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Kathy Shayna Shocket has the inside view on the stories that make headlines.

 Honest Critics

Kathy’s scoop on BJ’s Restaurants' new EnLIGHTened menu 

 If you’re one of the millions who made a New Year’s Resolution to eat healthier - here’s another restaurant that just rolled out a new healthy menu option. And it's one that's healthy and heavenly!

In fact, BJ’s Restaurants took a big step to REDEFINE their healthy menu known as EnLIGHTened. Rather than focusing on calories and "skinny" dishes, the company is looking at superfoods, vegetarian entrees and gluten-free options.

And to test out their healthy menu first- they invited the harshest of critics to sample it - a  group of children !!!! Not only were the cameras rolling, but BJ’s turned the kids’ criticiques of  the dishes into an exceptionally cute video series.

So, take a peek as the kids (Generation Z) try to guess what they’re eating and  critique BJ’s EnLIGHTened Entrees® and speculate Ingredients may contain dirt balls (which is actually Quinoa), worms (Soba Noodles) and megalodon (Salmon) You can take a peek HERE

“There’s been a movement of people wanting to understand what they eat and how it makes them feel. As a result, “healthy” has taken on new meaning,” said Scott Rodriguez, Vice President of Culinary and Kitchen Innovation at BJ’s Restaurants, Inc. “Whether it’s going meatless, avoiding gluten or keeping an eye on calories, we’ve curated menu items to help make those better-for-you choices a little bit easier.” 

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BJ’s EnLIGHTened movement goes beyond cutting calories. “It’s not about taking things out; it’s about putting the right things in,” said Greg Trojan, President and CEO of BJ's Restaurants, Inc. “We’re committed to transparency that empowers the allergy-conscious, the calorie-conscious, the health-conscious and everyone in between.” 

Yes, the EnLIGHTened menu includes whole foods and superfoods that are dense in nutrients and loaded with vegetables and grains.There are about 20 EnLIGHTened Entrees®. 

And for the adults only of course  at BJ Restaurant and Brewhouse - there are the EnLIGHTened Cocktails® that have fewer than 140 calories. The proprietary BJ’s LightSwitch® Lager—a gold medalist at the highly renowned Great American Beer Festival—is just 100 calories per 12-ounce serving. 

 So CHEERS to the healthier and tasty menus and keeping those resolutions! 

kathy shayna shocket copy   Kathy Shayna Shocket is a freelance Writer, and TV- Field Producer based in Phoenix, AZ. The former TV-Reporter has written for publications such as TIME Magazine, Money Magazine, PEOPLE Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and The NEW YORK TIMES. You can reach her at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it