TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -
The Pima County Communities Putting Prevention to Work program is launching a new campaign on Thursday afternoon aimed at finding healthy eating choices around Tucson.
The Smart Choices for Healthy Dining program hopes to help the spread of obesity and related-chronic diseases here in Pima County.
One of the goals is to identify food options at local restaurants that are already available and more importantly, nutritious.
The campaign is being launched with the help of well-known restaurant owners and chefs like Janos Wilder, Jonathan Landeen and Vila Jarrell..
In order for a restaurant to participate in the Smart Choices program, it must have at least three menu items with this nutritional profile:
- 700 calories or less
- 8 grams of saturated fat or less
- 1000 milligrams of sodium or less
- 30% calories from fat or less
- No artificial trans-fats
Donald Gates, program manager for Pima County Communities Putting Prevention to Work, says the key to this campaign is to show that healthy foods do not have to be bland or boring.
"We have healthy eating choices here that are full-flavored, filling meals," Gates says. "It gives us an opportunity to work with our local business partners to help increase flow to their restaurants and increase the economic benefits for the community."
A list of restaurants will be made available through websites, maps and smartphone apps.
The Smart Choices program will be linked with NutritionHub, a new local start-up developed by graduates of the University of Arizona Eller College of Management.
NutritionHub is an online and mobile food recommendation system and nutrition tracker designed to make living a healthy lifestyle easier.
The public is invited to attend the launch on Thursday afternoon starting at 3 p.m. at the Tucson Museum of Art Plaza.
The museum is located at 140 N. Main Avenue.
Copyright 2012 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and KOLD, a Raycom Media Station.
