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March reservists feast on healthier food during UTA weekends

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Patrick Cabellon
  • 452 AMW Public Affairs
Fresh fruits and vegetables took center stage during the unveiling of a new, healthier troop feeding menu on Sept. 11 at the Hap Arnold Club.

The four-month rotational menu is the result of a nutrition project with the primary goal of enabling troops to make smarter food choices when they are at the base on unit training assembly weekends.

"The project originated from Col. McGregor's desire to support Fit-to-Fight and the nutritional fitness of our members by offering more healthy food choices at troop feeding," said the project's leader, Col. Mary Lussier.

The plan for the new menu included a new healthy food bar during each UTA. At the September combined UTA, it was a pasta bar with two choices of pasta and two choices of sauce. Future months will feature Asian, taco and potato bars.

The club also re-arranged how food is served during troop feeding. The fruits and vegetables now occupy the first--and most prominent--position in the food line.

"I think the club is doing a great job with colorful, enticing salads and fresh fruits and vegetables," Lussier said.

Four Masters of Public Health students interning with Lussier distributed healthy eating pamphlets they created for March reservists.

One pamphlet titled "UTA Menu Nutrition Analysis" displays the nutritional facts about each item served, from entrees to condiments. This is much like the nutritional guides now available at many restaurants.

"Our team used the Air Force Recipe System to develop the new menu. After that, we entered each item into a nutritional analysis computer program to determine calories, fat, sodium, cholesterol, fiber, sugar, protein and carbohydrates," Lussier said.

Additionally, the new menu breaks down the healthiness of foods in a color-coded "Go for Green" system they adapted from the Army. An accompanying pamphlet explains that foods in the green category are healthiest and should be eaten the most often, yellow foods are moderately healthy and should be eaten occasionally and red foods are the least healthy and should be eaten rarely.

At the unveiling, the interns encouraged reservists to fill out evaluations about the new menu and associated informational materials by holding a drawing for donated gift cards, heart rate monitors and an iPod Nano.

"They wanted to get feedback so we can make improvements for the future," Lussier said.

The club has eliminated many of the sugary foods they used to serve during troop feeding to help Airmen eat healthier and be more nutritionally fit. The club is experimenting with smaller dessert portion sizes and recipes with lower sugar and fat content.

"I'm a physical training leader and also a vegetarian," said Senior Airman Lynette Carandang, a medical technician with the 452nd Aeromedical Staging Squadron. "I like how there are more healthy choices and also variety. It's a great idea. People have the freedom to choose to be healthy, but they have to take the initiative."

Another way the club made the menu healthier is by reducing the amount of fried foods they serve, said Annette McWilliams, the club's catering manager.

"Instead of fried food items, we planned baked items like herb baked chicken and we planned to offer more fresh fruits," she said. "Our goal is to give the troops more choices if they are trying to watch what they eat. We want them to be able to make the right choices for their lifestyle."

Megan Just contributed to this story.

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