Posts Tagged ‘Retreat’

Vassar gets a visit from a nutritionist

November 9th, 2009 by Kara Voght

Last night, a nutritionist held some Q&A hours outside of ACDC to offer Vassar students some sound nutritional advice. VCFit, of course, was there to ask her a few questions we had about eating healthy on the meal plan.

The fruit and veggie selection at Vassar is a little questionable…what should we do about that?

As those of us who still eat at the DC know, our fresh fruit and veggie selection is limited. Fruit usually is limited to apples, oranges, bananas, and sometimes melon and pears, and while fresh veggies are better, they’re often stuck at the salad bar, raw and not always palatable. The nutritionist recommend that we do our best to incorporate all of these into our diet as much as possible, and to get creative with what we have; maybe instead of celery in the salad (AGAIN) we can put it with some peanut butter and raisins from the oatmeal area. She also said that, in order to supplement, its fine to take a multivitamin; ideally, we get our best nutrients from food, but there’s nothing wrong with it when all of the nutrients aren’t always accessible.

What’s the deal with coffee? We hear that the antioxidants are good, but the caffeine is bad?

The nutritionist said that coffee is definitely full of antioxidants, and for that reason, we should drink up. At the same time, caffeine depletes our body of micronutrients, especially calcium and phospherous, and is a diuretic, which means it forces liquid through our system and dehydrates us. The key to this paradox? Everything in moderation. Its fine to have a coffee in the morning, but not lots of it; 8-12 ounces is sufficient. Indulging more cups throughout the day can be damaging, but as long as we keep up hydration, calcium and phosphorous intake throughout the day, we shouldn’t have any worries. Still: don’t be a caffeine junkie! Sleep is a much more effective way to feel energized!

A lot of students are on a “minimum” or “standard” meal plan, which means they, on average, can only eat at the ACDC 1-2 times a day. What do you say to students who want to stay full throughout the day, but don’t want to overspend their DC points or overeat at meals?

This one can be tough, because we should be eating small meals over the course of a day, but let’s face it; I don’t like the DC enough to be on a big meal plan, and I only have one meal a day there. The nutritionist said that, when you can’t eat often, make sure your meals are healthy and full of good calories; too many fats and sugars will make us feel bad, which good food gives us energy. Also, the meals we do have should be high in protein and fiber, which keep us satiated much longer than carbs. She also mentioned that we must keep high-energy snacks on us; she said almonds, yogurt, and fruit were good, cheap things we can buy and keep in our dorm rooms for when we need a pick-me-up between meals. Also, don’t forget water; it, too, contributes to overall satiation.

She also offered some really great information about beverages, coffee, and snacking that we will be sure to share with in later posts!

  • 1 Comment »

Tags: , , , , ,

The Retreat, Part III

September 23rd, 2009 by Kara Voght

In our last post in the Retreat series, we’re taking you to the Retreat windows– deli, pizza, and grille– to debunk myths about one of Vassar’s favorite eateries.

The Grille

Like breakfast, lunch and dinner at the grille is a mixed bag.  Skip the burgers, the grilled cheese, the wraps; not to say that these don’t have any nutritional value, but there are better options.  We really like the black bean burger on a wheat bun (especially with a little hot sauce, which you can find at the salad bar), because its high protein and high in fiber, while low in calories and fat.  We’re also fans of the grilled chicken sandwich on a wheat bun.
As far as fries, it you want to indulge, opt for sweet potato over regular fries.  Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of potassium and vitamin C, B6, riboflavin, copper, pantothetic acid and folic acid; regular potatoes are not.  Still, they’re fried, so don’t go overboard.

The Pizza

There really isn’t much to say on this subject; pizza is pizza, which means lots of calories, and lots of fat.  The Retreat does a relatively healthy version of pizza, using local Greenwave tomato sauce, local produce as topping when available and whole wheat crust.  Still, there’s lots of oil and cheese, which is high in fat and cholesterol.  Go ahead and indulge once in awhile, but this is definitely not the healthiest choice.

The Deli

You can, generally, make better choices at the Deli window than at the Pizza or Grill one.  There’s a better variety of healthy choices, and tons of ways to build a healthy sandwich.

Starting with the bread, we recommend whole wheat bread or the multigrain hoagie; skip any of the white breads or rolls, since they lack nutritional values.  Also, don’t get caught in the “warp trap;” wraps, even though they are “spinach” or “tomato and basil” flavored, they don’t have the nutritional benefits of the veggies that give them their name, its usually just dyed white bread.  As such, skip those, too.

Next, meat.  Conventional deli meats are often packed with nitrates, compounds used as preservatives that are high in sodium and may have poisonous effects on our bodies; chances are, many of the meats in the Retreat deli have nitrates in them.  Luckily, Vassar roasts its own turkey breast, which means its nitrate-free; as such, we recommend this for your healthiest sandwich.

Hummus is offered as a vegetarian protein option, but VCFit is here to dispel this myth: Hummus is not that good for you.  Per tablespoon, there’s only .7 grams of protein; as a hummus sandwich only has 2-3 tablespoons, that’s only 2-3 grams of protein, which is less protein than what is in your two slices of whole wheat bread.  I know, its heartbreaking, and continue to eat it, but just know that its not packing the protein punch by any stretch of the imagination.
Cheese, as you may know, is high in fat, and low in nutrition.  A lot of vegetarians (sorry again, guys) rely on it as a source of “protein” in a sandwich, but that is a common misconception; cheese really is just fat.  We know most sandwiches don’t taste complete without it, but use it sparingly, if at all.

Veggies: load up.  Get as many as you can into your sandwich; they provide flavor, vitamins, and minerals with minimal calories.  As for dressings/spreads: a little oil and vinegar goes a long way, as does a touch of mustard (with 5 calories per tablespoon, add as much of that as you want).  Always skip mayo; there’s an absurd amount of cholesterol in that.  My favorite spread, which is sometimes (though not always) offered at the Retreat is avocado; it’s a little high in fat, but has the good kind of fat that helps with metabolism, lots of vitamins, and is really tasty (so a little goes a long way).

As for the menu offerings, like the Mediterranean Ciabatta (ciabatta bread with hummus and veggies), Matthew’s Medley (ham, turkey, swiss, and mayo on a hero roll), and Vassar Club (turkey, bacon, American cheese, and mayo on herb bread), you really should skip all of them, and build your own healthy sandwich.  These sandwiches are nutritionally flawed in almost every aspect, from lacking veggies to white bread to no protein.  Besides, its fun to be creative and experiment with new flavors—make your own!

  • Leave a comment »

Tags: , , ,

Part II: Retreat Lunch

September 9th, 2009 by Kara Voght

Part II of our Retreat series consists (mostly) of the more portable of offerings. These, like their station-based cousins, must be carefully navigated in order to find the best healthful options!

The Salad Bar

Between the DC and Retreat salad bars, VC Fit likes the Retreat’s the best. The lettuce is usually an organic baby lettuce/spinach mix, making for a much healthier and nutritious salad than the conventional romaine at the DC. It also always has a host of veggies you can pile on top, like carrots, olives, celery, cauliflower, broccoli, beets and cucumbers; one of my favorite uses of the Retreat salad bar, in fact, is to forgo the lettuce and just get a big pile of veggies to dip into some dressing. Every day, the salad bar always features at least one kind of pre-made, special salad, like rice and edamame or pasta salad; these are usually okay additions to your salad, but watch out for the white pastas and white rices, as these have little nutritional benefit. I’ve also recently been spotting grilled vegetables in the bar, which are really flavorful and nutritious additions to the salads.

The only complaint I have is the lack of protein options at the salad bar. If you’re a fan (though I am not), there is always cottage cheese near the dressings, which adds a lot of protein and few calories to a salad. There’re also hard-boiled eggs (which I also hate), which can add some protein, as well. The only vegan protein option at the bar is usually chickpeas, which isn’t really a protein option at all, since they’re not nearly as protein-rich as some of their other bean/legume cousins. If you’re a fan of the first two options, though, you’re in luck; I guess I’ll just have to suck it up and start developing a taste of cottage cheese.

The dressing selection is alright; as you probably know, its best to avoid the creamy dressings and stick to an oil-based one like a vinaigrette, though your best option is just put red wine or balsamic vinegar on your salad with a splash of olive oil, which the Retreat always has.

Soup

Fun factoid: the soup at the Retreat is made from scratch! You have no idea how lucky you are—most schools have soups that come frozen in big plastic bags, which are dumped into vats to be heated and served. Most of the soups have really good ingredients, which are always listed next to the soup itself. Our favorite is Wednesday’s black bean soup, featuring the bean highest in fiber and antioxidants.

Grab and Go

The grab-and-go selection is a little less predictable than breakfast; this, however, could largely be attributed to the fact that the convenience breakfast food is a lot of dry goods with preservatives. In the refrigerator by the yogurt is usually a variety of salads with tuna or egg, and some of the left over sandwiches from Express Lunch. If you like tuna and egg, go with the salad; it’s a high protein, high nutrition powerhouse. If you don’t, try to pick a sandwich that at least has whole-wheat bread (usually the peanut butter and jelly or the ham); the tuna on croissants and turkey on big rolls are a lot of empty calories.

Sometimes, there’s also a few premade salads, like bruschetta or corn and black bean; these are good, as long as you pair them with something else healthy, like whole grain bread.

  • Leave a comment »

Tags: ,

Retreat breakfasts: Ignore the middle—go around the perimeter

September 7th, 2009 by Kara Voght

Navigating the Retreat for a healthy breakfast can be challenging, especially to the groggy Vassar student. VCFit’s rule of thumb? Ignore the middle; go around the perimeter.

Walking into the Retreat, the first thing a patron is assaulted with is an array of sugary baked goods, placed in the center kiosk where the salad bar lives following breakfast hours.  On any given day, these can include chocolate-filled croissants, muffins, danishes, donuts and cinnamon buns.  Don’t be fooled by fruit flavorings or healthy-sounding ingredients; just because there are apple slices on the strudel or bran in the muffins doesn’t mean any of this is health food.  These pastries have the same nutritional values as desserts, with calories in the 400-500 range, tons of sugar and none of the important breakfast nutrients, like fiber or protein.

Keep walking straight, and you’ll run right into the grill.  While this menu has better offerings than the baked goods bar, you still need to be cautious.

Setting ingredients aside for a moment, its important to point out that the Retreat prepares food on the grill in a very healthful way.  They use canola oil in the all of the frying, which, because of its low in saturated fat and high in helpful omega-3 fatty acids, is the healthiest of the cooking oils.  The Retreat also uses trans-fat free oils and sprays in their grilling, meaning their cooking methods do not add unwanted cholesterol and fat.  That said, however, healthy cooking methods do not equal healthy food; fried, no matter how, is still fried, adding tons of extra empty calories to your daily intake.

Back to the menu, I’ll first point out that the Retreat uses cage-free eggs, meaning the chickens that produced the eggs weren’t caged and were allowed space to roam around naturally, making it more humane for the chicken, and healthier for their eggs.  The Retreat menu has a variety of omelets and egg breakfasts that are great options, as long as you ask for wheat toast on the side, and skip the home fries.  With the breakfast sandwiches, we recommend you get it served on a multigrain bagel, English muffin, or on wheat bread, and skip the fatty additions like bacon and too much cheese; maybe instead ask for the deli ham and forgo the cheese altogether.  Also, we know everyone likes the cinnamon-sugary sensory experience of Retreat French Toast, but we say nay; there’s no nutritional benefit.

The rest of the perimeter has other options in store; for example, the cereal rack.  Most of the cereals are loaded with sugar, and have very little protein or fiber; this is a bad combination for breakfast, since the sugar will only keep you energized for a little while, and, as there’s not fiber or protein to keep you satiated, you’ll have hunger pangs about an hour after you eat.  You should always look for the cereal that has the highest amount of fiber and protein, while still keeping your eye on the number of calories.  We picked Raisin Bran Crunch (280 cal/6g fiber/5g protein) and Kellogg’s Granola (240 cal/4g fiber/5g protein) as the healthiest bets; they’re a little higher in calories than some of the others, but at least they’ll keep you full until lunch.

Generally speaking, I suggest the oatmeal over any of the boxed cereals. The Retreat prepares the steel-cut variety at breakfast, which is the inner portion of the oat kernel.  Less refined than their rolled or instant cousins, these little guys are high in B-vitamins, calcium, and protein, and also have 8 grams of fiber.  They’re also free of the sugar and additives that processed cereal has.

Looking at yogurt, the Retreat definitely has a ton of options, from light to organic to fruit on the bottom.  We recommend the Stonyfield Organic Low or Nonfat yogurts; it’s the only organic one the Retreat offers, and it has all of the probiotics necessary to keep your digestive tract running smoothly.  Yes, it is indeed higher in calories than the Dannon Light and Fit (80 cal vs. 150 cal), but Light and Fit is mostly chemicals, and doesn’t have the same calcium and protein content as Stonyfield; this means its just empty calories and no nutrition.

Even nutritionally better than yogurt, though, are the Breakstone Cottage Cheese Doubles.  They only 130 calories per serving, but also have 11 grams of protein (almost twice that of most yogurts), 15 percent of your daily calcium (as much as many yogurts), and a whole serving of fruit.  For people looking for a light option, this might be your perfect breakfast food.

The Retreat uses a local bakery, Formisano’s in Saugerties, N.Y., for their bagels.  Bagels really aren’t that good for you, since they’re the caloric equivalent of 3-4 slices of bread, and their spreads usually tend to be high in calories and fat.  Still, they’re one of my favorite breakfast foods that I struggle giving up, so I recommend, for myself and others to keep it healthier, go with the multigrain/wheat bagel, and put some peanut butter on it; it’s high in calories, but the carb/fiber/protein combo keeps me full at least until lunch, if not later.

One thing to say about fruit in the Retreat: this time of year, its pretty much fantastic.  On the right side of the entrance is a farmer’s market-esque set up, with baskets full of local produce.  Right now, because it’s early September, different varieties of peaches are abundant; we recommend you add a least one piece of these to your breakfast.  The benefit of eating local produce is that there’s less of a transportation time, meaning you’re more likely to get fruit that’s perfectly ripe (a.k.a. nutritious), instead of underripe from being picked too soon and shipped long distance.  Peaches are really high in Vitamin C and fiber, and have only 60 calories per fruit, which makes them a great breakfast choice.  Plus, they’re ridiculously tasty, so it’s totally fine to indulge.

I’m also loving that the fruit salad cups, once a staple in the now-deceased Atrium, have found their way to the Retreat fridges as a daily, instead of sporadic, offering.  There’s about three servings of fruit in one of those, so go ahead and eat up, but try to balance it with some protein, as too much fruit can give you the same sugar spike as a bowl of sugary cereal.

Breakfast beverages are pretty self-explanatory.  Coffee and tea are fine, as long as you don’t go overboard on the half-and-half and sugar.  The Retreat has lots of different juices, which are great as long as you don’t substitute juice for actual fruit.  Orange juice provides the same kinds of vitamin and mineral benefits as a real orange, but an orange has more fiber and one-third of the calories of a box of Tropicana…so we’ll let you decide.

  • Leave a comment »

Tags: , ,