Badin vs. Fredericktown
Miamisburg graduation 2012
Valley View vs. Greenville
Home > Blogs > Women's Life > Archives > 2010 > February > 26 > Entry
Restaurants have $5/500 calorie meals
More than one-third of adult Americans are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That’s 72 million people.
Addtionally, 16 percent of children are obese.
And the numbers have gone up for all people regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic conditions since 1980.
It’s the Dayton Dietetic Association’s mission to do something about it.
March is National Nutrition Month and the local group plans a big push to help us all eat better - while working with our busy lifestyles.
Americans are spending more time away from home, cooking less and finding themselves with less money.
Angela Sims, of the Dayton Dietetic Association, noticed the national trend of chain restaurants having low-fat, low-calorie items on their menus.
“Restaurants are now recognizing the benefit of healthy meals,” said Sims, who is a registered and licensed dietitian.
So for Nutrition Month, Sims has contacted restaurants in southwest Ohio and asked them to create special meals in March.
The ‘5-5-3-3’ meal includes a meal of about 500 calories, sold for around $5 that includes no more than 30 percent fat and includes items from three food groups.
So far, Sims has gotten Panera Bread, McCormick & Schmick, Artisan Cafe and the Atrium Grill & Deli at Kettering Medical Center five sites at Second Street Market to participate including Bann Thai Noi, All Souped Up, Las Americas, Azra’s Mediterranean and Dharma Deli.
The group will also host its Nutrition Fair on March 27 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at St. Leonard’s in Centerville, said Ann Partlow, a registered dietary technician and president of the Dayton Dietetic Association.
At the fair there will be free samples of healthy food, coupons to purchase healthy food, blood glucose testing, hypertesion testing and a cooking demonstration.
Partlow said she hears from a lot of people who say they both don’t know how to cook and say that cooking healthy is expensive.
She disagrees with both vehemently. Buying ingredients for a cooked meal is cheaper than eating out, she said.
“People say, ‘I can’t cook,’ ” Partlow said. “If you can read a recipe, you can cook.”
For weight loss, she suggests no diets and making only three healthy goals, sticking to those and then adding on others.
She and Sims hates shows like “The Biggest Loser,” because of the drastic diet and exercise regimine. “I want to see those people in six months to a year,” Partlow said.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Post your comment | Categories: body image
Comments
By null
February 26, 2010 1:00 PM | Link to this
We see so many people on these boards complain about unhealthy food options at chain restaurants and the like, it’s refereshing to see somebody stepping up with real advice and helpful options.
By Kellys
February 26, 2010 11:22 PM | Link to this
This is great! My husband and I are putting the nutrition fair on our calendar. We love going out to eat, but we always struggle with finding something healthy on the menu. This will be a great help, and it is encouraging to hear that someone is finally paying attention out there. It sounds like a fun challenge for the restaurants as well!
By Hopefull
March 1, 2010 1:10 PM | Link to this
This is great news. My 8yr old was diagnosed with Imparied Glulcose Tolerance and we are looking for healthy substitutes.
By Beth
March 1, 2010 2:26 PM | Link to this
congrats to Angela Sims for her efforts with this! I’d like to see more restaurants jump on the 5-5-3-3 bandwagon! Thanks so much.