Anita Jones-Mueller, M.P.H., president and founder of Healthy Dining, a nutrition-related marketing and consulting firm, interviewed Lowell Petrie, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Real Mex Restaurants Inc., the Cypress, Calif.-based parent of the Chevys Fresh Mex, El Torito and Acapulco that operates, franchises or licenses 182 restaurants.

In this interview he talks about Real Mex’s efforts to reduce calories, fat and sodium on the menu in response to guests’ desire for more nutritional information.

The interview has been edited for length, and the full story can be seen at Healthy Dining’s Restaurant Nutrition News & Insights.

Have developing strategies to reduce calories, fat and sodium been a priority for Real Mex?

Yes, it is important to us. We have been working on this with our Chevys, El Torito, El Torito Grill and Acapulco brands. We know that our guests are looking for healthier options, and we want to serve them what they are looking for. We are not finding that a majority is counting calories, but what we are finding is that a larger segment want to make intelligent – more healthful – choices. They will compromise. They want to enjoy what they eat, but they may choose differently from even a few years ago.

What type of compromises are you finding your guests making?

Well, they want less dressing or a lower fat dressing. They’ll share a dessert. They want more grilled items, more seafood, more vegetables. So we are finding ways to please our guests in those ways. We are also looking at what we serve and determining if we can reduce the calories, fat or sodium while keeping the flavor integrity high. We have a lot of baby boomers, and they are watching sodium.

How have you been successful in reducing sodium?

Our chefs are looking at our recipes item by item. It is a long, meticulous process, but we are happy with where it has led us and the results we have achieved. So, for example, we found our chefs used too much salt, and they didn’t need to. It was just the way they learned years ago. So we tried cutting the salt back 50 percent and tasted it. Sometimes that was too much, but, in general, we found we could cut the salt by 20 to 30 percent and it was OK. We have also switched to sea salt so we can use less, and we add salt later in the preparation, which helps.

How have you been able to cut your calories and fat?

That has been a great process, too. We found that we served larger portions of sour cream and guacamole than we needed to. Customers weren’t eating all of the side accompaniments that we served. So we cut those from 2 ounces to ½ oz. That was an easy change that cut the calories and fat. We also switched to using more broths and less oil. We’ve also been testing out reduced-fat cheeses. We’re starting to use reduced-fat mozzarella. It’s a little more expensive, but we’re using less cheese, too. We used to douse our plates with cheese but we’re cutting back about 30 percent on the cheese.

Are you saving money on food costs with these changes?

Not really. We might use less cheese but it’s more expensive since it’s a high quality reduced-fat cheese. We use less salt but we use a more expensive sea salt. But even if we aren’t saving money or it may be even a bit more expensive, we are really happy with the results and feel good about the quality for our guests. Oh, we have skinny drinks too. They are made with agave nectar instead of sweet & sour. Our customers love them.

You have some exciting changes coming to Chevys.

Yes, we are taking Chevys back to its roots. More grilled meats and fish, grilled vegetables and a healthier cooking style. We’re putting a greater emphasis on our salsas, which are super foods with such great flavor. We’ll be using a lot more fruit salsas. We have tested these changes in three locations with great success, so we’ll be launching in all locations soon.

About Anita Jones-Mueller, M.P.H.
Anita founded Healthy Dining with a vision and dedication to contribute to a healthier America by “bringing together the culinary brilliance of the restaurant industry with America’s growing quest for great-tasting, healthier cuisine.” She is a nationally recognized authority bringing to market innovative nutrition-related strategies and solutions to enable the restaurant industry to prosper while helping to educate and empower Americans to enjoy healthier cuisine. Anita earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health from San Diego State University.

Contact Anita Jones-Muller at Anita@HealthyDiningFinder.com.