In light of National Nutrition Month, Ruth Sullivan, Syracuse University’s official dietician, and Keone Weigl, promotions and marketing manager of SU Food Services, took The Daily Orange around Ernie Davis Dining Center to show how to make meals at the dining hall healthier.

Plate 1

What’s on the plate:
Pizza containing pepperoni, sausage and cheese
French fries covered with ketchup

Two slices of pizza and fries is just one example of what a college student might get at a dining hall, Weigl said.

“I just saw a student walk by with two slices of pizza and fries,” she said. “So this is true, this is real.”

Sullivan said although you can’t make students change what their favorite foods are, you can offer substitutions and reduce portion sizes to make their meal healthier. Small substitutions like changing to whole wheat will give the meal more fiber.

“People forget about fiber,” Sullivan said. “It’s really important and can really help you keep your cholesterol in check.”

 

Plate 2

What’s on the plate:
Veggie pizza containing broccoli, yellow peppers, spinach, onions, tomato, mozzarella cheese and a whole wheat crust
Two orange slices
Four strawberries
Brown rice
Adding vegetables and eating whole wheat will make certain foods — such as pizza — healthier, Sullivan said. The veggie pizza containing the whole wheat crust gives it more fiber, less fat and more vitamins and minerals. The addition of the oranges, strawberries and brown rice also add more nutrients and makes the entire plate balanced in terms of portions of grains, vegetables and fruit. Unlike white rice, brown rice is unprocessed and retains its nutrients.

“What we’ve got is a whole wheat crust with veggies, and as you can tell there’s not a lot of cheese on there, but it’s just loaded with vegetables and loaded with color,” Sullivan said. “And when you’re looking at fruit and vegetable intake, you want to think color. You don’t want just one color.”

Published on March 4, 2015 at 12:01 am