Humana Also Sponsors Race to Taste, Celebrity-Chef Cooking Demo and Senior Pavilion at Nation’s Largest Food Festival
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- With a string of tickets in your pocket and delicious food from Chicago’s best restaurants just waiting to be eaten, sodium counts and calorie intake might not be top of mind, even for the health conscious. However, at the Taste of Chicago this summer, visitors can easily find foods that are healthy – but don’t sacrifice taste – and even work in fitness activities at the nation’s largest food festival.
For the third straight year, Humana (NYSE: HUM) is offering Taste-goers its Humana Healthier Choices menu for the 2010 Taste of Chicago, identifying and mapping some of the healthier foods available at the Taste. The Humana Healthier Choices map shows the locations of the restaurants at the festival offering each of the Humana Healthier Choices menu items. The maps, offered in English and Spanish, are available for free and can be found at www.humana.com/tasteofchicago or during the Taste at the Humana Senior Dining Pavilion, Taste information booths and at the Humana Race to Taste.
“We know that, when it comes to the Taste of Chicago, food is the top priority,” said Deborah Gracey, president of Humana’s Medicare Great Lakes Region. “By offering the Humana Healthier Choices menu and map and sponsoring the Humana Race to Taste, we really wanted to show attendees simple ways to incorporate good health and wellness, while still having fun and enjoying all that the festival has to offer.”
All of the Humana Healthier Choices meet nutritional, calorie and sodium standards established by a panel of top Chicago-area physicians with expertise in nutrition and diet, including Meg Christianson, RN, RD, MPH, CD and Humana Personal Nurse coach; Annabelle S. Volgman, M.D., associate professor of medicine and medical director at the Heart Center for Women at Rush University Medical Center; and Stephen Archer, M.D., FRCP(C), FAHA, FACC and chief of the Section of Cardiology at the University of Chicago. The expert panel made its decisions based on the nutritional information provided by the restaurants. Each appetizer and dessert has approximately 320 calories or less, and each main entrée has approximately 450 calories or less.
“With foods representing appetizers, entrees and desserts, the Humana Healthier Choices show that it is possible to enjoy a whole meal at the Taste without feeling guilty,” said Meg Christianson, RN, RD, MPH, CD and Humana Personal Nurse coach. “We wanted to make sure that all of the healthy food options met the appropriate sodium and calorie levels necessary to be considered nutritional and healthy for Taste attendees.”
Humana Healthier Choices for the 2010 Taste of Chicago:
Appetizers/Starters – Less than 320 calories and 300 mg sodium
Gazpacho – Grill on the Alley
Whole Wheat Potato Pierogi – Kasia’s Deli
Oven Baked Crab Cake Nuggets – Polo Café and Catering Bridgeport U.S.A.
Corn on the Cob – Dominick’s
Grilled Anjou Pear Salad – Grill on the Alley
Main Dishes – 450 calories or less; 500 mg sodium or less
Hot & Spicy Jambalaya – Bobak Sausage Company
Chicken Apple Gouda Sausage – Bobak Sausage Company
Crawfish Boil – Lagniappe Creole Cajun Joynt
BBQ Turkey Ribs with sauce on the side – BJ’s Market & Bakery
Cheese Pizza – Lou Malnati’s Pizza
Turkey Sausage Pizza with Whole Wheat Crust – Reggio’s Pizza
Turkey Leg with skin removed – Manny’s Cafeteria & Delicatessen
Snacks/Desserts – Less than 320 calories and 300 mg sodium
Assorted Fresh Fruit – Dominick’s
At the Taste, the Humana Healthier Choices items will be designated with green apples on the menu boards of participating restaurants. All restaurants participating in the 2010 Taste of Chicago were given the opportunity to be considered for the Humana Healthier Choices map. Humana approached the restaurants and asked that they submit nutritional information for their healthier menu item, such as calories, sodium content and ingredients, which were then evaluated by the physician panel. Restaurants that did not provide complete information were not reviewed by the physician panel.
Celebrity chef to host cooking demo for seniors
As a special treat for seniors, on Monday, June 28 – Senior Day at the Taste – Humana will host a cooking demonstration with Chicago chef Jimmy Bannos, owner of Heaven on Seven, co-partner of The Purple Pig, author of two cookbooks and contributing guest on NBC’s TODAY, from 2 to 3 p.m. at Dominick’s Cooking Corner. Bannos will appear with his mother-in-law, Angie DiGregorio, and son, chef Jimmy Bannos Jr., head chef and co-partner of The Purple Pig. The family will be preparing a favorite recipe that seniors (and others) can easily prepare, using ingredients that can be purchased at most grocery stores.
In addition, Humana encourages seniors to stop by the Senior Pavilion, where they can participate in free fitness classes run by Humana Silver Sneakers instructors and various health and wellness programs as well as enjoy some musical entertainment and prizes. Seniors can also pick up complimentary water and relax under the shaded tent.
Humana gets into the Race
To show that a healthy lifestyle is more than just choosing healthy foods, Humana is the title sponsor of the annual Race to Taste in 2010. The 18th Annual Humana Race to Taste 5K Run/2-Mile Walk will take place on June 27, starting at 8 a.m., and will follow a course along Chicago’s Grant Park and lakefront.
Some of the Humana Healthier Choices restaurants will be on hand after the race to provide free samples of their healthy food options. All participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt and a complimentary strip of Taste tickets once they finish the race. Interested participants can register online at www.chicagoracetotaste.us until Wednesday, June 23.
About Humana
Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health and supplemental benefits companies, with approximately 10.4 million medical members and approximately 7.2 million specialty-benefit members. Humana is a full-service benefits solutions company, offering a wide array of health and supplementary benefit plans for employer groups, government programs and individuals.
Over its 49-year history, Humana has consistently seized opportunities to meet changing customer needs. Today, the company is a leader in consumer engagement, providing guidance that leads to lower costs and a better health plan experience throughout its diversified customer portfolio.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at http://www.humana.com, including copies of:
- Annual reports to stockholders
- Securities and Exchange Commission filings
- Most recent investor conference presentations
- Quarterly earnings news releases
- Replays of most recent earnings release conference calls
- Calendar of events (includes upcoming earnings conference call dates and times, as well as planned interaction with research analysts and institutional investors)
- Corporate Governance Information
CONTACT:
Humana Corporate Communications
Lindsey Minella, 312-441-5549
[email protected]
www.humana.com/tasteofchicago
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