Opinions please - New healthy restaurant menu creation!

hbunting86
hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all

So back in the UK, my other half owns and Italian restaurant. After many years working, establishing a regular customer base we're looking to do something different and something that potentially may take off. I'm currently studying my PhD in human health and nutrition in NZ - however what we're wanting to do is create a new 'healthy choices' menu. Unlike chain restaurants, this restaurant is what you'd probably consider a 'rustic, family Italian' place.

Italian isn't really a word that is synonymous with low fat - particularly not low carb. However alongside the a la carte menu we're hoping to include a selection of around 5-6 starters and 5-6 main courses that are under 500 calories. The idea being that from years experience, the number of customers avoiding the creamier dishes is growing as people are becoming more aware of what they are eating. Even if folk aren't avoiding them - they readily acknowledge how much of a 'treat' it is to go out and often feel guilty about eating the things that are on the menu (not just our place, but many restaurants). Eating out is a big thing in the UK, so we're hoping to start to make a positive shift towards a new, healthier selection of dishes whilst still appealing to all.

So this is where you guys come in - of Italian dishes what would you REALLY fancy as a meal option under 500 calories? What appeals to you, or what are your favourite dishes that you'd try to avoid whilst dieting but would choose a healthier alternative of if one was available.

Thanks in advance...

H :)
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Replies

  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Mmmm I love Italian food - and what a great idea, I wish you every success.

    I'd go for a healthier version of carbonara.
    I'd love wholewheat pasta to be an option, and I'd also like smaller portion sizes to be offered.

    Grilled fish is always one of my favourites when eating out - if an accompanying salad had a healthy dressing, I'd find that very attractive.
  • akgary
    akgary Posts: 52
    im from the us and we get alot of those kinda choices now im in germany and we do not get a healthier light choice at resturants...what i have been to so far, id love to see a lighter chicken parm, that would be awesome:)
  • purplepollypops
    purplepollypops Posts: 323 Member
    Yes I agree with you, I avoid creamy Italian dishes like the plague even though I love them!
    At home I use quark or low fat creme fraiche in place of cream to keep the calories low but I've never seen this option on menus in any restaurant I've ever been to.
  • rhodesar
    rhodesar Posts: 43 Member
    OOo where in the UK? Can I come and be a taste tester? Seriously, I recently went to a restaurant in Orlando, called Seasons 52, where nothing on the menu is over 475 calories! And the food was amazing. Google it, you can see the menu on line and it may give you some inspiration!
  • lindaj07
    lindaj07 Posts: 347 Member
    Mmmm I love Italian food - and what a great idea, I wish you every success.

    I'd go for a healthier version of carbonara.
    I'd love wholewheat pasta to be an option, and I'd also like smaller portion sizes to be offered.

    Grilled fish is always one of my favourites when eating out - if an accompanying salad had a healthy dressing, I'd find that very attractive.

    All of the above are great ideas, especially the smaller portions option but what I would really LOVE in UK is to have nutritional values on or around the menu, like theydo in US. Would make fitness and weight control more user friendly and it's bound to happen here soon . I'd definitely be a regular then. I tend to shy away from going out for meals while losing weight because it's such a hazard, trying to estimate what you eat.
    I love tortellino when home made, with a creamy sauce, could you use yoghurt instead of cream in the sauce? That would be priceless if you could get that right!
    Good luck in your venture! I hope your restaurant is a great success.

    PS Could you open in Glasgow please!!??
  • lulabellarama
    lulabellarama Posts: 96 Member
    A healthy lasagne would be incredible

    I second whoever said giving the option of smaller portions. Perhaps have your regular dishes but offer a half size version that comes with a large salad? This is the way I diet at home, real food, just smaller portions bulked up with veggies and salad.

    Definitely give the option of wholewheat pasta, I can't really tolerate white anymore.
  • fatlass70
    fatlass70 Posts: 136 Member
    Hi

    this sounds like a great idea and I know it's not the same but Pizza Express have their Leggera menu which does give you some options.

    for me the options would be:
    1) smaller portions (you can still have the full flavour without having all the cals) - trouble with larger portions is I eat them all! If there's none left i can't carry on eating.
    2) creamy tasting sauces - salmon, carbonara, mushrooms etc - could you use creme fracihe etc?
    3) pizza's pepperoni is a particular favourite but I do think you could get away with having less toppings
    4) risotto seafood
    5) wine - again pizza express have their leggera wines which save you approx 50 cals per glass

    what would be great is if you could put the cals on both menus so folk can see the difference. with Pizza express you can download the menu and get cals etc before going in, but it would be great to be able to see it on the menu.


    good luck - if you go ahead let me know where you are and I may well come in for a visit!
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
    Thanks guys! Yes I am indeed putting all of the nutritional information on the menu - it's quite a task, but I find it severely lacking in the UK as you say. I think the only place I went whilst I was there with readily available nutritional info was pub chains like JD Wetherspoons, which is SUCH a shame in the UK.

    All of the above are great ideas - my flatmates are very willing taste testers and my boyfriend (the chef) has years of experience - however he's learning that times are changing and it's time to set the standard in healthy, yet elegant and delicious a la carte food!

    Hard work, but exciting....!
  • joanneeee
    joanneeee Posts: 311 Member
    Italian isn't really a word that is synonymous with low fat
    I am A-OK with eating fat so long as it is healthy fat. I cringe at the thought of eating a meal without any fat; especially the idea of only eating 10-20g of fat a day. We need fat. If I were to eat a meal at a restaurant that claimed the meal was healthy and there was no fat, I would be extremely disappointed. All meals should have some form of fat. As our daily intake of fat should be 25-35% roughly, I would be happy with around 10-15g of fat in that meal of -healthy- fat.
    It is sad how there is still the stigma that fat = bad and the less fat we eat, the better.
  • CARNAT22
    CARNAT22 Posts: 764 Member
    Would it not be an option to change the menu as such but to offer different portion sizes?

    So you could have the option to have a reduced size Carbonara / Arrabiata / Bolegnese etc. Also offer wholemeal pasta as an option.

    Salad always work well for those watching their calories - you could sell dressing on the side, so salads come naked unless customer chooses a dressing!

    In fact a 'build you own salad' section on the menu could be fun. You have the option to add dressings, meat or mozzeralla and other bits and pieces. Yum!
  • SuperScrabbleGirl
    SuperScrabbleGirl Posts: 310 Member
    I would certainly offer my services as a tester, though I am a vegetarian, so I probably wouldn't be much help!

    This is a really great idea, it's so annoying that guesswork plays such a big part in eating out in the UK, especially if you choose not to go to a chain.

    I love the giant tortellini. How about pulse pasta? Or whole wheat spinach pasta? God I love pasta.

    I recently ate at Pizza Express and had one of there Leggera pizzas. I was disappointed. I'd prefer a smaller pizza, or even half pizza, loaded with topping rather than a huge pizza with a hole in the middle and practically no topping.
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
    If it was me, I'd love that idea - but our customer base really don't 'go' for salads as a general rule. In terms of portion sizes we've tried this before, but to little avail really. I'll suggest the wholewheat pasta idea - for me that would be a good option as I really like the taste!

    As for fat, the idea is not to be a fat-free restaurant. Many many restaurants have little or no nutritional info available so the problem is making an informed choice when it comes to your meal. Too often I've heard 'oh I skipped lunch as I'm coming to the restaurant tonight' or 'I'll have to do so much extra at the gym tomorrow' - we just want people to make an informed choice. Personally, I've always believed moderation is the key and apart from milk (due to it tasting nicer imo) I don't have really anything that advocates 'lighter' or 'low fat'.

    I guess we just want to broaden the customer base so that people don't feel so guilty about going out to restaurants or worry about logging calories/working them off/wondering what on earth they ate.
  • city_of_frogs
    city_of_frogs Posts: 101 Member
    It would definately be carbonara for me.

    I absolutely love it, but because I know its full of cream and cheese, I avoid it all together.
  • MrsSWW
    MrsSWW Posts: 1,585 Member
    OOo where in the UK? Can I come and be a taste tester? Seriously, I recently went to a restaurant in Orlando, called Seasons 52, where nothing on the menu is over 475 calories! And the food was amazing. Google it, you can see the menu on line and it may give you some inspiration!

    I LOVE tomato, basil and mozzarella salad for a starter - with lower fat mozzarella of course...! And Minestrone doesn't have to be high in cals, LOVE it too!!

    Right, I'm off to Google that menu, even though I'm in the UK I wil get some ideas from it! Mmmm... that looks seriously good!!
  • tanyaevans5
    tanyaevans5 Posts: 25
    Hi
    I dont eat out that much so when the treat does come along I am not too bothered about going over my calories for one day. I go more with everything in moderation and as long as u dont go mad and use going out as an excuse to have everything u havent had for weeks u should be ok.

    I do love pasta a lot more than pizza but always believe if ur going to have a dish and treat urself dont be messing about trying to make things low fat as u lose some of the taste. Recently I have had what i wanted when i have gone out put cut the dish in to two and eaten half - its up to the diner then. Good luck with ur venture.
    Tanya
  • louisee294
    louisee294 Posts: 140 Member
    As a low-carber I would would love to see some big meaty meals with a carb and fibre count, as on Atkins the net carbs are worked out Carbs minus Fibre. Any meal with 5 net carbs or lower is perfect.

    A twist on a carbonara would be good, with bacon and chicken in a carbonara sauce with a green salad or green pan fried veg :) Yums

    Or a steak with a tomato and olive sauce. mmm
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Best. Idea. Ever!

    I'd love to see healthy versions of puttanesca, pizzas (one with potato,rocket and prosciutto was my favourite ever!), hearty stews (like the wild boar ones you get in Sardinia), a further vote for carbonara and lasagne, chicken parmigiana, gnocchi in a creamy or cheesy sauce, chicken cacciatore and ANYTHING that involves pasta and beans.

    I'm hungry, can you tell?!
  • Brownski860
    Brownski860 Posts: 361 Member
    Since someone already mentioned lasagna.. I would loveto see a healthier version of manicotti, stuffed shells and raviolli!
  • ndswimchick22
    ndswimchick22 Posts: 58 Member
    At an Italian restaurant by my house they have this amazing grilled chicken and garlic spinach dish. I always get it there!
  • kitinboots
    kitinboots Posts: 589 Member
    Make a healthy pizza option please. I find a regular sized pizza in a restaurant far too big, and always end up leaving my crust. A smaller version, using enough toppings but not overloaded, would be amazing.

    And have you considered asking customers if they want the bread basket/breadsticks or not before they're brought to the table? I find them extremely difficult to resist if they're in front of me, but wouldn't miss them if they were absent. I'd love to avoid that extra temptation.
  • msh0530
    msh0530 Posts: 1,675 Member
    Sounds like a great idea. I am including a link to a recipe that I made with a few revisions (like regular chicken instead of ground for one) that I thought could be worked into a restaurant entree.
    http://www.eatbetteramerica.com/recipes/featured-brands/chicken-spaghetti-bolognese.aspx
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Italian doesn't have to mean pasta entrees, you can do entrees with proteins and ratatouille and a small side of pasta or risotto. Look at Mediterranean diet, I think it focuses on fish and fresh veggies. Also, all the old breaded favorites are just as good baked or grilled without the breading and frying. With cheese topped meals, they’re just as good and gooey with half the cheese, just slice the cheese thinner. Squashes and zucchinis make awesome pasta replacements (including spaghetti squash). You can also offer half sizes for 60% - 75% of the price (win/win). Apps: muscles in a white wine sauce (not creamy) served with something other than big thick bread, or look at lower calorie bread options.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    BTW, for lasagne, I use a mandolin to slice squash and zuchinni lengthwise and use that instead of noodles, I also half my ricotta with low fat cottage cheese and increase my herbs. this would sort of work for "manacotti" too, you can maybe use egg plant to do a roll up instead.
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    Sorry, I keep posting. If I want a "creamy" dish, I finish it with low fat yogurt instead of sour cream or heavy cream, it also adds a tang that neither of the other two do giving it an interesting flavor profile.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Bit of a challenge here, but if you could do a menu with the antipasti, primi and secondi totalling under 500 calories (small portions, natch) I'd be beating down your door!
  • pixiechick8321
    pixiechick8321 Posts: 284 Member
    Tortillini - perhaps filled with spinach, etc instead of cheese and with a lighter sauce?

    Pizza - thin crust, more veggies, less cheese, etc

    More tomatoes in sauce, cut back on sodium

    Whole wheat pasta

    Lots more veggies to bulk up foods - so much lower in calories and can steam or bake instead of pan fry...that alone would help

    Eggplant parmesan (instead of chicken)

    Use GOOD ingredients - good cheese will go a lot further than cheap for less used

    Good luck on your endeavors!
  • spackham
    spackham Posts: 252 Member
    substitute greek yogurt in some recipes and make low cal versions. I just make Cooking Light Mac and Cheese and it was delicious. I added a few slices of chicken with apple and mango sausage. Add a steamed veg w./a sprinkle of parmesan to that at it is about 500ish. You could have a choice of a meat dish like salmon, shrimp or chicken with the pasta as a side item. You can make a great pizza under 500 easy. Good luck. Love the idea.
  • raevynn
    raevynn Posts: 666 Member
    Please offer dairy-free options, too. :)

    Lots of fresh veggies, smaller portions, really great minestrone!
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    It would definately be carbonara for me.

    I absolutely love it, but because I know its full of cream and cheese, I avoid it all together.
    Spaghetti Carbonara should not have any cream and the cheese is optional.

    A friend of mine from Lodi taught me how to make real Carbonara:

    Cook some spaghetti or linguini
    Fry lardons or prosciutto in their own fat or with only a splash of olive oil (less than 1/4tbsp)
    Once cooked, drain spaghetti, return to pan, add bacon and break 2 eggs over it.
    Stir vigourously so that the egg scrambles and cooks on the spaghetti.
    Serve with almost a crust of ground black pepper (i.e. the carbon of carbonara)
    add a little grated gran pandano/parmiggiano if desired.

    It's one of my favouite simple recipies :tongue:
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    I adore Italian cooking and for me it's one of the healthiest diets you can follow (as with most mediterranen cooking).

    The main thing to remember is portion size. OK at a restaurant that might not alwwys work, but having the option of a half-portion or kiddie size would be fantastic. Most folk would be happy to get 10% off a set menu price if offered a smaller portion to enjoy.

    Olive oil is calorific, but it's not sat fat like lard and ghee.

    The dishes which are tomato-based are usually quite a bit lighter than the creamy ones.

    Ravioli's filled with smoked salmon and a warm tomato and herb salsa would be nice and light.

    A small, crustless pizza with tomato, vegetables, olives and the option of a bit of grated parmiggiano.

    There is so much to choose from and it's packed full of delicious wholesome ingredients :tongue:

    And of course, if you are eating out... always plan it into your daily food diary and have lighter brekkie and lunch so that you can enjoy a nice glass of wine or small bottle or Peronni :drinker:
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