Food Talk And Fabulous Finds - A NEW Healthy Fast Food Chain

About the only healthy food places I see around here offer sandwhiches and/or salads. Get some imagination!

If you could design a new fast food/semi fast food resturant that dealt with healthy stuff for the whole family, what would you include? You can include your current favorite items, items you would like to see included, services you would add, etc. Use your imagination!

You know, it's funny someone mentions this because I was just thinking of it yesterday. That we needed MORE health food restaurants. Not necessarily FAST food, but just a place you can go into and eat delicious foods that are prepared in a healthy way. With nutritional information for each dish, of course.

I, for one, would like to see a place that offers tons of fresh salads, each prepared differently. Along with fresh seafoods, fresh veggies, yummy sandwiches prepared with lean meats and/or vegetables with fat-free sauces and condiments, things like that. Plus a menu section that offered 'downhome' type comfort foods that are prepared with lowfat/fat-free ingredients. Kinda of like 'skinny' versions of everyones favorite dishes.

I think people must be skeptical of opening such a place, especially in America, where we're a nation of fattening food lovers.

Healthy soups and Asian style noodle soup dishes..

Light dishes that hit the spot like Vietnamese noodles, Chinese-Korean Jajang myun, Korean naengmyun..

There is a whole world out there! I'd like access to it even when I am not in my own neighborhood. (not that we have a lot of it here either)

I would like to see all foods listed or packaged with the nutritional info on the wrapper, then the choices would be much easier to make, also more low fat dressings and salads

I would like to still see nachos but prepared with ff sour cream, veggies (such as jalepenos, real diced tomatoes, black olives), Oven baked tortilla chips. I would like to see stir fry dishes that are NOT loaded with sodium and fat.

I would like to see easy to identify nutrition icons on the menu board (so I know what I'm ordering without having to ask for a handout ..but I want that to still be available).

I like chicken, but I want different preparations. How about a FF mushroom gravy. Ckn with stuffed cheese (ff, white cheeses in portion controlled amounts). Beef Stew (without added fat). Hummus as a option for a spread (instead of mayo).

I love down home type foods. Why can't we have skinny versions of that. I would LOVE that!

How about even a open faced hamburger served with the leanest meat (or even buffallo meat) on 1 wheat bun. 1 peice of mozz ff cheese. Veggies piled on it or on the side. Or the same type of hamburger stuffed with mozz cheese, onions, mushrooms, jalepenos, etc. Stuffed with veggies but the highest lean meat and no 1lb burger option.

How about sliced bread (or muffin) with skinny pizza options and delicious sides to fill you up (instead of a whole pizza to share or bad oily pizza crusts, etc).

Nutrition info on the wrapper would be good but I want to know BEFORE I order (including at the drive thru). AND EVEN FOR ITEMS THAT ARE NEW TO THE MENU (those don't get included alot with the nutrition guide). They have enough money to advertise this to the max but not to add an insert to the nutrition guide or even to analyze it so they can add it in fine print on the advertising brochure.

Hummus as a option for a spread (instead of mayo).

YaH!

Things like roasted asparagus or zucchini crisps. They don't take much longer to cook than french fries. More green veggies, more fresh fruit.

I'd like to know exactly what is in the food on the menu. Unlike several visits to a restaurant where I ordered the grilled vegetable skewer and later found out they dip the skewer in oil before they grill it. :( I need to know it before I order, so it should be on the menu or the order board.

Not only is fat content important, sugar content is equally important. Salad dressings without sugar would be preferred. NO HFCS please!

I would love it if all restaurants would put the nutritional info of dishes on their menus - or at least the total calories and percentages of fat/protein/carbs for each item. It would make eating out so much easier. There are some restaurants like Applebees (which is too noisy for me) that have info on some of their low cal items. These restaurants are few and far between right now, but I think this might change in the future as people become more health conscious.

Oooh... I agree with Jayde! Asian style dishes would be great! Pad Thai, Singapore noodles, Korean Kalbi (ribs) and juhn (vegetable pancake type things), also Korean Paht bin soo... (shaved ice with a whole lotta stuff on it!). oh great. now i'm hungry!

Korean Paht bin soo...

Don't torture me with your posts!:drool: :drool:

I'd like to see nutritious foods and snacks for people on the run, like spinach and other fresh veggies as sort of a salad to go in special complex-carb wraps.

I'd like to see less salads in general full of the white, hard parts of iceberg lettuce and more romaine lettuce and spinach.

More fresh fruit, more veggies, and more vegetarian options.

More sandwich options with wheat breads, low fat spreads, and lean meats and veggies. Low fat turkey-burgers? Veggie burgers?

Something on the side besides fries and anything else deep fried.

Less chemical additives and flavorings.

Things like roasted asparagus or zucchini crisps. They don't take much longer to cook than french fries. More green veggies, more fresh fruit.

I'd like to know exactly what is in the food on the menu. Unlike several visits to a restaurant where I ordered the grilled vegetable skewer and later found out they dip the skewer in oil before they grill it. :( I need to know it before I order, so it should be on the menu or the order board.

Not only is fat content important, sugar content is equally important. Salad dressings without sugar would be preferred. NO HFCS please!


I never would have thought of roasted asparagus or zucchini chips but that sounds perfect for this imaginary restaurant. We could pass them out as samples and get people hooked!

I think it would be impossible to put all this info on a overhead or drive through menu (but it could be in the sit down menu), but I would like to see brochures include more complex info such as you mentioned. It is good for people with special diets and anyone really interested in health issues. Isn't that what this restaurant/fast food is aiming for? Great ideas!! Plus, could we not only have a wall chart, but paper copies somewhere besides BEHIND the counter??

if you live in a larger, urban area there tend to be more choices.

here are some of my favorites:

http://www.josiesnyc.com/josie_east/josie_east.html

http://www.betterburgernyc.com/mission.html

http://www.organicharvestcafe.com/

http://www.zenpalate.com/menu.php

http://www.goborestaurant.com/ues/index.htm (click on taste to see menu)

I've been to this place (http://www.maozveg.com/index.php?id=399) that served falafel and salad, it's maybe not 100% healthy, but it was a good effort.

I am with Karen. I would love to see more salads with Romaine and Spring Greens, I hate that hard crunchy flavorless iceburg......blech.

Not being much of a salad eater, I really don't care to see more salad shops.

Two types of healthy ff restaurants:
-- restaurants that carry dishes featuring cooked vegetables. Like bean stews, chili with lots of veggies, oven-fried cauliflower/broccoli/carrot fritters with low-fat dipping sauces, eggplant dishes (from Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce to Indian curry to Italian eggplant parmesan), dishes based on cooked greens (not just spinach, but collards, turnip greens, kale, chard, etc.)

-- restaurants that carry favorites made from all-natural food cooked on the premises, so lean ground sirloin burgers, maybe NOT all-beef but thinned a bit with soy; oven-fried French fries, chicken in some yummy low-cal coating with mashed poatoes made with chicken broth instead of milk and butter... and with sides of carrot slaw, broccoli slaw, cole slaw...