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FOOD FOCUS: BREAKFAST

Making the
Most Important Meal

Navy Galley Menus Give Sailors Even Better
Healthy Breakfast Choices

ith the Navy standard core
Wmenu as a guide, Torgerson
Hall Galley at Joint Expeditionary
Base Little Creek-Fort Story, Va., plans
well-balanced, nutritious meals for
modern health-conscious sailors on
tight schedules.
A key to that goal is to create a
better dining experience by featuring
onsite meal production along with A Waffle Bar and other specialty
a choice of five live-action specialty Assorted breads and fruits serving stations give sailors at
bars, ranging from freshly cooked are convenient options that Torgerson Hall Galley and other
chicken and waffles to Mongolian Torgerson Hall Galley makes ashore galleys greater variety.
(PHOTO BY MASN SAVANNAH
available for sailors to pick
barbecue, in addition to the tradi- up and take with them. PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE.)
O’BYRNE, JEBLCFS, VA.,
tional main line.
During the dinner meal time only, bread bar and cereal bar.”
Torgerson Hall Galley operates “Cook Further expanding the variety of healthy morn-
N Fresh,” a mini food court in the ing choices available in the galley are oats, cinna-
main dining room, where sailors can mon, nuts, raisins and avocado, as well as papaya,
choose from a variety of wholesome, mango, kale and spinach.
fresh and healthy meal options. A few items that are available at breakfast also
“The initiative behind ‘Cook N Smoothies are one of the healthy grab-and-go carry over throughout the day. Beverage bar and
Fresh’ is to offer customers the oppor- options that Torgerson Hall Galley offers sailors fruit drinks, for example, are available for all three
to accommodate their busy work schedules.
tunity to observe their meals freshly (PHOTO BY MASN SAVANNAH O’BYRNE, JEBLCFS, VA., meals, while sailors can enjoy smoothies only dur-
prepared right before their eyes,” said PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE.) ing breakfast and lunch.
chief warrant officer 3 Jeffrey Walker, the galley’s food ser- “The variety of fruit drinks and smoothie selections stays
vice officer. “The ultimate goal is to eliminate the ‘back of the same throughout the day, and are based on prime vendor
the house’ meal production, and bring all meal production availability,” Walker said.
to the ‘front of the house’ within the main dining room, This variety of nutritionally valuable fuel helps to give sail-
introducing our customers to freshly prepared recipes along ors the energy they need to perform physically and mentally,
with new and fresh ingredients, herbs, spices, by utilizing a while helping jumpstart their metabolism to burn calories
variety of cooking methods.” throughout the day, he explained, referencing research from
Torgerson Hall Galley accommodates the busy schedule WebMD.
of sailors and warfighters with meals available for 11 and a Similarly, Mercer Hall Galley at Naval Base San Diego is
half consecutive hours from morning through evening. Traffic revising menu choices with better nutrition and dietary goals
volume ranges from 140 to 160 for breakfast, which is from in mind, as well as to promote healthy eating. Special serv-
6 a.m. to 10 a.m., peaks at between 180 and 260 for lunch, ing stations are increasingly common in the dining facilities,
which is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and averages from and are being used during breakfast to increase meal variety.
100 to 150 at dinner, which is 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. “Mercer Hall Galley has a variety of specialty stations to
include crepe and waffle bars,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4
BREAKFAST Cesar Valencia, the galley’s food service officer.
Since breakfast is considered the most important meal Even greater variety is created with the assorted smoothies
of the day, Walker makes sure that Torgerson Hall Galley and other fruit drinks available in the galley, such as apple,
provides sailors with a variety of healthy and convenient orange, lemonade, grape, grapefruit, cranberry, pineapple,
choices beyond the traditional assortment for morning meals. passion, orange and guava. “Banana, strawberry and mango
“Besides traditional breakfast items, we offer healthy choices, flavors are available,” Valencia said. “Smoothies are provided
such as turkey sausages, egg whites, jalapenos, yogurt, healthy as beverages, meal and/or snacks, and they are self-serve.”
fruit juices, soy milks, rye bread, etc.,” he said. “Additionally, On average, breakfast, which is available in Mercer Hall
we accommodate our patrons’ demanding schedules by offer- Galley between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., represents about a third
ing grab-n-go items on our smoothie bar, fruit bar, assorted of daily galley volume, putting it on par with the dinner
14 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • AUGUST 2017