Stanford Dining

Thriving During the Holidays

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:39:00 -0800

Most of us will be travelling home soon and here are 5 nutrition tips to keep you

healthy while eating the foods you love this holiday season.

SLOW DOWN AND SAVOR—

Enjoy your favorite holiday food items slowly. Let your taste buds truly taste all the flavors and textures in the dish. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that your stomach is officially “comfortable” so by slowing down you are more likely to eat satisfying amounts. This doesn’t mean you need to stay at the table for hours, but take a “pause” to check-in with your body before going back for seconds–and if you’re still hungry, savor your second serving.

SENSIBLE SERVING SIZES—

Over the holidays, it’s not so much what you eat but HOW MUCH that can impact your health. You can encourage sensible serving sizes by using smaller plates and bowls, especially for holidays foods with maximum enjoyment and minimum nutrition value. Sometimes people feel out of control if they eat multiple plates of food, so try to choose a plate size that represents a healthy portion for your body.

CONSIDER A LOWER CALORIE DRINK—

There are so many festive and great tasting lower calorie beverages to choose from. Some of my favorites include fun flavored green/white (unsweetened) tea or mineral water with a wedge of lemon or lime.

STAY ACTIVE OVER THE HOLIDAYS FOR YOUR GENERAL WELL-BEING—

Staying active and exercising regularly over the holidays can help improve your mood and keep your metabolism fired up—but make sure you aren’t using exercise as a punishment or compensation for eating something.

TALK TO SOMEONE—Over the holidays, some people tend to get depressed perhaps because it brings up emotions that they haven’t resolved or worked through—consider talking with someone about your feelings whether it is a therapist, religious advisor or trusted friend.

—ELAINE MAGEE, MPH, RD

WELLNESS AND PERFORMANCE DINING NUTRITIONIST

For more information, contact Elaine:

nutritionist@stanford.edu

Dealing With Food Product Recall

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:38:00 -0800

R&DE has a product recall policy in place which is expected of all vendors to ensure that our students have a wholesome food supply. Every week there is a product recall somewhere in the United States. The most recent is the recall of peanut butter manufactured by Sunland Peanut Butter Plant in New Mexico, which does not affect Stanford.

A food recall is a voluntary action by a processor or distributor to protect the public from products that may cause health problems. The recent Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law by President Obama afforded the FDA a new mandatory recall authority. Some of the reasons that necessitate food recall by food processors, manufacturers or distributors include the detection of pathogen in a product that may make consumers sick, presence of a potential allergen in a product and mislabeling or misbranding of food.

R&DE now requires all vendors to notify us within one hour of them becoming aware of a product recall. Vendors will immediately call five R&DE officials including the unit(s) that received the recalled product. The notification will include the product codes to enable managers to pull the product and the class of recall.

CLASS I: There is a reasonable probability that eating the food will cause serious

adverse health hazard or death.

CLASS II: There is a remote probability of adverse health consequences by eating

the food.

CLASS III: Eating the food will not cause adverse health consequences.

The vendors immediately follow the phone calls with an email that notifies managers of all R&DE dining, catering and retail units and Executive Directors. These officials visit the unit(s) to confirm that the recalled products have indeed been pulled and discarded. One of our responsibilities to you is serving you delicious, healthy and safe food. Food safety is thus priority one.

—DANIEL ARCHER, MPH, REHS

SAFETY, SANITATION AND

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MANAGER

For more info, contact Daniel:

danielea@stanford.edu

Is Caffeine Making You Irritable?

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:37:00 -0800

It’s not that caffeine is “bad,” in fact it can be very helpful at times. But there are a few ways that caffeine can contribute to irritability.

COLD TURKEY If you are physically dependent on it and you decide to go off caffeine cold turkey, you will likely get a headache and feel irritable until your body gets used to going without in the morning. So wean yourself off the caffeine over a period of weeks. Go half and half caffeinated and decaf coffee for a couple of weeks, for example, and then go one-quarter caffeinated and three-quarters decaf for another two weeks.

SLEEP DISTURBER Caffeine is a stimulant and will disrupt your sleep if you consume it too late in the day, making you cranky and exhausted the next day. Some people are more sensitive to this than others. You probably know who you are.

SHAKY and LIGHT-HEADED? Caffeine can bring you up with a burst of energy and then throw you down into a spiral of low energy. Some of us are more sensitive to his than others. The way to minimize this is to avoid large doses of caffeine and to consume your caffeine along with a balanced meal or snack.

—Elaine Magee, MPH, RD

Wellness and Performance Dining Nutritionist

For more information, contact Elaine:

nutritionist@stanford.edu

Food Safety: Turkey Time!

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:34:00 -0800

Four important food safety issues that must be considered when preparing turkey:

1. Safe thawing: the best way is in the refrigerator—it make take a day or two to thaw. It may also be thawed under cold running water (about 70°F) or in a microwave. Do NOT leave your turkey in the danger zone of 41°F-135°F (e.g. room temperature) for more than two hours.

2. Safe preparation: to prevent cross-contamination, properly wash your hands; and sanitize utensils and work surfaces.

3. Safe stuffing: use a probe thermometer to ensure that the center of the stuffing is cooked to a minimum of 165°F. Better yet, cook the stuffing separately, not in the turkey.

4. Safe cooking: Use a probe thermometer to check the temperature at the meaty portion of the breast, thigh and wing joint to ensure they reach 165°F or above. Once cooked, let the turkey stand for 20 minutes before removing the stuffing and carving.

Divide leftovers into small portions, refrigerate at 41°F or below and use within 3 to 4 days. Discard leftovers that have been at room temperature for more than two hours.

—Daniel Archer, MPH, REHS

Safety, Sanitation and

Environmental Compliance manager

For more info, contact Daniel:

danielea@stanford.edu

Ramen Wars at Stanford! October 17, 2012

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:34:00 -0700

Arillaga Family Dining Commons

Florence Moore Dining

Ramen Wars!

Ricker Dining

Lakeside Dining

Ramen Wars at Stanford! October 17, 2012

Thrive: Boost Your Health with Beans

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:17:17 -0700

Where can you get a boost of plant protein, fiber, important antioxidant phytochemicals and carbohydrate fuel—all in one food? BEANS !

Beans give your stomach a sense of fullness during meals and the feeling tends to stay for a long time after as well. And beans tend not to raise blood sugars like other carbohydrate-containing foods, probably due to their impressive doses of fiber and protein.

Beans and legumes are also top performers in R&DE’s Performance Dining Program with suggested activity in 5 themes: Brain Performance, Enhanced Immunity, Anti- Inflammatory, Antioxidant, and Sports Performance.

A half-cup of beans offer:

• 22 grams of carbohydrates

• 8 grams of fiber

• 8 grams of protein

• Key vitamins (folic acid, B vitamins)

• Key minerals (such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron.)

Boost your health by enjoying beans in your dining hall—look for them at the salad bar and in the hot foods station several times a week.

—ELAINE MAGEE

STANFORD DINING WELLNESS AND PERFORMANCE DINING NUTRITIONIST

For more information, contact Elaine: nutritionist@stanford.edu

Dim Sum dinner at FloMo tonight (10/11/12)! Looks yummy! :)

Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:01:28 -0700

Dim Sum dinner at FloMo tonight (10/11/12)! Looks yummy! :)

Stanford students battle it out with tomatoes!

Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:41:54 -0700

Natalya Thakur, Stanford Class of 2015, went with fellow Cardinal friends to the Tomato Battle in Pleasanton, CA last week! Here’s what she had to say about the fun experience:

1) How did you find out about the festival / why did you go?

My friend Martell found out about the festival from a Stanford dining flyer.

2) Who did you go with?

So I went with her [Martell] and two of my best guy friends, Sam and Michael.

3) How was your experience?

The experience was like no other. People were tailgating and dressed in costumes. I got trampled by a stampede of people…and the experience of flinging tomatoes everywhere was more liberating than scary…even though I felt like I was in a real battle. Washing all the juice off was kind of a struggle as hundreds of people waited to hose off…loved it though!

Announcing the Foodstagram competition!

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 00:13:28 -0700

We’re super excited to announce Stanford Dining’s Foodstagram competition! We know many of you already love to take Instagram photos of your daily meals at Stanford, and wanted to feature those on our sites :)

Simply take a photo of a plate of food at Stanford Dining, Instagram it however you like, and submit it to our Tumblr page (stanford-dining.tumblr.com) along with your name and graduation year. The best photos will get featured on our Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr feeds!

Sustainable Food Program: Sustainable Food Recovery

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:47:02 -0700

Reducing the amount of food wasted is among the most important initiatives of the Sustainable Food Program. The resulting savings is reinvested into other sustainable initiatives, including the purchase of more sustainably produced food.

One of our many sustainability initiatives includes the Love Food, Hate Waste campaign created in 2008. We moved the compost bins to the front of the tray returns to raise awareness about food waste. Students then had to scrape their own plates and were able to see firsthand how much food was wasted in total by the dining hall residents. Previously, Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) employees would scrape plates in the dish room, which is obscured from the students’ view. We have also implemented common food waste reduction measures such as the voluntary trayless program, down-sizing plates and controlling portion sizes where appropriate.

With respect to pre-consumer food waste, the most important recent step we have taken is to invest in food waste reduction technology, which identifies where, why and by whom food waste is being generated.

But the more interesting work we’re doing is through partnerships with students, with whom we’re collaborating on user-centered design processes for better understanding why students generate waste, and then prototyping design solutions to reduce it. We also have great success in creating opportunities for student volunteers to raise awareness amongst their peers about food waste.

Lastly, our partnership with Stanford Project for Hunger (SPOON) has been invaluable in that nearly 60,000 meals have been diverted from our compost bins to people in need. Although our first priority is to reduce waste in the first place, SPOON is able to elevate much of the waste we do generate to the highest use possible—feeding the hungry.

For more information, visit dining.stanford.edu/sustainable-food-program.

Thrive: Welcome to One of the Healthiest Campuses in the U.S.!

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:41:59 -0700

A warm welcome to the new freshmen and welcome back to all of our returning students! I’m Elaine Magee, the Wellness & Performance Nutritionist for R&DE. I write a column in this newsletter and you can come to my open office hours (Wed. 5:00-7:00 pm, Room 130 on the first floor of Arrillaga Family Dining Commons) or email me at nutritionist@stanford.edu.

R&DE approaches “health” in the grander, whole sense—health as a whole person (mind, body, and spirit) and health as a whole planet, which is why we are working on future projects that integrate our sustainability initiatives with our new Performance Dining program.

The Freshman 15 Doesn’t Exist Here

Some of you might be worried about “The Freshman 15,” but that doesn’t exist here at Stanford and according to national data, the typical freshman, no matter where they go to school, gains about the same weight as people the same age who don’t go to college. Here at Stanford, you can start or continue eating more healthfully and sustainably while at the same time try ethnic dishes, whole grains or vegetables you’ve never seen before. Enjoy our grass-fed hamburger, cage-free eggs, organic apples, local organic tofu and wild Alaskan salmon!

Healthy Body Image Resources For Everyone!

For some students, a poor body image can create physical and emotional challenges. To support students with online resources and to help create a healthy body image culture on campus, visit Stanford‘s Healthy Body Image Program (bodyimage.stanford.edu) and

• Take the confidential online eating and body image quiz

• Enroll in a 1-unit online course or sign-up for the Reflections Body Image Program

• Participate in online programs: “StayingFit” or “StudentBodies”

—ELAINE MAGEE

STANFORD DINING WELLNESS AND PERFORMANCE DINING NUTRITIONIST

For more information, contact Elaine: nutritionist@stanford.edu

Thrive: Go Bananas!

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 10:06:51 -0700

Go Bananas with Your Sports Workout!

Bananas are famous for being a great source of the electrolyte, potassium, but a new study just put them on the sports performance map alongside Gatorade!

A new study with trained cyclists suggests bananas can be as effective as popular sports drinks in providing nutrition support during prolonged and intensive exercise. In the study cyclists ate bananas at a rate of .2-gram carbohydrate per kilogram bodyweight for every 15 minutes of intense exercise (or about half of a banana for a 150 pound person).

Bananas are a favorite with many athletes and coaches because they are a good source of three things:

• Carbohydrates (FUEL): 27 grams of carbohydrate per banana!

• Nutrients (ELECTROLYTES): 422 mg potassium and 32 mg magnesium per banana!

• Antioxidants from phytochemicals (which may help minimize oxidative stress resulting from heavy exertion)

You can find bananas in the dining halls throughout the summer!

—ELAINE MAGEE

STANFORD DINING WELLNESS AND PERFORMANCE DINING NUTRITIONIST

For more information, contact Elaine: nutritionist@stanford.edu

Sustainable Food Program: Seafood and Our Oceans

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 10:04:00 -0700

Know Your Food

Seafood and our Oceans

Maintaining healthy fisheries is among the most challenging prospects to those of us working towards a sustainable food system. Jurisdiction and law enforcement over open water is often confounding or nonexistent and the supply chain is quite opaque due to the isolated and remote nature of fishing operations. Combined, this has resulted in a rather dire situation for our world’s fisheries. Following are a few statistics about their current status:

Scientists estimate that we have removed as much as 90 percent of the large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish and cod from the world’s oceans.

Seventy percent of the world’s fisheries are now exploited, overexploited or have collapsed.

It’s estimated that by 2030, the world will need an additional 37 million tons of farmed fish per year to maintain current levels of consumption.

On the bright side, there are a number of committed non-profit organizations making a real impact, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch Program, with whom we are a business partner. With their guidance, we are committed to only purchasing seafood that they’ve deemed a “best choice” or “good alternative”.

—MATT ROTHE

STANFORD DINING SUSTAINABLE FOOD PROGRAM MANAGER

For more information, contact Matt : mrothe@stanford.edu

For more information on Stanford Dining Sustainability, visit dining.stanford.edu/sustainability

Thrive: Tips for Enjoying Sugar in Moderation

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:14:13 -0700

A little sugar is fine, but a lot can mean you aren’t getting enough whole foods that give you important nutrients to keep your body performing at its best.

Here are tips that literally spell m-o-d-e-r-a-t-i-o-n:

M Mindfully eat food or drink that contain sugar by slowing down and paying

attention to the flavor of every bite—you’ll be satisfied sooner.

O Only choose whole grain breakfast cereals that have no/low

sugar (like our unsweetened hot oatmeal!)

D Diet soda—If you’re craving a Pepsi a day, try making it diet.

E Eliminate sweet foods that you really aren’t enjoying or paying

attention to.

R Remember to choose water as your beverage whenever possible.

A Ask yourself if fresh or dried fruit or chewing gum is what you want.

T Think portion control with sweet treats—fun size Snickers

compared to king size.

I Investigate if your sweet tooth has a pattern—when you are upset, bored,

hungry, tired, etc.

O Observe—Are you less tempted to reach for sugary snacks if you limit

caffeine and eat regular meals featuring mostly whole foods with fiber and

protein.

N Never say never. If you try to cut sugar completely from your

diet, you’ll most likely only want it more.

—ELAINE MAGEE

STANFORD DINING WELLNESS AND PERFORMANCE DINING NUTRITIONIST

For more information, contact Elaine: nutritionist@stanford.edu

Sustainable Food Program: Heirloom Tomatoes

Mon, 23 Jul 2012 16:08:32 -0700

This is my favorite time of the growing season. By now, it’s usually been about nine months since I last ate a fresh tomato. This in part owes to my predilection for eating with the seasons, but this alone does not explain the dearth of S. lycopersicum in my diet. To me, there is nothing more gastronomically pleasing than a lightly salted slice of an heirloom tomato. In a food system that has generally come to prize and demand of its vegetables such attributes as shelf life, transportability, storability, and uniformity, there is nothing so rebellious as a delicate, vine ripened heirloom tomato variety that has been bred and selected over centuries for its taste and usefulness in specific culinary applications. So superior are these varieties to their contemporary cousins that myriad acolytes across the world forgo anything other. Out of my own love of heirloom tomatoes, I am doing a trial in the dining hall gardens to identify which varieties taste the best and do well in our local climate. The varieties we are trying include: Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Dr. Wyche’s Yellow, Druzba, Giant Syrian, Green Zebra, Japanese Tifele Black, Mortgage Lifter, and Trucker’s Favorite Pink, among others. Keep an eye out for them on the menu.

—MATT ROTHE

STANFORD DINING SUSTAINABLE FOOD PROGRAM MANAGER

For more information, contact Matt : mrothe@stanford.edu

For more information on Stanford Dining Sustainability, visit dining.stanford.edu/sustainability

Stop Germs in Their Tracks!

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:41:43 -0700

Welcome to Stanford! All of us here at Stanford Dining want to make your experience here a great one. In addition to serving you delicious food, we also want to keep everyone healthy. The simple act of properly washing your hands with soap for 20 seconds (that is how long it takes to sing Happy Birthday song twice) after using the restroom significantly cuts down on illnesses of all kinds.

As you enjoy the Stanford Dining experience, please remember to do these easy things:

• Wash your hands with soap and warm water before eating

• Use the hand sanitizers located in the dining halls

• Use a fresh plate, cup and set of cutlery when going back

for seconds

• Don’t put the serving utensil handles in contact with the food

• Cover your mouth and nose when sneezing, then wash your

hands after

—DANIEL ARCHER

STANFORD DINING SAFETY, SANITATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE MANAGER

For more information,

contact Daniel: danielea@stanford.edu

Ramadan @ Stanford

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 16:38:00 -0700

Ramadan marks the anniversary of the month within the Islamic lunar calendar when the holy Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammad. Muslims observe the month by fasting, abstaining from food and water from sunrise to sunset daily. This year, Ramadan will be July 20th-August 20th.

Stanford Dining supports fasting Muslim students’ observation of the traditional pre-dawn meal: waking up just before dawn to eat a nutrient-rich breakfast (known in Arabic as suhoor) to keep us fueled throughout the day via the Boxed Pre-Dawn Meal program! Students enjoy a selection of nutritious foods including yogurt, specialty cheeses and whole wheat bread and even traditional Islamic delicacies like dates and pistachios- picked up the previous night from a dining hall. Having this awesome Stanford Dining kit helps students make good use of their pre-dawn time. Instead of fumbling around in the dark hitting snooze until sunrise, dreading the thought of groggily scrambling an egg, students can conveniently focus on nutritionally preparing for the discipline of fasting and reading Quran.

At sunset, Maghrib, Muslims break their fast with iftar. Stanford Dining extends hours of operation at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons to close an hour after sunset, to best accommodate students breaking fast. Stanford Dining also features traditional Middle-Eastern inspired entrees with halal meats during Ramadan.

It’s this type of attention to detail, flexibility and deep cultural respect for students from all backgrounds that makes Stanford Dining an incredible luxury to enjoy. This sort of programming helps Muslim students feel more than just accepted and acknowledged, but celebrated and honored. Sometimes it’s tough taking classes while away from family during Ramadan, especially during long summer days, so it’s doubly meaningful for Stanford Dining to foster a sense of family for students at our home-away-from-home during the holidays.

—FARAH WEHEBA, ‘13

STANFORD DINING HALAL INTERN

Stanford Dining suhoor meals for Stanford students will be available for pick-up at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons during dinner throughout the month of Ramadan. Cost is one breakfast meal swipe.

For more information on Stanford Dining’s halal program, visit dining.stanford.edu/halal-options

Sustainable Food Program: The Farm Bill Update

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:05:42 -0700

Last week, the Senate passed its version of the Farm Bill, a piece of legislation that spends almost a $100 billion annually on food and farming related activities and policies in the United States. The negotiations and resulting passage of the bill are not usually a very public affair, as the legislation directly impacts only a small percentage of our population, including farmers and those who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the food stamp program). However, the Farm Bill indirectly impacts all of us in considerable ways. For example, Carson Chow, a researcher and mathematician at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, suggests that the primary reason 1 in 3 Americans is obese—a disease that costs Americans $127 billion annually—is because of structural changes made to farm subsidies in the 1970’s Farm Bill. The latest Senate version addresses this to some extent, however the bill still needs to pass in the House to become law. At stake is nothing less than the future health of our society, our agrarian economy, and the land from which we derive our sustenance; outcomes that should behoove us to pay att ention to it.

Read more information about the Farm Bill at bit.ly/civileats

—MATT ROTHE

STANFORD DINING SUSTAINABLE FOOD PROGRAM MANAGER

For more information, contact Matt : mrothe@stanford.edu

For more information on Stanford Dining Sustainability, visit dining.stanford.edu/sustainability

Thrive: Fresh Fruit

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 17:03:04 -0700

Juicy watermelon wedges, firm grapes, yummy red/purple berries and cherries or orange nectarines, peaches and apricots… these are the fruit flavors of summer! Each of these flavor- and color-filled fruits is packed with assorted key vitamins and minerals plus phytochemicals (plant compounds that help protect the body with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other helpful activities). If you have ever wanted to boost your health by eating more colorful fruits and vegetables, summer is the time to do it! Keep this in mind as you eat at the dining halls this summer:

• Go to the salad bar first and see what fresh summer fruit can be enjoyed today!

• Mix it up! Choose fruits of different colors to make sure you are getting an assortment of the powerful phytochemicals (orange fruits tend to contribute carotene phytochemicals while red/purple boost your intake of anthocyanins, resveratrol, ellagic acid etc.)

• If you want something sweet with your oatmeal, cereal, salad or after your meal, think about enjoying the fresh summer fruit in the dining hall.

—ELAINE MAGEE

STANFORD DINING WELLNESS AND PERFORMANCE DINING NUTRITIONIST

For more information, contact Elaine: nutritionist@stanford.edu

Thrive: The Benefits of Eating Slowly

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 15:29:00 -0700

It takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that your stomach is officially “comfortable” and that you should stop eating. If you eat slowly, the brain has a chance to catch up with the stomach and you are more likely to eat the right amount of food for your body.

Four Tips To Get You To 20 Minutes:

• Instead of diving into your meal when you sit down at the table, take a moment to breathe deeply and be grateful—think about the different foods on your plate and the care it took to make it.

• If there is something you really want to enjoy the fl avor of, close your eyes, shut out the noise around you and pay attention to what your taste buds are experiencing. Shutting off one or two senses (sight or sound) can often expand the sensation of another sense (taste).

• Don’t eat standing up; your brain and stomach are more likely to register that you are eating if you are relaxed and enjoying the meal.

• Break up your bites with a nice, refreshing beverage like spa water, green tea or nonfat or lowfat milk.

—ELAINE MAGEE

STANFORD DINING WELLNESS AND PERFORMANCE DINING NUTRITIONIST

For more information, contact Elaine: nutritionist@stanford.edu