Page 14 - gfs1117_Magazine

FUELING PERFORMANCE

Air Force Fights

Menu Repetition

INGREDIENTS DO DOUBLE DUTY AS SIDE DISHES

ilitary menus wage a battle against boredom by cy-
Mcling center-of-the-plate options so that the period of the potatoes and vegetable items A food service worker
before items repeat is reasonably long enough to create a has shifted from frying to baking, slices eggplant to add
to a vegetable dish at
perception of variety from day to day. grilling or steaming, when possible.” the Sierra Inn dining
Variety, it turns out, is not just a matter of the entrées facility, Travis Air Force
being served, but also the sides available to go with them VEGETARIAN OPTIONS Base, Calif. (Photo by
Heide Couch, USAF,
and make the dish complete. More vegetarian entrée recipes are ap- 60th Air Mobility Wing
A greater share of the side dish, salad bar and other pearing on the menu, as well. “We have Public Affairs)
serving station options that airmen use to create a main also moved to increase the percentage
course or to complement an entrée served in Air Force of prepared vegetables for use as both a side and vegetarian
dining facilities are being made from recipes using veggies, entrée,” he said. “Grilled fresh vegetables are becoming a
pasta and potatoes. popular alternative to steamed or fried. New recipes, such as
Air Force dining facilities also achieve higher customer eggplant Parmesan, spinach lasagna, and vegetable garden
satisfaction by serving more pasta, vegetables and potatoes wrap, have been added to the menu.”
with the menu choices available every day. “Our new 21- and In addition to making direct changes in menu variety,
28-day menu cycles incorporate fresh potatoes, vegetables there are other incidental changes resulting from the Air
and grains, in addition to pasta, to increase menu variety,” Force’s use of these healthier ingredients: a shift to using
said Bill Spencer, chief appropriated fund food operations, more fresh or frozen vegetables versus canned.
Air Force Food and Beverage Branch, Directorate of Opera- This contributes to having a wider range of choices that
tions, Air Force Services Activity. fall under the Go for Green program’s healthy category,
These versatile options contribute to variety as not just rather than its yellow or red labels, and represents a response
sides to an entrée, but by being used as ingredients for to restaurant industry trends toward better-for-you foods.
center-of-the-plate options, as well. “Vegetables, pasta and potato options have been added
“Potatoes, vegetables and pastas are used in the dining to our core menu to model industry standards,” he said.
facility as both a side dish and as an entrée,” Spencer said. “The salad bar recipe has increased to offer 26 items as
“We have incorporated healthier pasta alternatives to our opposed to 14. Healthier starches, such as quinoa, wild
core menu, such as quinoa and couscous. The preparation rice and couscous, have been added as an alternate to po-
tatoes and pasta in the airmen’s diet.
By incorporating more items in line
with industry standards, airmen are
choosing more ‘green’ items.”
Whole-wheat and whole-grain pas-
tas are being used more frequently, as
healthier alternatives offering higher
fiber and other valuable nutrients com-
pared with conventional varieties.
There has been a corresponding rise
in the number of service members ask-
ing for or choosing green-labeled items
to go along with the increased use
of vegetables, pasta
and potatoes in Air
Miguel Santos uses both
hands to stir a vegetable Force dining facili-
dish at the Sierra Inn ties.
Dining facility, Travis Air “Go for Green
Force Base Calif. (Photo
by Heide Couch, USAF, has raised nutrition-
60th Air Mobility Wing al awareness, and we
Public Affairs) are noticing a trend
14 GOVERNMENT FOOD SERVICE • NOVEMBER 2017