Go for Green Guidelines: Salad Bar

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Maurice Logan
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1 Go for Green Guidelines: Salad Bar Overview Many people assume the salad bar is a healthy option, but it also can contain less healthy, performance-limiting options. That means the kinds of items offered and where each item is placed on the Salad Bar are very important. The Go for Green guidelines for salad bars are to increase fresh, healthy choices for the fixings while minimizing the less healthy and more processed options. Your dining-facility staff influences what service members choose to eat through what your facility serves as well as where your staff places menu items. Featuring Green-coded menu items in prominent places and educating diners on how to select healthy meals encourages them to choose Green- and Yellow-coded options over Red-coded options. Your staff also can encourage diners to be creative and design their own entrées using different Green-coded items throughout the dining facility. For example, combining a Green-coded protein from the short-order grill, such as grilled chicken, with Green-coded sides from the specialty bar makes a balanced and delicious entrée. G4G Menu Coding Goals for Dining Facilities (See for basic guidelines.) No more than 3 5 toppings on the salad bar should be Red-coded items. For example, if your salad bar typically features toppings, only 3 items should be coded Red. If the salad bar is smaller, further limit the number of Red offerings. At least 3 Green-coded salad dressings should be offered at each meal. No more than 3 Red-coded dressings may be offered at each meal. 1 FOOD PLACEMENT/SETUP The diagram below shows a possible way to set up the Salad Bar to be within G4G guidelines. Use the equipment you have on hand to mimic these ideas. Consider low-cost changes and movement of equipment within the dining facility/galley when feasible. Romaine lettuce Almonds Baked ham Croutons Bacon Caesar Ranch Spinach Berries Brown rice Black beans Garbanzo beans Grilled steak Roasted sweet potatoes Low-fat cheese Egg slices Balsamic vinaigrette Fromscratch Italian Bleu cheese Oils & Vinegars Diner flow of traffic

2 Place Green-coded options first on the line before Yellow- and Red-coded options to encourage the diner to choose the healthier options. Also place Green-coded items closest to the diner, requiring him or her to reach further for the Yellowand Red-coded options. Place Green-coded items, such as spinach and dark leafy greens, in the largest pan your bar accommodates. Green-coded vegetable toppings also can be placed in large pans. Place Red-coded options in the smallest pan your bar accommodates, and pair them with the smallest serving utensils. Serve Green-coded fats/oils, such as olive oil and avocado, in the smallest pans with small serving utensils to encourage diners to use the designated portions. A wide variety of options will help maintain interest in the Salad Bar. Rotate which items are served on the Salad Bar at least seasonally and ideally each day. Present some items in different order from day to day to make selections more interesting. This method will enhance the perception of variety without actually changing the ingredients. Offer diced cucumbers one day and sliced cucumbers the next. Switch diced tomatoes with wedge tomatoes, or alternate whole and halved cherry tomatoes. Offer hard-boiled eggs whole, halved, and chopped. 2 FOOD ITEMS Expand the types of salad greens offered on the Salad Bar. Instead of just iceberg or romaine, offer spinach, mixed greens, arugula, chopped kale, or shaved cabbage. Offer 2 types of salad greens if your Salad Bar has space. Offer more Green-coded items. Add more types of vegetables the more color, the better. Include fresh fruit such as berries. Offer roasted or grilled vegetables and roasted or grilled meats (chilled). Herbs, spices, and various cooking techniques can make traditional salad-bar toppings more enticing. For example, roasted red pepper and chickpeas develop more natural flavor than when raw. Substitute Red-coded toppings with Green- or Yellow-coded items whenever possible. Offer sunflower seeds or sliced almonds instead of croutons or bacon bits for crunch. Offer dried fruit for a flavor boost. Offer at least one homemade/from-scratch salad dressing per meal. Most of these scratch dressings will be an improvement over standard bottled/pre-made dressings. A homemade/scratch-made salad dressing can be Green-coded if prepared with mostly Green-coded ingredients. Offer a selection of oils (olive, canola, blends) and vinegars (apple cider, balsamic, red, white) on the salad bar as additional dressings. For bottled/pre-made dressings, offer at least one dressing that lists olive oil or canola oil as the first type of oil in its ingredient list. These are most likely to code Green or Yellow. Limit the number of Red-coded dressings you offer to 3 per meal. If diners are asking for 6 different Red-coded dressings, rotate these offerings at lunch and dinner to ensure diners favorites are offered once a day

3 3 FEATURED MEAL OR PLATE Create a Green-coded Featured Salad at least once a week. Offer daily if your facility staff can accommodate it. Diners will take your advice! The display for your Featured Salad should include a sign with: Salad name Ingredient list Directions on how to construct the Featured Salad, much like a recipe Within 6 months of launching G4G, work towards displaying a photograph of the Featured Salad or an actual plated salad. Featured Salad ideas (the portions below are entrée-size salads): 2 cups spinach + 1 Tbsp Feta cheese + 2 Tbsp black olives + ¼ cup tomatoes + ¼ cup cucumbers + balsamic vinaigrette 2 cups kale + 3 oz. chicken + 2 Tbsp croutons + 2 Tbsp banana peppers + ¼ cup chickpeas + Caesar dressing 2 cups Romaine lettuce + ¼ cup chilled Hacienda Corn and Beans + ¼ cup diced or mashed avocado + oil and vinegar Visit the G4G website for other ideas as they are developed: and click on Menu Revisions. Suggested Salad Bar items to help meet Go for Green Menu Coding Goals Listed by type: Leafy greens, vegetables (non-starchy), vegetables (starchy), starches/grains, fruit, protein, fats, dressings, and seasonings. Bar Item G4G Color Code G4G Sodium Code AFRS Recipe Number* Leafy Greens Romaine lettuce Leafy green or red lettuce Spinach Arugula Shredded or baby kale etables (non-starchy) Broccoli florets Tomatoes, cherry, diced, or wedges Red onion, sliced Mushrooms, sliced Carrots, shredded

4 Bar Item G4G Color Code G4G Sodium Code AFRS Recipe Number* Cucumbers, sliced or diced Bell peppers, sliced Banana peppers Green Moderate Jalapeños, sliced Green Moderate Portobello mushroom, marinated or grilled In development etables (starchy) Peas Hacienda Corn and Black Beans, chilled Legumes, cooked, cooled (lentils, beans: black, pinto, kidney, chickpeas/garbanzo) Green Low Q Green Moderate Garbanzo beans, roasted In development Starches/Grains Whole grains, cooked, cooled (quinoa, brown rice, barley, farro) Pita bread Yellow Low Croutons Red Low Tabbouleh In development Fruit Berries, fresh (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry) Cranberries, dried Yellow Low Mandarin oranges Yellow Low Protein Baked chicken breast (boneless), sliced or diced Green Low L Baked salmon fillets Green Low L Hard-boiled egg, chopped, halved, or whole Yellow Low Grilled sirloin steak, sliced Yellow Low L Baked ham, diced Yellow High L

5 Bar Item G4G Color Code G4G Sodium Code AFRS Recipe Number* Fats Assorted nuts, toasted, unsalted Avocado, diced ½-inch Green Low U Feta cheese Yellow Low Parmesan cheese Yellow Low Part-skim ricotta cheese Yellow Moderate Cheddar cheese, shredded Red Moderate Bacon bits Red High Dressings Assorted oils (olive, safflower, sesame, flax, avocado) Assorted vinegars (balsamic, rice wine, sherry, apple cider, lemon juice) Homemade dressings In development Seasonings Lemon, wedges Pepper Red pepper flakes Fresh herbs, chopped (chives, cilantro, basil, scallions) Salt Green High * AFRS recipes can be found on the G4G website: click on Menu Revisions

Go for Green Guidelines: Salad Bar

Go for Green Guidelines: Salad Bar Overview Many people assume the Salad Bar is a healthy option, but it also can contain performance-limiting options. That means the types and variety of items offered