By making it easy to choose delicious, balanced meals based on better dietary decisions
As hospitality and restaurant operators, you have the incredible opportunity to influence your customers’ health and well-being through the meals you serve.
By providing balanced and nutritious options, you can play a vital role in promoting healthier eating habits. Let’s explore some key principles to guide you in offering better balanced meals:
Better portion control
Help your customers by offering portion sizes that align with their dietary needs. Be mindful of calorie-dense ingredients and offer smaller portion options for those seeking lighter meals. Craft balanced meals that combine all essential nutrients in appropriate portions.
Promote lean proteins
Offer a variety of lean protein choices, such as grilled chicken, turkey, fish, or plant-based alternatives. Lean proteins are essential for muscle health and provide a sense of satiety. Incorporate lean protein sources like grilled chicken, turkey, beans, and legumes in your menus. Plant-based proteins are excellent options for heart-conscious individuals.
Introduce plant-powered dishes
Introduce more plant-centric meals that incorporate a colourful array of fruits and vegetables into your dishes. These nutrient-rich foods are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Use whole grains for sustained energy
Replace refined grains with whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, or whole wheat options. Whole grains provide sustained energy, important dietary fibre and promote heart health.
Balance the flavours
Create well-balanced meals by combining different taste profiles – sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami. A harmonious blend of flavours enhances the dining experience.
Be transparent with nutrition information
Provide clear nutrition information on your menu, such as calorie counts, allergen details, and key nutrients. This empowers people to make informed choices about the nutritional value of their meals options.
Reduce salt content
Reduce the use of added salt in recipes, and instead, explore herbs and spices to enhance taste. Lower sodium intake supports a healthy heart.
Offer customisation for dietary preferences
Offer customisation options to accommodate various dietary preferences, such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, or low-sodium meals.
Add delicious and nutritious desserts
Redefine desserts by incorporating healthier ingredients like fresh fruits, nuts, or whole grains. Treat your customers to tasty and nutritious desserts.
Encourage hydration
Offer water as a default option and promote the importance of staying hydrated throughout the meal and support overall well-being.
Educate and empower healthy decision-making
Organise workshops and educational sessions to raise awareness about heart health and the importance of making heart-conscious choices.
Choose smart fats and oils Read more…
Opt for healthier fats like unsaturated oils (e.g., olive oil, rapeseed oil) in your cooking and dressings. Minimise the use of saturated fats and trans fats, which can be detrimental to heart health.
We asked our nutritionist Kate Law, Founder and Director of The Food Boss, a nutrition consultancy specialising in women’s health and sports nutrition to tell us which fats and oils are best for optimum heart health. She explains the effects of different fats on the body and outlines what a balanced intake of fat could look like over a day. Read more…
Collaborate with partners for success
Partner with nutritionists and health experts to create heart-healthy menus and implement sustainable food practices. By incorporating these principles into your menu planning, you can create a diverse and well-rounded selection of dishes that cater to a wide range of tastes and dietary needs. Your customers will appreciate the effort you put into their well-being, and they’ll keep coming back for more delicious, balanced meals. Together, let’s empower a healthier dining experience for everyone!
Like to discover more?
Arrange a time with Stuart Moore. An experienced restauranteur and entrepreneurial professional, passionate about gaining a deep understanding of what you need, before building a partnership that creates long-term value. Then proactively delivering powerful and innovative solutions to drive business performance. He is an inquisitive thinker, problem solver and solutions provider. indicater.com is a modular, cloud-based platform that simplifies your multi-unit hospitality or restaurant operations, controls your costs and ingredient compliance – in real-time. Providing clear financial visibility and powerful insights into your business data, combined with excellent support from our UK team of ex-hospitality professionals and technologists. The company was founded in 2000, and operates independently with the support and resources of the Volaris Group, a buy-and-hold acquirer of software businesses, who focus on the long term success of their companies.
Photo by Pablo Merchán Montes on Unsplash.