In recent years the trend of consumption habits in Mexican families favors the restaurant sector, in this article we offer you some recommendations to add healthy foods to your children's menu.

In Mexico, 40% of consumers say they eat outside the home at least once or twice a week.

The constant growth of food consumption outside the home poses great challenges for families looking for healthier alternatives for their children, the traditional menu for children with chicken nuggets, pizza and fatty foods need to be renewed for healthier options.

Take into account the following information:

Mexico ranks first in childhood obesity and it is estimated that 70% is due to poor eating habits associated with the consumption of food outside the home.

Organizations around the world work to offer more nutritious food options to the new generations and you, as the owner or manager of a restaurant, can develop a strategy of social responsibility by designing a healthy children's menu, in addition to contributing to a healthy society, we share others reasons why you should include healthy options on your restaurant menu.

A healthy menu attracts frequent customers

Finding options to eat out in a healthy way is a complicated task for parents, a restaurant with options where they can enjoy traditional foods with healthy variants for their children or the elderly, will be of great interest to 2 very important sectors for your restaurant, take note:

Young parents concerned about the health of their children.

They are between 18 and 34 years old, they seek a healthy diet for themselves and their children. Words like "organic", "sustainable" and "local" They have a great weight when it comes to choosing their food, they give priority to products that are vegan, gluten-free or made without refined or chemically processed ingredients.

Older parents with a healthy regimen.

They are over 45 years old and are aware of the diet that their family should follow. Words low calorie or low sodium They may be of interest to them as well as including calorie counts for menu items and clearly identifying leaner food options.

Families who visit a restaurant with healthy options that their children like, have a high probability of becoming their frequent diners, occupying the first places in the list of options to eat with the whole family.

A healthy children's menu is inexpensive

Including healthy recipes for children is not only a good idea for your restaurant menu, it is also beneficial for your bottom line. We share a small list of the foods that you can add to your children's menu:

• Lean protein Like chicken and fish, they help reduce cholesterol level and are healthier, you can offer those options grilled or baked in your restaurant.
• Vegetables and fruitsThey are not appetizing foods for children, but they are a source of very important vitamins, create simple and creative recipes that are irresistible for children, with high content of nutrients to complement their healthy diet.

An example to encourage the consumption of these foods is creating plates with figures made with fruits, which is visually attractive for the little ones.

• Sugar free drinks, add some healthy alternatives such as infusions with fruit, drinks that are a source of calcium and vitamins that are easy to prepare.

Foods to avoid on your children's menu

• All saturated fat and gluten products.
• Dishes that make use of refined sugars for their preparation.
• Products with excess salt.

Remember to add to your menu the Calories counter and labels that indicate organic or low-fat products, it is important to use these indicators to inform customers which products help you maintain a balance diet.

Keep the following points in mind when adding healthy items to your menu.

• Document the process of making each dish to know the calories it provides.
• Check the percentage margin that differs between a traditional product and those that are healthier.
• Share this information with the servers so that they can attend to the doubts and concerns of your customers.
• It opens a direct communication channel with customers and collaborators to receive feedback on new products and capture new ideas.
• Incorporate the detail of the ingredients of each dish in your point of sale system to get accurate reports and measure the success of your new healthy line.
  
  

Now if, with your renewed menu, it is the task of disseminating the alternatives with the necessary nutrients for children and families that your restaurant offers to eat healthy.

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