Chef Dave Samber and Humana’s Apple Man at the Taste of Chicago.

When Chicago, a city best known for serving up dishes such as hot dogs, deep-dish pizza and cheesecake, hosts the largest food festival in the nation, you might not expect to find a lot of healthful activities or food choices. But that is exactly what you will see at the 2012 Taste of Chicago, which is being held July 11-15 in Grant Park.

Humana is bringing several activities to the annual event that help Taste-goers keep the focus on their health and well-being while having fun and enjoying great food. Humana worked with physicians with expertise in nutrition and diet to compile the Humana Healthier Choices guide, which features 27 appetizers, main courses and desserts from 15 Chicago restaurants. The Healthier Choices are indicated by a green apple on the menu boards at participating restaurants. Taste-goers can also use the free guide available at www.humana.com/tasteofchicago or www.facebook.com/humana.tasteofchicago.

An example of the tasty, healthier options is the baked crab cake nuggets that chef Dave Samber created for Polo Café (video).

It’s not all about food though. If you go to the festival, look for these other Humana sponsored events that emphasize the great outdoors, fun and fitness:

• Well-being Tour: The tour is traveling across the country to provide a fresh perspective on healthy living. It features an interactive Xbox Kinect station where guests can play the “Your Shape” game, four biometric screenings and an opportunity to receive a free pedometer. It is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Congress Parkway each day of the Taste.
• Humana Race to Taste Twilight Run: The 5K run/2-mile walk kicks off at 6:15 Thursday, July 12, at Queens Landing on the lakefront.
• Humana Dining Pavilion: Humana teams up with Shedd Aquarium for a healthful cooking demonstration at 11:30 a.m. Friday, July 13, at the main Cooking Corner stage. On Saturday, July 14, Taste-goers are invited to attend the Biondi Boomer Bash, which begins with a live broadcast from WLS-FM at 10 a.m. followed by a sock hop with the legendary Dick Biondi from 4-6:30 p.m. where people can dance to music from the 50’s and 60’s.

Lucy Pereda, host and producer of the long-running and top-rated home magazine syndicated TV series “En Casa de Lucy,” which airs in 18 countries in Latin America and in Portugal.

The Humana Well-Being Tour is making a special stop this week – alongside an international television star – at the 19th annual Hispanic Business & Consumer Expo in Orlando, Fla.

The Well-Being Tour, a national mobile health initiative, displays a variety of interactive Humana innovations aimed at spreading the message of well-being and demonstrating fun ways to be healthy. This week’s stop, June 8 – 10, will include an opportunity to learn health and wellness tips from Lucy Pereda, host and producer of the long-running and top-rated home magazine syndicated TV series “En Casa de Lucy,” which airs in 18 countries in Latin America and in Portugal.

Other highlights include:

• Free biometric screenings; demos of the Humana-sponsored game “Your Shape” on an Xbox Kinect; and learning the importance of water at Humana’s Hydration Station
• Lucy Pereda will offer a healthy cooking demo and raffle cookbooks, as well as makeup tips
• Performance and autograph signing by the Orlando Magic Silver Stars dance squad

The Hispanic Business & Consumer Expo is the largest business expo targeting the Hispanic market in the nation and has attracted more than 20,000 attendees during the past two years. To get more information, visit their Facebook page.

Mike McCallister and Bill Clinton watch the action at the 2012 Humana Challenge.

The 2012 Humana Challenge, in partnership with the Clinton Foundation, was named “Sports Event of the Year” at the fifth-annual Sports Business Awards in New York on Wednesday, May 23.

“Winning “Sports Event of the Year” is an unbelievable honor for the Humana Challenge,” said Mike McCallister, Humana Chairman and CEO. “It really speaks to the commitment of our partners and the Coachella Valley community in making this event successful. We were also proud that spectators, fans and viewers rallied around our dream of helping people achieve lifelong well-being that we and the Clinton Foundation worked to emphasize throughout the tournament. We’re humbled by the success of the event and will continue to instill healthy activities throughout the years to come.”

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The Humana Well-Being Tour, a national mobile health initiative, appeared at the Shell Houston Open for its second appearance of a national seven-month tour on March 29, 2012, in Humble, Texas. The Tour displays a variety of interactive Humana innovations aimed at spreading the message of well-being.

Humana brought its Well-Being Tour, a national mobile health initiative, to the Shell Houston Open on March 29, 2012, in Humble, Texas. The Tour, which debuted at the Humana Challenge PGA TOUR golf tournament in partnership with the William J. Clinton Foundation in January, displays a variety of interactive Humana innovations aimed at spreading the message of well-being and demonstrating fun ways to be healthy. Activities include:

• Walkit: Attendees receive a free pedometer with an RFID tag through the HumanaFit program to track their steps during the event and beyond.
• Humana Biometrics Stations: Participants visit one of four (non-invasive) biometric screening stations to receive personalized health results and ask questions of qualified professionals.
• Xbox Kinect: Fans experience the Humana co-branded Xbox Kinect “Your Shape” game that demonstrates how being healthy can also be fun.
• Photo Station: Visitors share physical feats using green screen technology.
• Well-Being Wall: Participants join in a living collage by sharing personal definitions of well-being.

As with the Humana Challenge, select stops on the Humana Well-Being Tour will include a charitable donation from The Humana Foundation tied to the WalkitSM program. For example, at the Shell Houston Open, Humana gave free pedometers to fans who visited the Well-Being Tour. Tournament attendees were encouraged to track their steps throughout the event, after which The Humana Foundation will donate $1 for every 50 recorded steps, up to $100,000, for local Houston charities.

The Tour will continue across the country for seven months with stops at fairs, festivals and PGA Tour events, on a mission to challenge and inspire people to live life fully.

Humana launched a national Well-being Tour from the Humana Challenge on Wednesday, creating a dynamic way to demonstrate Humana’s commitment to help people achieve lifelong well-being and live life fully. Raja Rajamannar, Humana Senior Vice President and Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer, introduced the tour, which features an 18-wheel tractor trailer mobile display with opportunities for visitors to participate in a variety of well-being activities, including stationary bikes, biometric screening stations, registration for Humana’s WalkIt program, and the new Xbox Kinect game sponsored by Humana, “Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012.”

Following the Humana Challenge, the mobile display will visit communities across the country for eight months. Tour stops will include PGA TOUR events, Humana Guidance Centers, KaBOOM! multi-generational playground construction sites and other health-focused venues.

“This [Well-Being Tour] is going to go across the country…We’re trying to spread the message far and wide, and this is just the beginning!” said Rajamannar. “We are giving away 12,000 pedometers at this PGA TOUR event today. The whole idea is to get people to start moving and counting their steps.”