Humana Healthier Choices return to Taste of Chicago with nearly 50 healthy options

*Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Humana, which is providing tickets for a giveaway on the Chicago Foodie Sisters blog. Humana will also be providing me with complimentary tickets to enable me to sample Humana Healthier Choices items to share my honest opinions. I am receiving no compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.   


Coming soon is the grand foodie fest that Chicagoans wait all year for. The Taste of Chicago is a gathering of some of the most iconic and revered culinary spots in the city. ALL. IN. ONE. PLACE! It's an opportunity to nosh on the best of the best that Chicago has to offer...or at least the best of what you can eat while you walk around in the summer heat. No doubt there will be fried grub galore, but that's not all you'll find. Humana is once again working with the Taste of Chicago on their Humana Healthier Choices Program and for the first time in the 8-year history of the program, it has now identified vegetarian options to its designated offerings. 

This year's healthy food listing features 48 healthy food options, 34 of them vegetarian, from 24 of Chicago's participating restaurants. They've also identified additional Taste items that are gluten-free. That's huge! The gluten-free diet is becoming more widespread between those who opt to follow it for better health and those for whom it is a medical necessity. 

“By expanding Humana Healthier Choices to include vegetarian options and promoting gluten-free alternatives, we’re looking to help a greater population of Taste-goers pursue a healthy eating experience that inspires lifelong well-being,” said Charles Dow, Humana’s Regional President of Senior Products in the Great Lakes in a released statement. “I encourage everyone to try these delicious, healthy foods and immerse themselves in Humana’s rewards program for a fun, active experience at the Taste of Chicago.”

With strict guidelines to qualify as a Humana Healthier Choices menu item, a panel of five top Chicago-area physicians with expertise in diet and nutrition collaborated to compile this year's list.

The panel included Amy Hess-Fischl, M.S., R.D, advanced practice dietitian and program coordinator at University of Chicago’s Kovler Diabetes Center; Kathleen Duffy, M.S., R.D., Diabetes Nutrition Educator, Rush Oak Park Hospital Diabetes and Endocrine Care Center; Rob Sargis, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Adult Endocrinology, University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center; Donna Perisee, M.D., Ph.D., Humana Medical Director, Medicare Great Lakes Region, Health Services Organization; and Neal Fischer, M.D., Humana Regional Medical Director, Medicare Operations, Great Lakes Region.

The Humana Healthier Choices will be identified by a green apple on the menu boards at participating restaurant booths. The Humana Healthier Choices list of items will be handed out at the Humana tent, located on Columbus Drive between Jackson Boulevard and Buckingham Fountain, and can be downloaded at the Taste of Chicago website and via facebook.com/TheTasteOfChicago. 

The 35th Annual Taste of Chicago is July 8–12 in Grant Park. Hours are 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. from Wednesday to Friday, and 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For more information on the FREE admission festival, call (312) 744-3316 or visit tasteofchicago.us. Find a full listing of Humana Healthier Choices items below.

Humana Healthier Choices for Taste of Chicago 2015 (vegetarian options noted by a V):

Appetizers/Starters – Less than 320 calories, 300 mg sodium and 2 g saturated fat

·         Taste Portion of Veggie (Vegan) Burger (V) – Beat Kitchen

·         Taste Portion of Mustard Fried Catfish – BJ’s Market

·         Taste Portion of Malnati Salad (V) – Lou Malnati’s

·         Corn on the Cob (V) – Mariano’s

·         Roasted Celtic Corn on the Cob (V) – O'Brien's Restaurant

·         Doner Shot – DönerMen

·         Shrimp – Haire's Gulf Shrimp

·         Taste Portion of Eggplant Sandwich (V) – Gino's Steaks Truck

Main Dishes – Less than 500 calories, 500 mg sodium and 4 g saturated fat

·         Veggie (Vegan) Burger (V) – Beat Kitchen

·         Mustard Fried Catfish – BJ’s Market

·         Grilled Steak Taco – Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill

·         Grilled Chicken Taco – Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill

·         Smoked Alligator – Chicago's Dog House

·         Smoked Rattlesnake with Rabbit  – Chicago's Dog House

·         Watermelon Hibiscus Gazpacho (V) – Farmer's Fridge

·         Avocado Toast (V) – Farmer's Fridge

·         Vegetable Spinach and Plantains (V) – Iyanze

·         Jerk Chicken – Iyanze

·         Chicken Ke-Bob Curry Rice with Vegetables – Kasia’s Deli

·         Malnati Salad (V) – Lou Malnati’s

·         Grilled Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber Salad – Star of Siam

·         Doner Kebab – DönerMen

·         Kebab Salad – DönerMen

·         Chap Chae (V) – Jin Ju

·         Eggplant Sandwich (V) – Gino's Steaks Truck

·         Chicken Tacos – La Cocinita

·         Black Bean and Queso Fresco Arepas with Guasacaca and Cabbage Slaw (V) – La Cocinita

·         Grilled Cheese (V) – The Fat Shallot

Desserts – Less than 320 calories, 300 mg sodium and 2 g saturated fat

·         Limone (Lemon) Sorbet (V) – Caffe Gelato

·         Blood Orange Sorbet (V) – Caffe Gelato

·         Peach Cobbler Gelato (V) – Caffe Gelato

·         Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato (V) – Caffe Gelato

·         Italian Lemon Ice (V) – Franco's Ristorante

·         Italian Watermelon Ice (V) – Franco's Ristorante

·         Strawberry Paleta (V) – La Mexicana

·         Mango Paleta (V) – La Mexicana

·         Lime Paleta (V) – La Mexicana

·         Watermelon Paleta (V) – La Mexicana

·         Seedless Watermelon (V) – Mariano’s

·         Mango Sorbet (V) – Star of Siam

·         Chocolate Frozen Baby Banana (V) – The Fudge Pot

·         Chocolate Dipped Strawberry (V) – The Fudge Pot

·         1 Dinky Donut (V) – Dinky Donuts

·         Southern Red Velvet Morsel of Love (V) – Ms. Tittle's Cupcake

·         Frozen Mango Kefir (V) – Starfruit Café

·         Taste Portion of Frozen Mango Kefir (V) – Starfruit Café

·         Frozen Original Kefir (V) – Starfruit Café

·         Taste Portion of Frozen Original Kefir (V) – Starfruit Café

The following items, available from Dia De Los Tamales, do not meet the Humana Healthier Choices nutrition criteria but provide options for Taste-goers with gluten-free dietary restrictions:

·         Slow Roasted Cuban Pork Tamale

·         Taste Portion of Slow Roasted Cuban Pork Tamale

·         Spicy Black Bean & Corn Tamale (V)

·         Taste Portion of Spicy Black Bean & Corn Tamale (V)

·         Buffalo Chicken with Blue Cheese Tamale

·         Roasted Pepper Goat Cheese Tamale (V)

A panel of five top Chicago-area physicians with expertise in diet and nutrition collaboratively judged each item to assure that nutritional values were met. The panel included Amy Hess-Fischl, M.S., R.D, advanced practice dietitian and program coordinator at University of Chicago’s Kovler Diabetes Center; Kathleen Duffy, M.S., R.D., Diabetes Nutrition Educator, Rush Oak Park Hospital Diabetes and Endocrine Care Center; Rob Sargis, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Adult Endocrinology, University of Chicago Kovler Diabetes Center; Donna Perisee, M.D., Ph.D., Humana Medical Director, Medicare Great Lakes Region, Health Services Organization; and Neal Fischer, M.D., Humana Regional Medical Director, Medicare Operations, Great Lakes Region.

About Humana

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is a leading health and well-being company focused on making it easy for people to achieve their best health with clinical excellence through coordinated care. The company’s strategy integrates care delivery, the member experience, and clinical and consumer insights to encourage engagement, behavior change, proactive clinical outreach and wellness for the millions of people we serve across the country.

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