Anita Jones-Mueller, MPH, founder and president of California-based Healthy Dining, will join Food News Media in honoring restaurant leaders who have made exceptional strides in upholding “Healthy, Active Lifestyles” at the inaugural 2014 HALO Awards on Tuesday, Oct. 14, in Atlanta.
The private dinner ceremony, which will take place from 6 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday at the Georgia World Congress Center, recognizes quick- and full-service, national and regional restaurants making positive contributions toward creating healthy options for consumers. Awards will be given to restaurants that excel in healthy menu development, emphasizing those that have made great strides in reducing sodium, improving the nutritional content of their offerings and providing Kids LiveWell®-approved choices.
Jones-Mueller served on a panel of judges for this year’s inaugural HALO Awards competition, along with other restaurant and public health experts.
Through HealthyDiningFinder.com’s largest-ever restaurant industry nutrition initiative, Jones-Mueller and her team of registered dietitians have partnered with hundreds of popular restaurant chains across the country, helping them rise to the challenge of creating delicious cuisine high in nutritional content.
“The importance of eating healthy foods – as well as easily attaining them – has become a major priority in our nation. The public’s increasing interest in nutrition and fitness, along with the growing emphasis on preventive efforts related to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer have helped fuel this movement,” said Jones-Mueller. “I commend Food News Media’s leadership in creating the HALO Awards to spur and support the restaurant industry in their continued efforts to please their guests in healthy ways. And I am thrilled to see so many restaurants rising to the challenge of offering menu items with health and taste in mind.”
Healthy Dining’s web and mobile site, HealthyDiningFinder.com, offers the only resource of its kind, providing a search engine of healthy restaurant meals handpicked by registered dietitians based on qualifying nutrition criteria that emphasize lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, whole grains and unsaturated fats. More than 4,000 menu items served at participating restaurants across the nation can currently be found on the site, and more are added weekly. Likewise, a Kids LiveWell® feature provides a selection of healthful options that younger eaters are sure to enjoy.
ABOUT HEALTHY DINING
Healthy Dining provides Americans with digital tools and resources to find the best restaurant choices for their dietary goals and healthy lifestyles. President and founder Anita Jones-Mueller, MPH, launched Healthy Dining by combining the brainpower and creativity of chefs, restaurateurs, health experts, registered dietitians and communication strategists. In collaboration with the National Restaurant Association, the Healthy Dining Program has grown to become the most powerful restaurant industry nutrition initiative in the nation. Healthy Dining’s signature website, HealthyDiningFinder.com, enables millions of nutrition-conscious restaurant diners, as well as those dealing with diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and other nutrition-related conditions, to easily find dietitian-recommended Healthy Dining choices served at restaurants coast to coast. The site is publicized by influential partners including the American Heart Association, Produce for Better Health, Whole Grains Council and many others dedicated to supporting healthier eating. Additionally, Healthy Dining has been selected by the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to implement a variety of restaurant nutrition-related research projects. For more information, please contact Deborah Lawrence, Deb@HealthyDiningFinder.com or 760.809.2622.
