In the latest installment of this series, the National Restaurant Association profiles Quaker Steak & Lube and some of the healthful items it has created for the Kids LiveWellSM initiative.
Race-car-themed Quaker Steak & Lube restaurant chain has revved up its appeal to boys and girls with some new, healthful menu items that adhere to the National Restaurant Association’s Kids LiveWell program.
The 50-unit chain, which is noted for its wings, sauces and car-themed decor, has adapted its recipe for grilled boneless wings, first introduced about a decade ago, to meet Kids LiveWell requirements.
Menu items include the Kids Lube Cruiser, which consists of four grilled boneless wings with baby carrots or Goldfish crackers, and the Tweener Tuner Meal, which also features four grilled boneless wings, pita bread and a choice of baby carrots, broccoli, or apple sauce. Depending on the selected meal, approved beverages are either bottled water or apple juice.
“We have, in the past several years, found that our guests are looking for ?better for you’ options,” said Marla Pieton, Quaker’s senior director of marketing. “I knew Kids LiveWell was a program ?the Lube’ needed to be a part of. We really wanted to stand behind this program and help promote healthy eating for children.”
Response from guests, she noted, has been enthusiastic, adding that “parents feel assured they can get healthy meals [here] for their children.”
According to Pieton, the chain is prominently promoting the Kids LiveWell program on its website and in-store through an interactive placemat and window stickers.
The NRA unveiled Kids LiveWell in July 2011. The program, whose membership has more than quadrupled since its debut, was created in partnership with San Diego-based nutrition consultancy Healthy Dining. The initiative promotes foods that meet qualifying criteria based on leading health organizations’ scientific recommendations. Consumers can identify those healthful menu items by visiting healthydiningfinder.com.
Pictured top, left: The Kids Lube Cruiser with Goldfish crackers