly all menu items for diners looking to cut fat and calories. When ordered Fresco Style, cheese and sauce ingredients are replaced with daily prepared fresh Fiesta Salsa, a zesty yet mild mix of chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro, which contains only 5 calories and zero fat grams.