Restaurant Franchising – The Healthy Option

The restaurant industry has been facing difficult times recently, with the ravages of the declining economy having prompted price reductions in several ways: new items at lower prices, more small-plate and half-serving options, and more fixed-price offerings. Yet, amid such difficult times, it is the restaurant franchising businesses which are continuing to thrive. There has been a significant rise in popularity of the fast-casual healthy eating experience. Consumers are becoming more health conscious, but do not want to spend a fortune on eating out. Therefore, their primary criteria when choosing a place to eat are the quality of the food combined with value for money. They also take into consideration such factors as a great atmosphere, which is neither too formal nor too fussy, efficient friendly service and a varied menu.

The health food industry is increasing year on year and this is reflected in the fast-casual healthy concept, which is rapidly expanding throughout the country. These restaurant franchises serve nutritious yet tasty food including salads, organic steaks and burgers, risottos and soups. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, low fat or low carbohydrate meals will often be menu options. Drinks on offer may include vitamin-packed fruit smoothies, specialist coffees, detoxes and herbal teas. Skimmed, soya and rice milks may be offered as substitutes for full-fat cow’s milk.

Restaurant franchises specialising in healthy eating typically attract customers who are environmentally aware or concerned about animal welfare and who are looking for a healthy meal at an attractive price. Food is often organically sourced and/or locally produced, with many businesses using Fair Trade and free-range products where possible. Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the food they are eating. More people are presenting with food allergies or sensitivities and are demanding, for example, wheat-free or dairy-free alternatives. Many customers are also weight conscious and opt to eat at a restaurant franchise specialising in healthy fare because they know they will be able to enjoy a tasty meal, snack or drink that is low in calories but high on taste. Healthy menu choices, which are filling without being fattening, can include Italian flat-bread pizza with reduced fat cheese, grilled free-range chicken breast with organic spinach salad, vegetarian nut and mushroom risotto or a fresh basil and tomato soup with wheat-free bread.

With the rapid expansion of the healthy eating restaurant franchise sector, it is clear that many consumers are demanding a fast-casual eating experience that is healthier than the traditional greasy burger and fries or fat-laden pizza. Outlets range from a “kiosk” approach on major concourses, shopping malls, rail and bus stations, outdoor events etc, through to a full “cafe” environment. This restaurant franchise opportunity has enormous growth potential and is likely to continue growing in the foreseeable future.

What You Can Expect From the Different Luxury Hotels of the World

There are a lot of things that go into a great luxury hotel. All the different Luxury hotels of the world have something unique to offer their guests and are in fact known for a number of their great aspects. No matter how large or small the luxury hotels may be, one of the things that they all have in common is to pamper their guests and leave them with an ultimate sense of satisfaction. In fact, each of these hotels is such that they have recurring guests, who will find it hard to not come back for another visit. After all, it is quite a different feeling to be completely pampered and taken care of in ultimate style.

There are many hotel organizations that one will come across if you look around. In fact, depending on which country you might be travelling to, there might be a chain of luxury hotels in that very country. It is just that you might have to do some research of your own in order to find out the exact kind of hotel that will be of interest to you and possibly be in your budget. It is also possible to shortlist a number of hotels which might be close to what you like, in case your destination might not have a true luxury hotel.

But, this is highly unlikely considering the fact that almost every other country has at least one luxury hotel organization. In fact, many of these hotels even have chains which operate internationally. The one thing that they maintain in their hotels in common is their high level of architecture and possibly a standard design that their establishment can easily be identified with. This makes it easier for guests to seamlessly adjust to whichever place that they might be going to. In fact, this is one of the reasons why people opt for high end hotels – it is the level of service that is maintained everywhere.

The facilities offered by these high end hotels are truly mindboggling and in fact something that you should definitely think about. When you look at all of the hotels of the world, a common trait that you might come across is the fact that they all offer very high levels of service and amenities that they tend to keep adding to every now and then. This is the one factor about these hotels that you can look up to and be extremely happy about. They care a lot about the comfort of the guests and want to make sure that they have no facility to complain about.

If you haven’t tried out one of these high end hotels yet, you might want to do so the next time you are presented with this option. In fact, most people are completely mesmerized by the concept itself and want to try it out for themselves before moving on to anything else. It is for this reason that the number of such high end hotels are on the rise.

Feeding Your Dog Homemade Dog Food

Since the pet food recall of 2007 more and more people have been resorting to feeding their dogs homemade dog food in order to make sure they are fed safely and stay healthy. Books about making homemade dog food have been steadily increasing in sales.

Yet, dog owners are constantly warned against cooking and preparing homemade dog food for their four legged family member. “Experts” claim that it’s too difficult, complicated, and confusing to make sure your dog has a “balanced” homemade diet.

Before there was commercial dog food, people fed their dogs all types of human food including the table scraps from left over meals. That’s all there was. But because commercial dog nutrition is such big business today, people are being told they shouldn’t do it.

In reality, if you’re feeding your dog commercial dog food, you should really think twice about it. Commercial dog food is full of chemicals and preservatives that can shorten the life of your dog and cause all sorts of disease. Remember, reading and understanding a dog food label is a lot different than reading a human food label.

By doing a little bit of research, you can come up with a good healthy plan to feed your dog a homemade diet. It’s not as hard as it sounds, nor does it take that much time to put together. I would caution against going with a raw diet, but you can’t go wrong with a homemade cooked diet.

You want to make sure you use basic nutritional principles such as balance, variety, and moderation. You also want to make sure you follow these three principals at the same time.

Balance: This means getting all the needed nutrients into your dog’s diet in the right proportions. Actually you do this without thinking about. I know it sounds silly, but it’s true.

Since you as a human being do this well enough to survive, I’m sure you won’t have any problem helping out your dog! Dogs aren’t much different.

Variety: You should vary the sources of cereals, meat, and fiber your dog gets and do it often. Different foods contain many essential nutrients but in different proportions. Just like you, your dog will like some foods more than others, so try different foods and ingredients. Just make sure you know which human foods he shouldn’t eat. There are some human foods that are very poisonous to dogs!

Moderation: Moderation is about keeping the calories balanced. Because you won’t know exactly how many calories your dog is getting, you’ll need to watch his weight. Pretty simple. There really isn’t much more to making homemade dog food for your best friend! It’s safer, healthier and usually saves you money in the long run.

If you aren’t comfortable with feeding your dog just a homemade diet, you can also supplement with organic dog food. The problem with this is expense. You are going to pay almost twice as much for it as you would regular commercial food from the grocery store shelf.

On the other hand, you’ll be paying more in veterinary bills if you feed grocery store bought commercial food to your dog. Your dog may even die before his time. It’s not worth it! I would love to hear any questions or comments you might have about homemade dog food and how you feed your dog!