Menus make room for diet

By ERIN KOSNAC, Times Herald

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In his first month on the Atkins diet, John McLean lost 80 pounds -- while still eating out once a day.

McLean, 47, of Port Huron heard about the Atkins diet, which stresses high protein and low carbohydrates, from the staff at the DayBreak Café in Port Huron. The staff creates Atkins-friendly meals through side-item substitutions.

Tired of being overweight and out of shape, McLean tried it.

Now he would like to get down to 250 pounds, almost 200 pounds slimmer than when he started, and he's got the support of at least one area restaurant.

"There are so many restaurants who don't care about people who are dieting," he said. "So it's nice to finally see one that caters to people on a diet."

With millions of Americans cutting carbohydrates or counting calories, many restaurants such as DayBreak are expanding their menus to fill the orders of these health-conscious diners.

"The restaurant industry is working its best to meet the demands of the ever-changing diet habits," said Kristyn Sorensen, communications director for the Michigan Restaurant Association.

"A lot of restaurants are working hard to give customers the healthy-dining options they want."

DayBreak started offering low-carbohydrate and Atkins-friendly selections eight months ago.

"Everybody's on it," co-owner Michael Zeiser said. "So, it was really just a common-sense thing to do."

The restaurant also consulted people from Weight Watchers and designed meals to fit the program. These meals appeared on the menu about six weeks ago.

"Offering these healthy meals isn't really any extra work to us," Zeiser said. "We're just supplying the public with what they want."

Following the trend

When society was hooked on low-fat diets, heart-healthy items popped up all over restaurant menus. It hasn't surprised Noreen Derer, a registered dietitian at Port Huron Hospital, that restaurants are following the fad again and offering low-carbohydrate meals.

"Anything a restaurant can do to convey to people the nutritional content on the menu is terrific," she said. "However they can help people trying to stick to a diet is a good thing."

Derer said one of the most important things dieting diners can do is to remember what their particular diet allows.

When Ruby Tuesday unveiled its Smart Eating program Nov. 11, the restaurant chain wanted to provide options for dieters of all kinds. The nationwide program includes more than 30 new menu options for health-conscious diners, including whole-grain fajitas and quesadillas, a creamy cauliflower alternative to mashed potatoes and a low-carb cheesecake.

Richard Johnson, senior vice president of Ruby Tuesday, which has locations in Fort Gratiot and Chesterfield Township, said the changes were made in response to customer demand. He said about one in five guests orders something from the Smart Eating menu.

"Not everybody is on the same diet or eating plan, so we've got low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie choices," he said. "But we've still got all the old Ruby Tuesday favorites."

The majority of diners at the Big Boy Restaurant in Fort Gratiot still are shying away from the healthier options.

Owner Norman Mourad said the restaurant has offered Heart Smart items on its menu for a number of years and also lets customers make substitutions to fit their dieting needs.

Most orders aren't health conscious.

"Most of our customers are still potatoing it up," Mourad said.

Dieting and dining out

Ten years ago, when Janice Murley would go out to eat, it was hard to find anything on restaurant menus that would fit with her Weight Watchers program.

That's changed.

"I used to do a lot more cooking at home than I do now," said Murley of Chesterfield Township, who is a leader with Weight Watchers.

Murley has found some healthy choices at locally owned restaurants, as well as Ruby Tuesday and Applebee's, which is developing a line of menu items with Weight Watchers. Applebee's has restaurants in Port Huron and Chesterfield Township.

As health-conscious diners such as Murley benefit from increased choices, restaurants should, too, said Sorensen of the Michigan Restaurant Association. She said changing menu options might cost restaurants in the beginning but should pay off in the end with sales increasing as the health-conscious realize dieting doesn't have to mean an end to dining out.

Renee Dueweke is the manager at the Curves fitness facility for women in Marysville. She also teaches a low-carb diet class there. After hearing some of her clients rave about DayBreak Café's menu, she made her first stop there Wednesday.

As she ate a broiled chicken breast, she said she would tell her class about the restaurant.

"So many places seem to be just about convenience," she said. "But here, they really seem to care about the customers. It's about time dieters had places like this to eat."

Originally published Thursday, December 18, 2003

Contact Erin Kosnac at (810) 989-6276 or ekosnac ~gannett.com.

even though he started at 450lbs it would be hard to believe he lost 80lbs in a month.