ATLANTA—Three new retail programs are being implemented at 500-bed Piedmont Hospital to help customers make healthy dining decisions.
The first program, Lean Works, bundles a breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack menu. The bundle helps customers make smarter choices. “By staying with the bundled program, you are ensured that your caloric intake for the day will be less than 2,000 calories and, of that, less than 30% of those calories will be coming from fat,” said Mark Galvin, director of nutrition and foodservices.
One sample menu for the Lean Works program consists of:
•A breakfast of a whole-grain waffle, four ounces of scrambled eggs, five ounces of grapefruit and one cup of black coffee or tea; the midmorning snack is a six-ounce serving of fat-free yogurt;
•Lunch is a turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread with spicy mustard, six ounces of Bing cherries, eight chocolate-covered almonds and unsweetened tea or lemon water;
•The afternoon snack consists of a peanut butter trail bar and black coffee or tea;
•Dinner is a rotisserie chicken breast with the skin removed, four ounces of roasted carrots and three ounces of apple walnut stuffing. The bundle is 1,824 calories.
Galvin said while there is no discount for purchasing the Lean Works bundle, the department is increasing prices on the “unhealthy” food items, so it will be cheaper to purchase the bundle than some food options.
The second program starting this fall is Power Pair. “The program is related to food synergy,” Galvin said. “Food synergy is about getting the most health benefits out of food by pairing various foods and nutrients in meals.” Sample pairings are broccoli and tomatoes, which Galvin said may help prevent prostate cancer, and flax seeds and soy, which may help prevent breast cancer. “Most of the health benefits derived from food synergy are long term and they are powerful, helping to prevent or reduce major chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and stroke,” he said.
One Power Pair will be offered each day. The pairing will be designated on the menu board and a sample plate is displayed at the point of service.
The last initiative is a hydration station. Chilled water that has been naturally flavored with fresh fruit such as lemon and orange is available for customers. Galvin said he started the hydration station to encourage customers to drink water instead of soda or sweetened tea, as well as to reduce the amount of plastic bottles being put into the waste stream.