New Program Aims to Make Dining Out in Harford Healthier

While taking a night off from cooking to dine out at restaurants around Harford County is certainly fun and enjoyable, it isn’t always healthy, and Healthy Harford is looking to change that.

At this year’s Healthy Harford Day on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Bel Air Farmer’s Market, Healthy Harford will unveil its newest program, the Healthy Restaurant Designation Program. The initiative is designed to help make it easier for Harford County residents to eat healthy while dining out.

“Going out to eat is no longer solely a special occasion,” said Healthy Harford Promotion Specialist Bari Klein. “People are really going out a lot more to nourish themselves, and because of that we are trying to make it easier for them to pick out choices that are good for them.”

Klein said the reasons why more and more people are ditching their ovens for restaurant meals vary. She said many people are pressed for time, and don’t have the opportunity to cook, or simply don’t like to cook. She also said people eat “on the fly” now because they are constantly on the go. 

The new Healthy Restaurant Designation Program was developed in conjunction with area nutritionists, restaurant owners and Health Department food inspectors. To receive the Healthy Restaurant Designation, participating restaurants must offer at least two entree selections that meet the following criteria:

• Have fewer than 750 total calories
• Provide no more than 30 percent of total calories from fat; only 10 percent from saturated fat
• Contain less than 850mg of sodium
• Include at least three ounces of lean protein (lean meat, seafood, beans, legumes or equivalent)
• Include a vegetable and/or fruit
• Contain no deep-fried items

Participating restaurants will also offer a low-fat salad dressing option, make half size portions of adult entrees available to children, and allow for the substitution of a vegetable or fruit in place of fried potatoes.

Klein said the new program will not just be based on calories count, but more on making entrees healthy all around. 

“There are people with Diabetes that can’t have too many carbs or sugars, or that have other health concerns,” Klein said. “We want to make it easy—so they know when they go to this establishment, there is something there they can have.”

Once the program launches, restaurants that are interested in participating can fill out an application online. 

Restaurants that meet the Healthy Restaurant guidelines will receive a Healthy Harford logo to display in the window, so consumers know that they have pre-screened, healthy menu options available. 

“The idea behind this is to make sure there are healthy options available and that those options are easy to identify,” Klein said.

To learn more about the Healthy Restaurant Designation program, join Healthy Harford for Healthy Harford Day on Saturday, September 28, 2013, from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. at the Bel Air Farmers’ Market.