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Old Wed, Jan-21-04, 12:21
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gotbeer gotbeer is offline
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Default Hattiesburg: "Eateries join diet craze"

Eateries join diet craze

Some Pine Belt restaurants offer low-carb menu options

By Antoinette Konz

American Staff Writer akonz~hattiesb.gannett.com


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Kim Robinson of Hattiesburg can still smell the fresh bread baking in her oven.

She just can't eat it anymore.

A former "carbohydrate queen" as friends used to call her, Robinson has been on the Atkins diet for six months and has lost 45 pounds.

"I tried the diet a few years ago, but it was hard to do because we'd go out to eat and there would be nothing appealing to me on the menu that I could eat," said Robinson of the diet, which calls for people to eat more protein and fewer carbohydrates. "Now it's just the opposite. Not only are there more food products I can buy that are compatible with the diet, it seems like every restaurant I go to has an Atkins section on their menu. It's great."

Robinson, 33, is not alone in the low-carb diet craze. Research has indicated that one in four Americans are either on or have at least tried a low-carb diet at some point in the last three years. Taking note of the trend, several restaurants in the Pine Belt from fast food to fine dining now market low-carb foods on their menus.

"From our standpoint, we'd been getting a lot of special requests from our customers to meet the needs of the diet," said Steve Smith, operations manager at Hattiesburg's Purple Parrot Cafe and Crescent City Grill. "We discussed making up our own menu that would adhere to the guidelines of the Atkins diet and we decided to try a separate menu last October. We got such a great response that we ended up making some of those items part of our permanent menu."

Smith said about 20 percent of business each day goes out to people who order off the Atkins menu - with items ranging from redfish on the half shell and skewered shrimp to prime rib and desserts such as crustless cheesecake.

"The majority of the low-carb items are ordered at lunch time, but there's a good bit at dinner, too," Smith said.

In December, the Atkins Foundation partnered with Subway Sandwich Shops, endorsing two low-carb meal options - a Turkey and Bacon Melt Wrap and the Chicken Bacon Ranch Wrap - at all their North American locations.

"The wraps have been extremely successful since we added them to the menu," said Billye Reid, manager of the Subway on Broadway Drive in Hattiesburg.

Employees will make anywhere from 65 to 80 sandwich wraps per day, Reid said.

"In fact, I've had to schedule and hire some more employees just to help with the lunchtime rush that has taken place recently," she said.

Other fast-food restaurants such as Burger King and Hardees have joined in the low-carb, low-fat craze with bunless burgers.

Hardees began offering its Low-Carb Thickburger - a burger wrapped in large leaves of iceberg lettuce - in December.

Burger King announced two weeks ago it would begin offering bunless Whopper hamburgers and salads featuring steak, chicken and shrimp in the near future. The bunless sandwiches come in plastic salad bowls with a knife and fork.

However, the Atkins diet, which calls for its adherents to eat more protein and fats and fewer carbohydrates, has been criticized by some health and medical professionals.

Wayne Billon, associate professor of nutrition at the University of Southern Mississippi, said there are a lot of misconceptions about the Atkins diet.

"Some people think that they can lose weight by just eliminating carbohydrates, and that is false," he said. "What's important in losing or gaining weight is the total number of calories you take in. If you take on a low-carb diet and still take in excessive protein and fat, you will still gain weight."

Another important consideration of the Atkins diet, is the kind of fat being consumed, Billon said.

"If you are on the Atkins diet and are taking in the good type of fat - monounsaturated and polyunsaturated - in addition to adequate calories and not being super low in carbohydrates, it could have good benefits," he said.

Dieters, though, say they are pleased with the new options from restaurants that cater to their low-carb needs.

"I think it's great," said Robinson. "I'm not too sure I'm going to go out and buy a bunless burger, but it's helpful to know that I have more options now."

Sidebar:

Yeast sales

Low-carb diets haven't hurt USA Yeast, which has a plant in Hattiesburg, a company official said.

"Our volume from our largest customers has not changed," said USA Yeast spokesman Hayne Hollis, whose company sells yeast to commercial baking operations across the Southeast, including Bunny Bread and Cobblestone Mills. "We have not seen a decrease in sales for yeast that can be attributed to low-carbs."

In fact, the yeast business could be helped by the diet craze.

"A lot of these bread makers are responding with low-carb breads," he said. "And the low-carb breads actually require more yeast to help them rise, so we really don't think it's going to have an effect on our business."


Originally published Wednesday, January 21, 2004
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