By Maggie Large, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Jan. 17--To dieters, temptation lurks around every corner. It's in the office candy dish, your mother's homemade coffee cake or the fast-food joint down the street.
But with the surging popularity of low-carbohydrate diets like Atkins, South Beach, The Zone and Sugarbusters, some restaurants and grocery stores are promoting diet-friendly dishes, just in time for New Year's resolutions.
Tuesday, Burger King introduced bunless Whoppers and Chicken Whoppers, and they plan to roll out a more comprehensive menu including salads. At the Riverside Drive outlet in Macon, many staffers and customers did not know about the low-carb options. A Burger King manager said the store would add the bunless Whoppers to its display menu at a later date.
'Bunless Whopper? What kind of Whopper is that?' said Willie Hughes of Macon, who enjoyed a burger Thursday afternoon. 'I might try anything that might be good to eat.'
Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday, which has locations in Macon and Warner Robins, started its 'Smart Eating Initiative' on Nov. 11, said spokeswoman Terina Stewart in Maryville, Tenn.
The restaurant chain introduced 30 new low-carb menu items ranging from whole-grain quesadillas to low-carb cheesecake, complete with a nut crust. Burgers are now available in a wrap, more low-carb items are at the salad bar and heart-healthy canola oil is used for frying. Smart eating guides adorn every tabletop, and Ruby Tuesday employees are given wellness training.
'We really wanted it to be something where we're walking the walk, not just talking the talk,' Stewart said.
She said founder Sandy Beall has been gung-ho about going low-carb, to the point where employees have the goal of losing 30,000 collective pounds by June 30, while also garnering donations for the American Heart Association.
'This is just the first phase in our smart eating plan. It's been very well received, and we'll continue to introduce lower fat and lower calorie items,' Stewart said.
Fast food chain Hardee's rolled out its own bunless Low Carb Thickburgers on Dec. 15 and they've been selling, well, like hot cakes.
Hardee's has a number of locations in Middle Georgia, including Warner Robins.
'Every day in the week we see an increase in the number that people are selling,' said Bev Pfeifer-Harms, corporate spokeswoman in St. Louis.
The bunless burgers, which are wrapped in iceberg lettuce, have pleased the restaurant's usual customers and drawn others who were looking for low-carb eats.
'We observed in stores that there were people on low-carb diets who were ordering Thickburgers without the bun. And several of our executives were on low-carb diets and taking the bun out of theirs,' Pfeifer-Harms said.
Some chains such as Piccadilly Cafeteria decided to play up traditional offerings that are already high in protein or low in carbohydrates.
Piccadilly, which has restaurants in Macon and Warner Robins, began emphasizing its low-carb offerings Dec. 29.
'It's not really a new menu per se. We've been serving low-carb since we opened our doors,' said Par Boyd, spokesman for the Baton Rouge company.
Cafeteria patrons are guaranteed that at least four entrees, four salads and four vegetables a day will be low-carb, Boyd said.
Traditional entrees like roast beef and baked fish haven't been tweaked to fit the mold, he said, but they will sport a diamond-shaped sign to indicate their status.
'We're taking credit for what we've been doing all along,' Boyd said.
When a chain like Subway becomes so identified with its trademark fresh-baked bread, it can be difficult to make the shift to a low-carb menu. Subway, long associated with weight loss thanks to its 'Jared' ad campaign, has forged a relationship with Atkins Nutritionals to promote its new wrap sandwiches. There are more than a dozen Subway locations in Middle Georgia.
Two 'Atkins friendly' wrap sandwiches have been available at Subway since Dec. 29 and more are on the way, said spokesman Kevin Kane in Milford, Conn. Customers can also request a wrap instead of traditional bread for 50 cents extra on any sandwich.
'For some months, people have come in wanting to know how to do the Atkins diet at Subway,' Kane said. 'Up to this point, we've only been able to say that you can turn any sandwich into a salad.'
Subway consulted its in-house team of chefs and baking specialists to come up with a wrap that would fit with diets and still taste good, Kane said. So far, the response has been great, he said. The wraps are manufactured by Subway and shipped to the individual franchises, unlike the bread baked in every store.
'We don't have the numbers on it yet, but we do know that franchisees are putting in larger orders (for the wraps) sooner than we thought,' Kane said.
Even grocery chains are beginning to stock up on products that are low in carbs. Managers for Kroger, Publix and Wal-Mart stores in Macon said they had sections for low-carb groceries.
At Wal-Mart on Gray Highway in Macon, staffers have grouped low-carb products like Atkins corn bread mixes and Diet Rite soda with packets of tuna and cartons of soy milk. The pharmacy section also carries shakes and nutrition bars geared for low-carb diets.
'It's been a little slow so far, but it's picking up,' said co-manager Charles Jones. 'It's more like people are stepping on the scale.'
Judy Skinner of Jones County slowed her cart as she examined Wal-Mart's yellow display Friday afternoon. She wasn't sure if she would try any of the low-carb items.
'I'm not really following it. I just heard of it and thought I'd look through it and see,' Skinner said.
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(c) 2004, The Macon Telegraph, Ga. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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