Here’s a “Gotcha!”–for me, at least. A new survey released by Mintel Menu Insights confirms what many of us know, or at least suspect.

We say we want healthier choices in restaurants. But when faced with actual menus and mouth-watering descriptions of individual dishes, our commitment to healthy dining quickly sinks to third place, behind perceived taste and hunger satisfaction.

Mintel found that only 20% of people rank food health as an important factor when ordering dinner. Taste was named by 77% and hunger satisfaction by 44%.

“[M]ost people are really looking for taste, texture and experience,” says Maria Caranfa,  director of Mintel Menu Insights, and a registered dietician.

The real challenge facing restaurants–and those of us who love to entertain family and friends: “[H]ealthy menu items need to perfect the balance between nutrition and flavor,” says Caranfa.

We fight the same battles as everyone else does.  That’s why we try to feature many easy, tasty–and healthy–recipes in our food for parties section. And we try to suggest lower-fat substitutions for ingredients such as ice cream and mayonnaise in many of the recipes we publish.

Still, sometimes only rich cheesecake or delicious chocolate will do. The only rational approach?

• If you’re planning a catered party, select a couple of rich dessert choices, but order them in mini-sizes.
• If you’re dining in a restaurant, order one decadent dessert to be shared among several people.
• If you’re entertaining at home, take a very small amount of your delicious creation–and savor every last finger-licking bit of it. (And be sure to wrap up the leftovers for guests!)

Image sources: Self; Gild the (voodoo) lily

Filed under: Entertaining, Festive foods