Benedictine College uses dietitians to help provide food for students, but at what cost?
Students coming from numerous locations are the reason food preferences and backgrounds are diverse. Which means no two plates will look the same.
Discussion with dietitian Kaylie Brand, an employee from Elior, the company running the meal planning for Benedictine College led to an emphasis on this fact:
“An ideal meal for a college student and athlete will look different for everyone based on personal preference and medical dietary needs such as food allergies” she said.
Brand explained to that Elior, as a group, recommends the foods they label as “BeWell” options. These options are shown primarily at the cafeteria here on campus. She states that these specific items are labeled by the team as the healthiest option based on research on offering the best quality food. The “BeWell” food will be labeled with a blueberry next to it.
This part of planning meals for colleges was what Brand claimed to be the most challenging. To account for the number of people on a college campus and their needs as it may vary is what presents the initial challenge.
When asked about the difficulty in planning college dinning Brand expressed “Unlike preparing a single meal at home, we must account for a wide range of needs, including food allergies, religious dietary restrictions, vegan and vegetarian preferences, and the higher calorie demands of student athletes.”
No matter where you are getting your meal, it is still vital to get the right fuel. A talk on fueling performance focuses on filling your plate.
This ties straight into portion sizing. When talking to students on Benedictine College one of the biggest problems mentioned was portion size.
“Portion size will vary for each student based on individual’s metabolism, lifestyle factors, and goals,” said Brand.
This alone takes practice on how you should fill your plate but that will be the best place to start. Commonly known is that for each meal you must include at least 3 or 4 of the main food groups. This includes fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy.
Brand recommended and offered up the use of MyPlate to help students find the plate that is fit for them.
A standard to help start with the basics is that fruits or vegetables should take up half of your plate; with a fourth being grains, protein and or dairy.
