Say hello to the shining stars on restaurant menus—fruits and vegetables. These darlings of the tree, vine and field have actually been around since Adam and Eve, though you may never have seen them in a restaurant, unless you carried a magnifying glass with you. Their flavor is noticeable in candy, drinks, dressings and sauces now and then, but until recently, non-fried versions have not been easily spotted when dining out.
But alas, it has become PC for chains to care about health, nutrition and obesity. Plus, they are staring pending nutrition labeling laws in the face. Shriek! What’s a solution to this? Oh yes. Fruits and vegetables.
Apples in Happy Meals, anyone? I wonder how long mothers dreamed this would happen. Their dreams are coming true. But let’s give some credit to Burger King, which has already had fry-shaped apples on the menu. Good for them for making the fruit more pleasant to look at by making it appear like the most popular thing on quick-serve menus.
Here is some other menu encouragement:
- The Cheesecake Factory recently announced its new SkinnyLicious menu with nearly 50 lower-calorie items. For example, according to the company, “The Small Plates & Appetizers and fresh-baked Flatbreads categories feature dishes all under 490 calories, while the entrée Salads and main courses are all served with 590 calories or less.” The chain hasn’t said it, but fruits and vegetables are the best way to lower calorie counts beyond cutting portion sizes.
- BJ's Restaurants recently introduced a line of "Enlightened Entrees," each with less than 575 calories, priced $6.95-$10.95. Check out the entrees on its website. They couldn’t do it without fruits and vegetables.
- This summer, Wendy’s boldly launched Berry Almond Chicken Salad using fresh berries. This is something big for a quick-serve restaurant, because chains easily turn to fruit-flavored syrup and make the dish sound “seasonally refreshing” in marketing messages without the benefit of the actual fresh fruit.
- In the upscale-restaurant world, bars are discovering a love of mocktails, non-alcoholic drinks made with fruits and vegetables. Whodathunk?
Restaurants often start food trends. Maybe more consumers will eat fruits and vegetables out and think how crazy they are to pay the price when they could easily have that at home.
Tell me what you think.
Jody
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