Did You Know...

Chartwells on use Trans Fat Free Oil in all cooking.

Pure and Simple

The drinking water in the Main Dining Hall contains Ultra Violet Light Technology to ensure fresh, high quality, great tasting drinking water? UV light has been tested and certified to eliminate 99.9% of bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

Superbeverage or Bust?

From green tea to pomegranate juice, quench your thirst for knowledge about uberbeverages here.

Sports drinks. Green tea. Pomegranate juice. What do these drinks have in common? They all proclaim to offer more nutrition bang for your beverage buck. Are they just what the doctor ordered? Experts say that more studies need to be conducted on these drinks for definitive results on their specific health benefits, but here's the current thinking on these superdrinks:

Sports and Energy Drinks

Sports drinks are basically water that's been pumped up with ingredients such as simple carbohydrates, sodium, potassium, other electrolytes, caffeine, chromium, amino acids (protein building blocks), and additional nutrients.

When to sip it: A sports drink can replace the electrolytes and fluids lost by athletes engaged in very strenuous sports (marathon running, distance cycling, triathlon competition) and those who work in hot, humid environments. A basic rule: Choose a sports drink if you'll be exercising vigorously for an hour or more at a time. Fitness experts are studying whether protein in sports drinks can improve endurance and muscle repair.

 When to skip it: A typical sports drink can be high in calories, so it's not wise to drink one if water could suffice. The truth is, if you aren't engaged in strenuous athletics you don't really need a sports drink unless you're exercising for an extended period of time. Pomegranate Juice Pomegranate juice is loaded with antioxidants. Antioxidants may help keep cells healthy by protecting them from oxidation—a process that has the potential to damage the body. But pomegranate juice can be high in both cost and calories. To "stretch" it, mix it with seltzer or club soda.

When to sip it: Emerging research suggests that pomegranate juice may help to improve blood flow to the heart in patients with heart disease, and it may help slow prostate cancer growth and more. These potential claims require more rigorous study, but what is sure is that drinking pomegranate juice can be a delicious way to sneak in a serving of fruit. Just be sure to balance drinking juice with eating whole fruits to maximize fiber intake.

When to skip it: Some data suggest that pomegranate juice may interfere with the metabolism of certain prescription medications, so talk to your doctor before drinking this juice, if you take prescription drugs.

Green Tea

Green tea has been brewed from the dried leaves of the evergreen shrub Camellia sinensis for the past 5,000 years. (All black and oolong tea also comes from this plant.) This internationally loved beverage contains polyphenols, tannins, and some vitamin K.

When to sip it: Tea is a calorie-free drink that's soothing for most—both hot and cold. Whether that's all tea can offer is still up for debate. Preliminary research is looking at green tea's possible health benefits for arthritis, heart disease, high cholesterol, menopausal symptoms, and asthma as well as alertness and memory. Results in these areas have been inconclusive, and the FDA has not allowed any substantial health claims on green tea products.

When to skip it: Green tea contains vitamin K, which affects the blood's ability to clot. People who take blood thinners and enjoy drinking green tea should let their doctor or pharmacist know.

 Nutrition Journal

To create your journal, which will keep a running total of the foods you have consumed for the day, week or month, you must first log in or create an account.  Once you have done that, follow these easy steps:

1. Click on Nutrition to go to the Nutrition Charts
2. Click on the plus sign of the items you wish to eat or plan to eat and this will be added to your journal.
3. To view your journal, you can click on My Nutrition.  This will calculate the total nutritional values for you for the day, week or month.

The nutritional values found on this web site were provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are for comparative purposes only.  The foods offered on campus may not directly reflect the stated values of similar or like items.

Food Quality and Nutrition Awareness

Students' awareness of nutrition and healthy eating is at an all time high.  The need to focus on quality food and nutrition has become one of our missions moving forward.  Through our Eat.Learn.Live., Balanced Choices and Dine On Campus web site, we are not just saying that we are focusing on food quality and nutrition, we are actually showing it.  After all, a well nourished student is much more likely to get better grades in school!  The following outlines our nutrition programs and how they will be implemented at Marywood University.

Eat.Learn.Live

Nourishing students is not only our business; it's our commitment to the communities that we serve.  These are just three simple words that communicate our singleminded commitment to provide the food and nutrition that fuels your students to succeed in their education, laying the foundation for a long, healthier life.

Eat

We take feeding your students very seriously.  Dining Services dishes out quality foods with menus customized for the Marywood University student and their nutritional needs.  We are pleased to announce the upcoming introduction of our new health, nutrition and wellness program called Balanced Choices.  The students will be able to eat their own food choices that will fall under a variety of menu groups: Balanced, Fit, Vegan, Vegetarian and Carb Control.

Learn

MU Dining Services fuels hungry minds for success in education.  For without healthy, balanced choices to keep them energized, students can't learn.  Our initiatives also include stepping up nutrition education in our dining locations, learning about the community around us and gaining real world experiences through employment with MU Dining Services.  We understand that we have a responsibility to education and learning as part of our role as the dining service provider.

Live

Living a successful life includes giving to others and being sensitive to the environment and community.  Marywood was a location for Project: Clean Plate "keeping hunger in mind to educate and challenge the students to reduce food waste and nurture the surrounding community.  This year we worked with the Lance Armstrong Foundation to support cancer patients and their familes.

 Introducing the NEW Balanced Choices Program

This component-based program provides a universal nutrition and wellness vision for all locations across North America.  It was developed by a task force of dieticians, operators, chefs and marketing communications experts and is directed by a Registered Dietician to ensure program integrity while keeping it updated to reflect emerging nutrition and wellness trends.  We consider the importance of unique client needs when implementing this program, as it can be adapted to complement existing client/company wellness initiatives.  The Balanced Choices program supports social responsibility and sustainable foods programs.

The Balanced Choices Program Components include:

• "Food Choices" Menu Icon System informs customers of a variety of menu offerings that meet specific diet and nutrition criteria through colorful graphic labeling.
• "Our Food Philosophy" states our commitment to using the most nutritious products obtainable and healthiest cooking methods possible in our kitchens.
• Montly Nutrigram features the latest tips and trends on balancing diet, nutrition, exercise and whole-person wellness.
• Fitness & Wellness Resources offer a constantly changing variety of interesting, colorful brochures on nutrition and wellness topics.
• Monthly Superfoods Celebration promotes functional foods that provide health benefits beyond standard nutrients in a trendy, fun and educational way!
• "Best of Class" Training for our chefs and managers through Framingham State University's Department of Nutrition and Johnson & Wales University's Culinary Program.
• Alliances & Endorsements with well-respected associations, organizations and experts offering additional and ongoing support.
• Options To The Program include relationships with Atkins or Weight Watchers.

How is Balanced Choices Different from Similar Programs?

Training is the key to this great new program.  We are committed to delivering accurate nutrition information about menu choices to our customers.  Chefs and managers at each location must participate in an 8 hour university monitored training program and pass examinations with 100% accuracy before the program is initiated at their location.

We have invested in a full year of extensive recipe development to support our menu icon system.  We understand that this program simply cannot "fit all."  Our healthy recipe database contains over 1000 fully-analyzed selections with an emphasis on flavors from all regions of the U.S.

And finally, Balanced Choices is not merely a slick marketing campaign.  The true value presented to our clients and customers has been reviewed and endorsed by medical and wellness community associations, organizations and experts.  These alliances and endorsements are promoted on our campaign boards and through our brochure offerings.

Nutritional Profile of Today's Student:

• 75% of our students don't eat the suggested 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day
• 78% of students will choose a high fat option over a low fat option
• 66% say they are "very health" conscious
• 40% of students consider themselves vegetarians

 The nutritional values found on this web site were provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are for comparative purposes only.
The foods offered on campus may not directly reflect the stated values of similar or like items 

Welcome to our nutrition journal!  Here, you will find the complete USDA data base along with our core recipes.  You can view nutritional information for thousands of food items and recipes by simply clicking on the plus sign and the Nutrition label for that item will pop up.