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 and where each item is placed on the Salad Bar are very important. When creating a Salad Bar, consider the following performance-minded guidelines to help you meet the Go for Green (G4G) Menu Coding Goals. Your dining-facility staff influences what Military 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 create healthy meals encourages them to choose Green- and Yellow-coded options over Red-coded ones. Your staff also can encourage diners to be creative and design their own entrées with different Green-coded items throughout the dining facility. For example, Military Service Members can combine a Green-coded protein such as grilled chicken (from the Short Order/Grill) with Green-coded toppings (from the Salad Bar) for a balanced and delicious entrée. G4G Menu Coding Goals for Dining Facilities (The G4G Menu Coding Goals can be found at https://www.hprc-online.org/resources/programrequirements-appendix-g-g4g-menu-coding-goals.) At least 50% of items (excluding dressings) should be Green-coded. No more than 3 5 toppings on the Salad Bar should be Red-coded items. For example, if your Salad Bar typically features 15 20 toppings, only 3 items should be coded Red. If the Salad Bar is smaller, reduce the number of Red-coded items. Offer at least 3 Green-coded salad dressings at each meal. Offer no more than 3 Red-coded salad dressings at each meal. 1 FOOD PLACEMENT/SETUP The diagram below shows one possible way to present the Salad Bar to be within G4G guidelines. Use the equipment you have on hand to mimic these ideas. And consider low-cost changes and movement of equipment within the dining facility/galley when feasible. For each category, place Green-coded options first on the line before Yellow- and Red-coded ones to encourage diners to make healthier choices. Also place Green-coded items in easy-to-reach spots, requiring diners to reach further for Yellowand Red-coded items. 050118 1
Romaine lettuce Tomatoes Onions Carrots Unsalted nuts Tuna Croutons (Y) Imitation bacon bits (R) Spinach Corn Cucumbers Broccoli Bell Peppers Berries Brown rice Black beans Avocado Diner flow of traffic Diced/shredded chicken breast Roasted vegetables Jalapeño peppers Seasonal fruit Cheese (Y) Hardboiled egg slices (Y) Place Green-coded items such as spinach and dark, leafy greens in the largest pan your bar accommodates. You also can place Green-coded vegetable toppings in large pans. Place Red-coded options in the smallest pan your bar accommodates, and pair them with your 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 healthy, tasty items will help maintain interest in the Salad Bar. Rotate which items are served on the Salad Bar at least seasonally and ideally every day. Offer different forms of items whole, sliced, or cut-up to enhance the perception of variety and make them more appealing. Offer diced cucumbers one day and sliced cucumbers the next day. Swap diced tomatoes with tomato wedges, or alternate whole and halved cherry tomatoes. Offer whole, halved, and chopped hard-boiled eggs. 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 appealing. For example, roasted red peppers and chickpeas develop more natural flavor than raw ones. Aim to 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 it includes mostly Green-coded ingredients. Offer a selection of oils (olive, canola, blends) and vinegars (apple cider, balsamic, red, white) as additional dressings on the Salad Bar. 050118 2
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 will most likely code Green or Yellow. Limit the number of Red-coded dressings you offer to 3 per meal. If diners are asking for 6 different Redcoded dressings, rotate which ones you offer at lunch and dinner to ensure diners favorites are available once daily. 3 FEATURED MEAL OR PLATE Create a Green-coded Featured Salad at least once a week. Offer one 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 much like a recipe to build your own salad Within 6 months of launching G4G, work towards displaying a photograph of the Featured Salad or an actual plated salad. Featured Salad ideas (entrée-size portions): Harvest Salad: 2 cups spinach + 1 Tbsp unsalted nuts + 1 Tbsp Craisins + ¼ cup sliced apple + ¼ cup brown rice + Homemade Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette Kale Chicken Caesar Salad: 2 cups kale + 3 oz chicken + 2 Tbsp croutons + 2 Tbsp banana peppers + ¼ cup chickpeas + Homemade Caesar Dressing Southwest Salad: 2 cups romaine lettuce + ¼ cup chilled Hacienda Corn and Beans + ¼ cup diced or mashed avocado + ¼ cup pico de gallo + Homemade Ranch Dressing Light Lemon Salad: 2 cups spinach + ¼ cup chickpeas + ¼ cup roasted vegetables + 2 Tbsp cheese + juice from lemon wedges + drizzle of oil Visit the G4G Menu Revisions web page for more ideas: https://www.hprc-online.org/page/g4goperations-getting-started/menu-revisions Suggested Salad Bar items to help meet Go for Green Menu Coding Goals Boost the number of Green-coded options at your Salad Bar with the following menu items and recipes. Many items are available ready-to-serve or can be prepared from scratch and/or speed scratch with Armed Forces Recipe Service (AFRS) recipes. In-house preparation is preferred when possible because you have more control over ingredients and preparation techniques. A certain item might code differently based on whether it s an AFRS homemade recipe vs. commercial, which might vary among brands. Sodium codes are assigned based on standard portion sizes. So if a larger-than-standard portion is served, the code might be incorrect. Listed by type: Leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, starchy vegetables, starches/grains, fruit, protein, fats, dressings, and seasonings. 050118 3
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 Non-starchy Vegetables Broccoli florets Tomatoes, diced, sliced, or wedges (raw, roasted, sautéed, grilled) Onions, red, chopped, sliced Onions, green, sliced Mushrooms, sliced Carrots, shredded Cucumbers, sliced or diced Bell peppers, sliced Roasted Eggplant Green Moderate Q-312-00 Banana peppers Green Moderate Jalapeño peppers, diced Green Moderate Portobello mushroom, marinated or grilled In development Starchy Vegetables Peas Legumes, cooked, cooled (lentils, beans: black, pinto, kidney, chickpeas/garbanzo) Green Moderate Caribbean Black Beans Green High Q-301-00 Hacienda Corn and Black Beans, chilled Green High Q-080-00 Starches/Grains Tabbouleh Green Low M-305-00 050118 4
Bar Item G4G Color Code G4G Sodium Code AFRS Recipe Number* Whole grains, cooked, cooled (quinoa, brown rice, barley, farro) Red Bean Salad Green Moderate M-031-00 Red Bean and Cilantro Salad Green Moderate M-031-01 Pita bread Yellow Low Croutons Yellow Low Fruit Berries, fresh (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry) Fruit, fresh (pineapple, grapes, melon) Green NA Green NA Apple slices Green NA Cranberries, dried Yellow Low Mandarin oranges, canned Yellow Low Protein Baked chicken breast (boneless), sliced or diced Green Low L-143-03 Grilled Chicken Breast Green Low L-305-00 Baked Salmon Fillets Green Low L-075-00 Grilled Top Sirloin steak, sliced Grilled Caribbean Chicken Breast Green Low L-007-00 Green Moderate L-305-01 Grilled Cajun Chicken Breast Green Moderate L-305-02 Shrimp (grilled or sautéed) Green Moderate Hard-boiled egg, chopped, halved, or whole Yellow Low Cottage cheese Yellow Low Baked ham, diced Yellow High L-069-00 Fats Assorted nuts, toasted, unsalted 050118 5
Bar Item G4G Color Code G4G Sodium Code AFRS Recipe Number* Avocado, diced ½-inch Feta cheese Yellow Moderate Parmesan cheese Yellow Moderate Ricotta, reduced-fat cottage cheese Yellow Moderate Cheddar cheese, shredded Yellow Moderate Bacon bits, imitation Red High Dressings Assorted oils (olive, safflower, sesame, flax, avocado) Homemade Caesar Dressing Green Low M-301-00 Homemade Creamy Balsamic Dressing Green Low M-302-00 Homemade Ranch Dressing Green Low M-303-00 Homemade Light Blue Cheese Dressing Yellow Low M-059-00 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 Menu Revisions web page: https://www.hprc-online.org/page/g4goperations-getting-started/menu-revisions [U17-238] 050118 6