Featured Menu Items

Nutrition criteria for featured dishes

HealthyDiningFinder.com's nutrition criteria are consistent with many recommendations of the U.S. Surgeon General's Office, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and leading health organizations.

HEALTHY DINING’s staff is happy to work with your restaurant in identifying and (if necessary) modifying your menu items so that they meet HEALTHY DINING’s nutrition criteria (also see information below):

1. Entrées (or full meals) must include at least one of the following:

• fruits and/or vegetables
• lean protein, i.e., skinless white meat poultry, fish/seafood (including salmon), tofu, etc., with no more than two red meat dishes per restaurant
• 100% whole grains

2. Menu items must meet the following three criteria:

• Entrées (or full meals):
  • 750 calories or less
  • 25 grams of fat or less
  • 8 grams of saturated fat or less
• Appetizers, side dishes and desserts:
  • 250 calories or less
  • 8 grams of fat or less
  • 3 grams of saturated fat or less

If a menu item exceeds only one of these criteria (fat, saturated fat, or calorie) by a small margin (i.e. 10%), that item may be included on the website.

Whenever possible, menu items that are lower in sodium and cholesterol are featured.

3. Deep fried items (i.e. egg rolls, chicken fingers, tostada shells, etc.) are excluded from the website, except for very small amounts of garnishes, such as wonton strips.

Dishes that typically meet the recommended criteria:

• include fish/seafood, skinless poultry, or are vegetarian
• are steamed, grilled, broiled, baked, boiled or very lightly sautéed
• are prepared with little or no cream, butter, margarine, and cheese
• contain small to moderate amounts of unsaturated fat (nuts, olive oil, etc.)

What if menu items don't meet the recommended criteria?

A menu item that doesn't meet the recommended nutrition criteria may be included on HealthyDiningFinder.com if it can be easily modified (e.g., less oil, cheese, dressing on the side, etc.). HEALTHY DINING will discuss possible modifications with the restaurant. Then, the dish's description will include a "Special Request" which the customer must make when placing the order. When a customer orders the "Special Request" and the dish is prepared accordingly, the nutrition profile of that dish will match the numbers listed on the website.

The "Special Request" reduces the calories from approximately 1,000 to 425 and the fat content from 71 to 20 grams!

Who determines which dishes are featured?

Your restaurant may specify the dishes to be featured on the website, keeping in mind the criteria mentioned above. In general, we recommend a variety of dishes, i.e., fish, chicken, vegetarian, salads, etc. Our staff is pleased to assist you with the selection of dishes.

Who does the nutrition analysis for the featured dishes?

If your restaurant has nutrition analysis that you believe is accurate and reliable, we will post your analysis and note that your restaurant provided the data. We caution, however, that due to the complex nature of recipes and esoteric ingredients often used by restaurants, performing an accurate analysis is not a simple process. Someone who does not have specialized training and quality control oversight should not undertake nutrition analysis for restaurant menu items. For an accurate and cost-effective analysis, we strongly suggest using HEALTHY DINING's culinary nutrition experts or the services of a health professional with proven experience in restaurant nutrition analysis.

For more information on how HEALTHY DINING can assist with providing nutrition analysis, please see Nutrition Services

Questions? Contact Us!