Slim Down Your Restaurant Menu for the New Year

As December is approaching its end, New Year’s eve revelers are busy making plans to ring in 2018 with a bang! At this time of the year, you can easily find people in your proximity making plans for dining out together and raising the toast to happiness with cheers-worthy drinks and appetizers.

But wait!

Amid all these plans of indulgent feasting and overwhelming bustle, people are secretly reflecting on their unhealthy eating habits.

Now guess, what’s likely to be the New Year resolution for many of them – Eat healthier!

When people are obsessing over the idea of eating healthy, why you are still adamant about sailing through the festive season with unhealthy menu words – fried, creamy, buttery, cheesy and loaded?  Au grating and battered dishes on your menu can play spoilsport and dissuade the calorie-conscious crowd.

So, why not slim down your restaurant menu for this festive season?

You can make these simple changes in your menu and food preparation techniques to help guests make a countdown to the stroke of New Year midnight in a guilt-free manner.

1. Make Healthy Ingredient Selection

Healthy ingredient substitutions can help you serve savory appetizers, lip-smacking entrees, and sweet desserts with their authentic taste intact. These ingredient choices can help you deliver healthy food items effortlessly.

• Use coconut oil, peanut oil and olive oil for preparing healthy appetizers like onion rings, mozzarella sticks, tender, etc.
• Avoid soaking vegetables in butter. You can drizzle olive oil over them for the same effect
• Make baked goods, sauces, and entrees with freshly squeezed fruit juices rather than artificial ones that contain preservatives
• Use vinegar and olive oil over creamy dressings
• Minimize the use of salt in your dishes by replacing it with low-sodium soy sauce
• Prepare baked dishes with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

2. Use Symbols to Highlight Healthier Menu Options

If you think that the addition of healthier food options can make the menu appear longer, then you need to start incorporating symbols. You simply have to add common menu legends in the form of symbols like grill, vegan, grain, organic, vegetarian, and sugar-free.

If a guest wants veg pasta or a sandwich, he/she can opt for the Leaf symbol. Similarly, the grain symbol can indicate that subs and wraps need to be made with whole grains instead of white flour. The vegetable symbol can indicate the guest’s preference for organic ingredients, and the choice of grill symbol can mean that selected food items have to be grilled rather than sautéed.

3. Show Calorie Counts for Every Food Item

When people start adopting healthier lifestyles, they usually count their calorie intake after every meal. By showing the calorie counts against every food item on your restaurant menu, you can help your guests savor their favorite dishes in a guilt-free manner.

By making the nutritional information more visible, you have a strong chance to be the preferred option of customers this New Year’s Eve.

4. Offer Lunch-Sized Portions in Dinner

Portion sizes matter, especially when your guests are trying to indulge in guilt-free feasting without splurging on calories. When planning special dining offers for New Year’s Eve, you can experiment with dinner portions. What about offering lunch-size portions for dinner? By simply cutting the serving sizes in half, you will not only help guests cut down on calorie intake but also reduce the amount of food wastage at your restaurant. Restaurant management software can help you order lunch-size portions and help you slim down your restaurant menu.

5. Offer Leaner Cuts of Meat

How long can non-vegetarians resist fried chicken legs and a cheesy cheeseburger?

Not for a long time.

And, I am saying this from personal experience!

However, you can help them indulge in a foody affair without splurging on too many calories. You can offer them healthier alternatives by preparing non-veg dishes with leaner cuts of meat. To make your meat entrees and non-veg dishes healthier, you can adopt these cooking techniques:

• Serve light meat instead of red meat
• Avoid adding unnecessary fats like cream and butter
• Broil or grill meat, fish, and poultry rather than deep frying or sautéing them.

By implementing these ideas, you will be able to attract more guests who watch their calories and counting the pennies.