Courtyard Café increases options for healthy eating
Healthier items are on the menu at Courtyard Café as Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s main cafeteria opens its first Wellness & You station.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, June 27, to open the new Jazz Salads station, which will feature made-to-order premium salads.
The salad station facing the Mein Bowl Asian station will remain a build-your-own salad bar at 32 cents per ounce. Jazz Salads will operate from the opposite side of the salad bar.
A set of six core salads (chicken Caesar, classic chef’s, buffalo chicken, south of the border, turkey club house and create-your-own) will be offered Monday through Friday, with special offerings rotating seasonally. The salads will cost $5.29.
Wellness & You is an effort by the Wellness subgroup of VUMC’s Food Advisory Committee to provide healthy eating choices for staff and guests.
Wellness options throughout the cafeteria are now discounted 25 percent.
“Our goal is to offer healthy, nutritious options that are priced competitively and are enticing to eat. We hope the 25-percent discount will encourage our customers to make healthy choices,” said George DeLong, associate hospital director.
The Courtyard Café is also introducing Wellness & You destination stations, located near each entrance door, that will feature informational materials about healthy lifestyles, including free pamphlets on topics such as hydration and eating healthy away from home.
Circular yellow Wellness & You symbols, located throughout the servery area, will let patrons know which items are healthiest.
The Innovations station will begin offering new items on a daily rotation:
• Monday — wrap bar (buffalo chicken, Philly cheesesteak, popcorn shrimp)
• Tuesday — Italian (pasta sauté with choice of sauce and protein)
• Wednesday — Wellness Wednesday (chicken mojito over sticky rice, braised mahi mahi with couscous, Dijon curry chicken pita)
• Thursday — upscale (carved prime rib and baked potato, fisherman’s platter, pork tenderloin)
• Friday — BBQ (pulled pork sandwich, rib tips, sliced beef brisket)
Wellness Wednesdays will feature special Wellness & You food items and include recipe cards and tips on cooking techniques to recreate the dishes at home.
Over time, other lines in the Courtyard Café will become Wellness & You stations.
The Dining Services satisfaction survey is also under way.
Pick up a survey from any cashier, and return it completed for a voucher for a free fountain soda or tea.
For more information about the Courtyard Café, go to www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/courtyardcafe.