BRADENTON
It looked like a sumptuous feast -- Maryland crab cakes, marinated chicken breast in mango salsa and Jamaican jerk pork with pineapple chutney and rice.
But diners sampled and knew they weren’t blowing their diets. The 33 menu items from 11 local restaurants were all heart healthy -- lower in sodium, fat and calories.
Thursday evening was the kick-off event for the Healthy Choices Restaurant Program, a collaborative effort by Blake Medical Center, restaurant owners and chefs and Manatee County Health Department. Held in the South Florida Museum courtyard, invited guests tasted menu offerings that boasted fewer than 650 calories, 700 milligrams of sodium and 20 grams of fat.
The effort is designed to offer healthy options for local diners and improve the county’s overweight and obesity rates that have soared to 54.7 percent.
“We are helping improve the overall health of the community,” said Dan Friedrich, president and chief executive officer of Blake Medical Center. “At Blake, we are not just about acute care. We are into preventative care and people’s diets have a lot to do with their health.”
Dieticians from Blake worked with local restaurants in identifying healthy menu items and either tweaking current items or offering other healthier recipes.
Nineteen local restaurants are currently involved and more will be approached to get involved, said Megan Jourdan with the Manatee County Health Department.
“The entire business community has been responsive,” she said. Restaurants, in return, get promoted and publicized.
Healthy choice items will be identified on the menus with pineapples and participating restaurants will have table cards and signs explaining the program.
Chris Meissner and Diane Faul thought the Ahi sesame tuna from the Beach House and the mandarin-orange chicken salad from Popi’s were exceptional.
“Diane, you’ve got to try the tuna, it’s fabulous,” said Meissner, who says he does look for heart healthy items when he dines out with his wife. “We’ll split entrees to try and cut calories.”
Fast food and chain restaurants aren’t on board yet, said Stephanie Petta, but she hopes they will be soon.
Any restaurant interested in participating can go online at www.BlakeMedicalCenter.com/HealthyChoices and fill out a form.
A three-year grant is funding the program as well as other projects designed to improve nutrition, physical activity and tobacco control, Jourdan said.
The Community Health Action Response Team that designed the program was created after Manatee County became one of 40 communities in the United States to receive a $40,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control.
The 20-member team is made up of representatives from the health department, schools, social service agencies and local businesses.
Joe Rogers, general manager of the Sandbar Restaurant, is helping tweak the restaurant’s children offerings by adding grilled chicken breast to the menu.
He knows people often shy away from healthy choices when they are treating themselves while dining out, but they still can practice easy tips like staying away from cream sauces and using fruit-based ones instead.
When Rogers creates healthier dishes at home he often uses different seasonings and herbs to spice up his meals.
But he admits it is hard to turn down a good dessert or create a low-calorie substitute.
“You take out all the love,” he said with a smile.
