Humana offers list of healthier Taste of Chicago options AND a ticket giveaway

*Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by Humana, which is providing tickets for the giveaway winner. 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.   

It's almost here! That festival of food that hungry Chicagoans wait all year for - the Taste of Chicago. Running July 8 to 12 at Grant Park, it's an opportunity to stuff yourself on so many of the culinary masterpieces that the Windy City is known for. However, since that not everyone goes to the Taste intending to go into a fried food coma, Humana again worked with a panel of medical and nutrition experts to identify a long list of healthy options at the fest.

The Humana Healthier Food Options this year number 55, the largest number ever. Of those 55 healthy options, 42 are vegetarian. The selections come from a total of 24 restaurants and new this year, Humana is also highlighting six gluten-free options. 

You'll find those special Humana Healthier Options one menu boards with a green apple beside them. A list can be found at the Humana tent (located on Columbus Dr. between Jackson Blvd. and Buckingham Fountain) or can be downloaded at the Taste of Chicago website and via facebook.com/TheTasteOfChicago. 

If you head to the Taste and try out any of these better-for-you food options, they would love for you to share to your social channels (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) photos of the Humana Healthier Choices you’re enjoying (tagging @Humana and including the hashtags #Tasteofchi and #healthierchoices.) I love to see what everyone is eating, too, so don't forget to tag @carrieste on Twitter or tag Chicago Foodie Sisters on Facebook or Instagram and use the #chicagofoodiesisters hashtag.

Also, stop by the Humana Tent to participate in the Humana Healthier Choices Reward Program. After receiving a free Humana Healthier Choices Tag, which comes with a lanyard for a hands-free and convenient experience, participants can collect stamps by sampling any Humana Healthier Choices food item or participating in healthy activities at the Humana tent.

Once Taste-goers receive six stamps, they can drop off their badge at the Humana tent to be entered into random prize drawings, donated by the Taste of Chicago restaurants. Prize winners will be announced on July 12 starting at by 8:45 p.m. CDT. 

Another nice feature of the Humana tent is a shaded seating area featuring a backyard barbecue/tailgaiting theme, a photo booth and trivia wheel. There will also be a Walk & Wellness Station where participants can take a free pedometer – if they don’t have their own fitness device or app – and will then be encouraged to return to the tent after walking around the Taste of Chicago to report their steps.

Humana is offering two strips of Taste Tickets (24 tickets total) to one of our Chicago Foodie Sisters followers. To enter, take a look at the long list of Humana Healthier Choices food options at the 2015 Taste of Chicago and comment on this post about which one you would most like to try - if you can pick just one! 

The contest runs through 11:59 p.m on Sunday, July 5. One entry per person. Winner will be selected randomly and contacted via e-mail and given a time frame of 12 hours to respond to claim their prize. If the winner fails to respond in the allotted time, a new random winner will be selected. Thanks for participating! Find a full list of Humana Healthier Choices for 2015 below. Those noted with a (v) are vegetarian options.

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 Grilled Chicken Taco – Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill 

·         Taste Portion of Grilled Steak Taco – Carbon Live Fire Mexican Grill 

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

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

·         Taste Portion of Doner Kebab (V) – DönerMen 

·         Taste Portion of Shrimp on a Stick – Haire's Gulf Shrimp 

·         Taste Portion of Avocado Toast (V) – Farmer’s Fridge 

·         Taste Portion of Watermelon Hibiscus Gazpacho (V) – Farmer’s Fridge 

·         Taste Portion of Chap Chae (V) – Jin Ju 

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

·         Taste Portion of Smoked Alligator – Chicago's Dog House 

·         Taste Portion of 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

·         Taste Portion of 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 (V) – DönerMen

·         Kebab Salad (V) – DönerMen

·         Chap Chae (V) – Jin Ju

·         Vegetable with Cheese Sandwich (V) – Gino's Steaks Truck 

·         Taste Portion of Chicken Tacos – La Cocinita 

·         Black Bean and Cheese Arepa with Venezuelan Guacamole (V) – La Cocinita 

·         Taste Portion of Grilled Cheese (V) – The Fat Shallot 

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

·         Taste Portion of Lemon Sorbet (V) – Caffe Gelato 

·         Blood Orange Sorbet (V) – Caffe Gelato

·         Taste Portion of Peach Cobbler Gelato (V) – Caffe Gelato 

·         Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato (V) – Caffe Gelato

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

·         Taste Portion of Italian Lemon Ice (V) – Franco’s Ristorante 

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

·         Taste Portion of Italian Watermelon Ice (V) – Franco’s Ristorante 

·         Lemon-Lime Paleta (V) – La Mexicana 

·         Strawberry Paleta (V) – La Mexicana

·         Taste Portion of Strawberry Paleta (V) – La Mexicana 

·         Mango Paleta (V) – La Mexicana

·         Watermelon Paleta (V) – La Mexicana

·         Taste Portion of Watermelon Paleta (V) – La Mexicana 

·         Sliced 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

·         Taste Portion of 2 Dinky Donuts (V) – Dinky Donuts 

·         Red Velvet Cupcake Mini (V) – Ms. Tittle's Cupcake 

·         Frozen Mango Kefir with Granola (V) – Starfruit Café 

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

·         Frozen Original Kefir with Fresh Blueberries (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)