Healthy comfort food can mean different things to different diners. On college campuses, it may be mac and cheese pumped up with vegetables or a vegan burrito, while at senior living or B&I operations, lower-sodium soups or meatloaf made with leaner proteins could be the ticket.
In the Union Public School district in Tulsa, Okla., District Executive Chef Callie Fowler swaps out cooking methods and rejiggers ingredients to boost the health of favorites such as lasagna or pot roast and mashed potatoes. “We’re doing less frying and more roasting, especially with potatoes and vegetables,” she says.
To make lasagna a more nutritious option, she roasts and purees butternut squash as a sauce in place of marinara, then layers on seasonal vegetables instead of meat. Says Fowler, “We’re following the USDA nutritional guidelines but adding more vegetables, playing up the ‘more’ angle instead of the fact that these dishes are lower in fat and calories.”
To cater to the influx of Asian and Hispanic children in the 16,000-student district, Fowler is doing the same with international comfort dishes. In the district’s K–6 schools, diners get vegetable-laden enchiladas, and at the high school, a wok station showcases a variety of produce.
The large ethnic population at University of California, Santa Cruz also prompted Wade Garza, unit dining manager, to rethink some of his dishes, especially to appeal to the vocal group of vegetarians. To satisfy students of all stripes, Garza focuses on comfort foods that are plant-based. Drawing on his Mexican heritage, Garza re-created a healthier sopa seca, literally translated as “dried soup,” that his mother cooked at home. His recipe for the dining hall features thin spaghetti that resembles the traditional fideo noodles; he cooks the pasta in vegetable stock (instead of chicken) and tomatoes until it absorbs all the liquid, much like a risotto.
According to feedback from the nearly 40,000 daily customers on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash., healthy means lean proteins as well as whole grains and locally sourced produce, says Craig Tarrant, director of culinary operations for Compass at Microsoft. Healthy preparations and portion size also play a part. For example, pork tenderloin is cooked on the rotisserie, so the fat drips off. Diners have the option of ordering a full plate (12 to 16 ounces total of a protein, grains and vegetables) or one with smaller (8 to 10 ounces total) portions; the average check is $5.
“We’re seeing a real shift in what customers are ordering,” says Tarrant.