Weight Loss News and Current Events Discuss the latest weight loss news headlines and major events.

Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 08-18-2005, 08:21 AM   #1  
Meg
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Meg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 1999
Posts: 8,974

Default So What's Next In Restaurants?

Hot on the heels of our discussion here in the Library about So What's Next In Diets? comes an article about the latest trends in restaurant foods that ties right in with that thread and is well worth reading. Everyone’s comments about marketing, giving consumers what they want, and the never-ending quest for a quick fix and instant gratification seem to apply equally well to restaurant food.

The article focuses on the dilemma that restaurants face when consumers SAY one thing – they want healthy food choices – yet DO something entirely different – like order a double cheeseburger and fries.

From the Washington Post, August 18, 2005: Hold The Health, Serve That Burger:
Quote:
… while customers say they want more nutritious choices, they rarely order them. As a result, fast food and casual dining chains -- which together account for three out of four U.S. restaurant visits -- are slowly going back to what they do best: indulging Americans' taste for high-calorie, high-fat fare.
Sadly, the availability of healthy food choices ranks 10th out of 12 dining attributes that consumers look for while eating out. And I was shocked to read that only 2.4% of McD’s customers have ordered salads.

As a result of consumers voting against healthy choices with their wallets, not only are healthy items being taken off or moved to the back of menus, but restaurants are serving pretend ‘healthy’ food in an attempt to seem health-conscious while still giving people the same old high-calorie junk:

Quote:
Some restaurants have found that the best way to sell healthful items is to make them seem nutritious even if they're not. Fried white meat chicken strips have become popular on many menus and are big sellers, including atop salads, in keeping with the general perception that chicken is a more healthful alternative to beef. But at Wendy's, the Homestyle Chicken Strips Salad, eaten with one pack of ranch dressing, packs 670 calories and 45 grams of fat -- more than any hamburger or sandwich on the menu.
Check out the artivle and let’s talk about restaurant food --
Meg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2005, 09:04 AM   #2  
Senior Member
 
srmb60's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Ontario's West Coast
Posts: 13,969

S/C/G: 165/147/128

Height: 5'3"

Default

Salad bars drive me nuts. Coleslaw, potato salad, 12 kinds of white pasta salad, marshmallow salad ... and a great big scoop!
While you can get lots of nice vegetables ... they don't provide low fat anything. I wish they'd label the dressings, display low fat cheeses etc.
In my local Subway, they don't really make it plain how you can keep that turkey sub below 300 cals. ie not adding cheese and sauce.
srmb60 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2005, 09:44 AM   #3  
Senior Member
 
JuliaTN's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Posts: 363

Height: 5'4"

Default

Quote:
Restaurant chains say they can't eliminate healthier items altogether because "it's critical that you meet that need," Post said. In many cases, it's only to please one person in a group who might otherwise veto a visit to a fast-food outlet. "I will cast it in terms of the typical stereotype: The kids want to come and the dad wants to come and the mom wants a salad, so you better have a salad or they're going to go elsewhere. You can lose a large party."
That's the only good news that I can see in the article. It would be sooooo nice for restaurants to be required to provide nutritional info, preferably right on the table. I know that it would significantly influence my choices. I can make things at home that taste just as good as anything at a restaurant just by substituting a few things here and there that don't affect the taste and enjoyment significantly. Why can't the a Mexican place offer a whole wheat tortilla with baked fajita chicken instead of skillet grilled white flour stuff?

I think that 90% of my weight loss can be attributed to eating at home. Up until May 1, I ate breakfast at home (sometimes, other times it was Hardee's) but virtually every other meal was eaten at a restaurant. Probably 95%. Now I probably eat out 2-3 meals a week. I know that still seems like a lot to most people but considering the fact that I've lived in houses that literally didn't have a fridge or oven in the past it's a pretty big change.
JuliaTN is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2005, 10:46 AM   #4  
Senior Member
 
lucky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,343

Default

I never fault a business for doing what they are supposed to do - generate revenue.

Personally, I don't think restaurants have a responsiblity to offer me healthy choices. It is nice when they do but I don't base all of my dining decisions on whether or not they do. I would MUCH prefer that they be required to make the nutritional values of their menu items readily available so that I can make the best possible choice under ANY circumstance. I know lots of them do - but there are still plenty that don't (and I RARELY frequent them, btw).

Maybe I'm biased though. I grew up in a family restaurant owned by my grandparents so I've seen first hand how a finicky public can impact the bottom line. For example, I remember my grandfather switching from regular ground beef for their hamburgers to lean ground beef because it is what the customers said they wanted. But, once he did he heard complaint after complaint that the hamburgers were "dry." And it most certainly affected their hamburger sales. The same things happened with their lunch and dinner buffets - people wanted healthier choices but the grilled skinless chicken breasts just sat there and dried up while they could barely keep the chicken fried steak, mashed potato, or gravy bins filled. Lots of lowfat ranch had to be thrown out before it spoiled while the full fat blue cheese rarely survived a lunch hour. Sugar free jello and reduced calorie whipped topping didn't stand a chance against their homemade banana puddding or chocolate cake. Well, you get the idea. They just couldn't afford to alter their menu everytime a couple of their customers decided to diet for a week or two. What they WERE able to do was alter the cooking method at a customer's request, or adjust ingredients, toppings, etc. And while they might not have been able to tell you the EXACT calorie count in any given dish they could tell you the exact ingredients, the exact serving size, and such so that it would be fairly easy for you to figure it out for yourself.

I agree that millions of people SAY they want to eat healthier and lose weight but that notion fades after a week or so, then a month or so down the road another health kick sets in and the vicious cycle starts again. There just aren't enough COMMITTED healthy eaters to make offering healthy fare a viable option for these chains. And contrary to what many people argue, we don't eat unhealthy food because food chains SELL it, food chains sell unhealthy food because we EAT it.
lucky is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2005, 11:22 AM   #5  
Eating for two!
 
jillybean720's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 6,018

S/C/G: 324 highest known/on hold/150

Height: 5' 5"

Default

I recently read an article (I will search for it--I don't remember where I read it, though) about Burger King's new marketing executive (or some important person--I don't remember his official title). Anyway, it was about how Burger King almost lost their hold of being the second-place fast-food place in America to Wendy's (McD's, of course, is #1). They were introducing salads and they have a veggie burger and grilled chicken--all healthier options. This new executive came in and said, why? Why would a fast food place offer healthy food like that? That's when they started making bigger, greasier, fattier sandwiches (bacon cheddar ranch burger, anyone?), and they quickly regained their firm hold on the #2 spot in fast food (sorry Wendy's!).

Now this executive guy is a very healthy man--eats well, runs marathons, all that good stuff. So why would he think like this? Wouldn't he want healthier options in his chain? No, because he's a smart BUSINESS man, which is what it's all about! He knows that by offering salads and such, maybe a handful of people who hadn't eaten there before will try them. Big deal. However, the bigger, greasier, fattier sandwiches and such drew in plenty of fast-fooders who would have otherwise grabbed a burger form a different chain. He knew that he had to work to increase the income generated from the NORMAL, every-day fast food patrons, not the ones who might occasionally grab a salad or small diet coke.

This is true to all restaurants. I currently work at Ruby Tuesday, which I'm sure many of you are familiar with. Yes, they have the salad bar with the creamy salad and heavy dressings (but also low-fat dressings, which are marked ). They also have a "Smart Eating" section on the back of the menu. But does anyone order from it? Occasionally (but often replace the broccoli or sugar snap peas with fries or onion straws!). What I do sell a LOT of, though, is the Colossal Burger. From the bottom up, it consists of a bottom burger bun, lettuce, mustard, pickles, onion, 1/2-pound beef patty, jack cheese, another bottom bun, tomato, onion, mayo, another 1/2-pound beef patty, jack cheese, and the top bun. A whole pound of beef. 2 cheeses. 1.5 burger buns. All together, I believe it packs more than 1000 calories. It also comes with fries. And yes, some people still "platter it" to add onion straws and coleslaw in addition to the fries. some people also still get the salad bar first. It is INSANE. However, marketers know that they're not going to make the big bucks in restaurants by selling "rabbit food" to the minority of health-conscious restaurant diners. When people dine out, it's often as a treat or celebration, so they don't care about calories, fat, or sodium. They have to focus on the majority of their patrons--the ones who don't care if a burger has 10 calories or 1000 calories, as long as it tastes good!
jillybean720 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2005, 11:42 AM   #6  
Eating for two!
 
jillybean720's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 6,018

S/C/G: 324 highest known/on hold/150

Height: 5' 5"

Default

Here's part of an article I found--not the article I was talking about, but similar idea (though this is the only piece that pertains--the rest of the article is not nutrition-related):

Quote:

His first new product: the Enormous Omelet Sandwich. It has boosted breakfast sales 20%, even though the mix of ham, sausage, bacon and cheese on a bun weighs in at 760 calories. He says it's targeted at Burger King's "Super Fans" — 18- to 34-year-old males who visit BK up to 27 times monthly. He ignores criticism that the sandwich is a nutritional nightmare.

"We did not give that 10 seconds' worth of thought," he says. "I'm not bothered by the food ****s." The sandwich out-tested 30 other BK product concepts, he says. "Customers ought to be able to pick what they want to eat," he says, pointing out that BK offers better-for-you stuff, but it doesn't sell. The typical BK sells one Veggie Burger a day. While BK will substitute applesauce for french fries in kids meals, such sales are "not even a rounding error," he says.
The entire article is available at this site. It's from USA Today.
jillybean720 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2005, 06:15 PM   #7  
Senior Member
 
shortiemetoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 274

Default

Hi Jill,
I read the original article about the burger king president also...and thought to myself "I hate to admit it but he is totally right about what people want!"
I live in Sacramento CA...there used to be a restaurant here called "Skinny Haven". The restaurant had a varied menu and specials that changed every day. The restaurant was priced a little higher than a Dennys but only by about $1 per meal.
They had all healthy foods. The menu items were pretty much low fat and some were made with sugar, some without. Some were dairy free and some were carb free. They also had a bakery and you could buy calorie controlled brownies, cakes, fruit desserts etc. I think they sold some pre-packaged menu items that you could buy to have at home or work, but that was sporadic.
It is the only restaurant of its kind that I have ever seen. Needless to say, even though they catered to many different diets (I was on weight watchers at the time) they are no longer in business. This is in a large city full of restaurants galore!!
There are however items at almost every restaurant that can be healthy and good for you, even if they do have to be tweeked a bit!!
Baja Fresh: Side by side
Wendys: Grilled chicken sandwhich, baked potato with sour cream or salsa, small chilli with onions and great salads, (some better for you than others of course)
McDonalds: Grilled chicken salads, grilled chicken sandwhich, fruit and walnut salad
Panera Bread Restaurant: Great salads and sandwhiches on various types of bread, depending upon what type of a plan you are following
Mongolian BBQ: One of the best restaurants for some diet plans!!! Fresh vegies, low fat meats and carbs if you want them, leave them out if you don't!
I could go on and on of course...but it is possible to find something to eat that will not set you back at almost every restaurant there is!!!
shortiemetoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-18-2005, 06:40 PM   #8  
Uber-Moderator!!
 
MrsJim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Silicon Valley, California
Posts: 5,020

Default

Great points, Jill! Bottom line is (and I know I'm basically repeating what you said here) is that restaurants - fast food or 'traditional' - are in business to make a profit - bottom line. If they offer something and no one orders it, there's really no reason to keep it on the menu, is there?

This is not actually the first time this has happened - anyone else remember back in the early-early 1990's when McD's offered, with great fanfare, their "McLean" burger? Unless I'm mistaken, you can't go into a McDonald's today and order it - because it didn't sell very well, and was dropped from the menu like a ton of Mcbricks.

The CEOs of Burger King, Wendy's, McD's etc. have to keep the bottom line in mind - they have a responsibility to their employees, their franchisees, their shareholders to consistently turn a profit. They're not trying to POISON us or anything - they're simply offering what the public wants. Actually, I'd give them credit for responding to the apparent minority of people who demand healthier choices, even though that most of them apparently wouldn't eat regularly at those establishments in the first place...and therein lies the rub!

Recently we had a thread in the "Does it Work" forum regarding the new Fruit and Walnut Salad from McDonald's - if you read the thread, you'll see the conundrum that the fast-food and chain restaurants are dealing with:

1. Public outcry for healthier choices, brought on by recent books (Fast Food Nation), movies (Super Size Me), lawsuits against fast food companies alleging responsibility for obesity, etc.

2. In response to the outcry, fast food restaurants endeavor to make major changes in their offerings (and trust me, these are MAJOR undertakings!) including elimination of 'super size', introducing healthy subsitutions for high-calorie regular offerings (such as apple slices instead of french fries in happy meals, etc), and rolling out 'gourmet' salads after much research, development, test marketing and millions of dollars in advertising costs.

3. Rather than commending the businesses for their efforts, their choices are criticized by the market segment they were working to pacify to begin with...go figure...

so the almost-inevitable #4 will probably be the quiet phaseout of most of the healthy items due to low/no sales, since IMO the majority of folks who consider themselves 'healthy food eaters' would only eat there in a pinch, if there were no other alternatives. I think it's safe to say that most of the customers for fast-food restaurants are regular frequent visitors, who mostly will notice the menu now features salads, then order their usual Extra Value Meal...at least IMO anyway...FWIW!
MrsJim is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-19-2005, 02:46 PM   #9  
Melanie
 
Meldiggety's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Central Coast, CA
Posts: 215

Default

I appreciate restaurants that at least give you the option of ordering something healthy or more low calorie, like Applebee's or Chili's, for example. They aren't having to bend over backwards to have a few low cal items because the main foods are the same as ther higher calorie menus, but instead they leave the heavy sauces, cheese, & butter off of them. For example, at Chili's, I use to get a meal that had chicken with cheese, bacon & mushrooms, a baked potato with sour cream and butter, & veggies w/ butter - now I get the same meal minus the cheese, bacon, butter, sour cream & add a little salsa & VOILA - it's healthy and low cal. I think restaurants could be creative and make small changes like this that wouldn't affect their total revenue and would make lots of health concious people very appreciative.
Meldiggety is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-04-2005, 06:41 PM   #10  
Senior Member
 
flipafart's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 330

Default

If you only knew what went on behind the scenes in a lot of resturants......anyway if the current trend continues I say we will soon have home delivered burgers and meals.
If we are smart we will invest in crockpots and start feeding ourselves good wholesome foods.
flipafart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2005, 05:01 PM   #11  
hara hachi bu
 
phantastica's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,294

Default

Jawsmom, I liked reading your perspective on what a restaurant owner goes through. I like the idea of making nutritional information easily available, because then each person can make their own decision based on their low-carb or low-fat or low-whatever diet.

I also just wanted to say I really enjoyed this thread.
phantastica is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-31-2005, 11:58 AM   #12  
Senior Member
 
Amy8888's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Kansas
Posts: 897

Height: 5'4"

Default

I just wish restaurants would offer more reduced portion sizes! I try not to eat out too much, but when I do I often look at it as an opportunity to eat what I normally would not eat. Sometimes I crave a bacon cheeseburger, I just don't need it to be a half-pounder. A hamburger the size of a standard McDonald's burger would do the trick (in fact, when I can't fight a McDonald's craving I usually get a Happy Meal). I usually end up taking home leftovers, which is fine, but I also probably eat more than I would if I could have ordered a half-sized portion to begin with. I don't want to share plates with people, and I don't want to have to ask the restaurant if they would just give me a half portion. I just want it to be an automatic option on the menu, and while I'm at it, I don't want to have to pay more than half the price for the food if I order a half serving.

Sorry, I'm rambling. My point is if restaurants don't find it profitable to test and market healthy options, they should just serve their normal menu items but in smaller portions.
Amy8888 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2005, 12:35 PM   #13  
Senior Member
 
stacylambert's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 1,096

S/C/G: 282/ticker/145

Height: 5'6"

Default

I agree with Amy. Like at Applebees you can order a full size or half size salad. Why not anythin else? Personally I love the chicken fried chicken and I don't have a problem ordering it maybe every other month or so but that sucker is huge! My only escape is the fact that my husband is a bodybuilder and eats constantly so I just have to stop myself and give the rest to him! The rest of the time I usually order the chicken sandwich from the weight watchers menu with no sauce on it.
stacylambert is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-17-2005, 12:46 PM   #14  
Eating for two!
 
jillybean720's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 6,018

S/C/G: 324 highest known/on hold/150

Height: 5' 5"

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by stacylambert
I agree with Amy. Like at Applebees you can order a full size or half size salad. Why not anythin else?
I LOVE Applebee's salads, but I can't get myself to order the half size. If it's half the size, then why is it only like $2 cheaper?! I just assume get the whole salad and take leftovers home (if there are any). That's the only place I will actually order an entree salad, too, since I feel it's a rip-off at most places.
jillybean720 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-18-2005, 08:31 AM   #15  
Senior Member
 
pumpingiron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 115

Default

[QUOTE=marbear] I heard McD's is supposed to be printing their nutritional info on their wrappers. I bet that will make people think twice before eating a big MAC.[QUOTE]
I doubt that! It will probably be in tiny tiny print that will be even harder to read once the grease soaks it!
Seriously, have you ever read the labels of food in the good ol' grocery store? (like ester of wood rosyn in Fresca?) Yet, people still buy it!
The die hard fast food fans will always eat fast food. Period.
Us health food eaters will have to just have to stick to salads or Subway etc..

pumpingiron is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:16 PM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.