How to make healthful choices when dining out

Are you looking for healthier options for your children when you dine out?  I know we are!  We are tired of the same choices of pizza and chicken fingers with fries.  That is why we are so excited about the National Restaurant Association's Kids LiveWell program. This program was designed to help restaurants highlight healthful meal choices and make eating healthy while dining out and easy choice.

We have to face facts, there are times that we dine out.  In fact for many families dining out is a weekly occurrence.  It is important to me to be able to provide a healthier option for Peyton when we find ourselves dining out.  What is nice is that you can look for the Kids LiveWell logo and/or the apple icon to identify qualifying menu items.

How to make healthful choices when dining out

The National Restaurant Association and Healthy Dining verify that Kids LiveWell items meet specific nutritional criteria established by leading health organizations' scientific guidelines.

A Kids Live Well meal provides the following:

• 600 Calories or less
• Less than 35% of calories from total fat
• Less than 10% of calories from saturated fat
• Less than .5 grams trans fat (artificial trans fat only)
• Less than 35% of calories from total sugar
• Less than 770 mg of sodium
• Each meal must contain two sources of either fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein or low-fat dairy

Individual and side items are also eligible for the Kids LiveWell program if they include:

• 200 calories or less
• Less than 35% of calories from total fat
• Less than 10% of calories from saturated fat
• Less than .5 grams trans fat (artificial trans fat only)
• Less than 35% of calories from total sugar
• Less than 250 mg of sodium
• Each individual side must contain a source of either fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein or low-fat dairy

The Kids LiveWell program is voluntary.  This program provides parents with a growing selection o healthful children's menu choices when dining out.  Participants offer everything from seafood to salads and sandwiches.  What is nice about the program is you can feel good in knowing that when you select a Kids LiveWell meal for your child that it is a healthier choice and that it meets the criteria for the program.

Where can you find Kids LiveWell options?

Right now there are over 200+ Brands enrolled in the Kids LiveWell program with more than 42,000 locations across the US.  That includes casual dining, quick service, museums, theme parks and resorts!

The National Restaurant Associations free Kids LiveWell app is available on iPhone and Android.

The nation wide search engineHealthyDiningFinder.com and mobile website.

Making healthier choices starts with parents.  If you are making healthier choices then your children will too.  If you are reducing your sodium and fat intake so will your children.  A great way to add flavor to foods without adding calories is to use herbs and spices.  I wish that they had an Adults LiveWell program too!  Maybe soon they will!

We had the opportunity to travel to Chicago and attend the Kids LiveWell Blogger Event and the National Restaurant Show. One of the highlights of that trip was meeting Chef Robert Irvine.  He has partnered with Kids LiveWell and really believes in this  program.  He believes that kids are what they eat and what we put in their bodies really effects them. He speaks to that here.

Be sure to follow Kids LiveWell on Facebook and on Twitter so that you can stay up to date on new participants.

Disclosure:  All of our expenses were paid to attend the NRAShow and Kids LiveWell Blogger event in Chicago however all opinions are 100% our own.

Melissa Jennings

Melissa is a soccer mom who has been married to her best friend for 22 years. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.