2012-02-13 12:25:11 -

ST. LOUIS, MO -- (Marketwire) -- 02/13/12 -- Restaurants are ready to help diners eat healthier starting this Spring. As part of their initiative to provide great-tasting food that offers consumers the healthy benefits of more whole foods, St. Louis-based Mangia Italiano : dineatmangia.net/ announced that it had joined the national Whole Foods Network.



Whole Foods Network is a nationwide program to help consumers fight cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes by eating more whole foods. As restaurants across the nation join the network, they will do their part by featuring the highest quality "whole food" menu items without using artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.





"We chose to join the Whole Foods Network because they respect the quality and customer satisfaction offered by Whole Foods Markets," said Collier Evans, owner of Mangia Italiano. "This is why we also choose to sell our pasta and sauces in Whole Foods stores. We lovingly prepare our dishes from scratch using the freshest ingredients available."



The popularity of their fresh whole food pasta is well-known throughout the St. Louis area. Their pasta can be found in more than 20 local restaurants such as Balaban's, Charlie Gitto's, Mosaic Modern Fusion Restaurants, Schlafly Bottleworks, Bar Italia, Kemoll's, and Ya Ya's Euro Bistro. It also can be found in upscale grocery stores and farmer's markets.



Restaurant owners and diners across the area are consciously eating healthier whole foods as part of their diet. "Fresh makes the difference in eating more whole foods," said Evans.



Compared with processed foods, whole foods contain natural antioxidants that the body knows how to use efficiently, along with complex carbohydrates, protein, fats, and other critical nutrients. Additionally, natural foods are often high in fiber with additional healthy properties to protect our bodies from disease.



"Eating more whole foods and less processed foods is the easiest way to improve your health and prevent disease," said Elaine Magee, MPH, RD and author of Food Synergy. "The more we know about nutrition and health, the more it seems we need to eat the way we did a hundred years ago."



For more information about the Whole Foods Network, or to have your restaurant join the rapidly expanding movement to enable diners to eat healthier, visit their pre-launch website at www.wholefoodsnetwork.com : www.wholefoodsnetwork.com/ .



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Contact:

Whole Foods Network
Trennier Mathews
Phone: 407-232-0360
Email Contact : www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct?id=F4531D5443D2E623