Halfway at Yale

Part of campus--as seen from the 14th floor!

July 6^th marked the half-way point for Leandra and I at Yale. Every day we are amazed at how quickly our time on the East Coast is ticking away! So much still to do, yet so little time. Week 4 allowed us time to really dig in to one of our bigger projects—evaluating the sodium and calorie content of item/recipes on the menu and then flagging the ones that seem too high.  We then plan to look over those specific items or recipes and brainstorm ways to decrease the values to allow for a healthier menu option for the students. The Purchasing Director is great about finding ways to afford healthful food, while the Director of Culinary Excellence is committed to cooking with spices and herbs—rather than filling the recipes with salt.  We are very impressed with Yale’s dedication to providing not only the freshest, most local foods for the students, but also the most healthy! You can really tell that they want what is best for the students of Yale.

In addition to our sodium and calorie-reduction project, we have been doing research on the Wellness Wednesday project mentioned a few weeks ago. This project is intended to offer menu items that are below a certain calorie, fat and sodium content on each Wednesday at the retail facility located at the Yale School of Public Health. Hopefully this will raise awareness and educate consumers on the importance of a balanced diet and encourage them to make healthier selections other days of the week as well.

Leandra and I “celebrated” two patriotic holidays this past week; Canada Day on July 1^st and Independence Day on July 4^th (also welcomed by a day off work). I learned about standard Canada Day cuisine—a poutine (French fries, cheese curds and gravy…dietitians delight, eh?)—while Leandra sported an American flag stick-on tattoo and red, white and blue head-band!  It has been so fun to learn about each other’s customs, cultures and funny sayings.  Leandra is planning to make YOLO a household phrase in Canada, and I have a goal to make a bunny hug (hoodie) a fad here in the states! We enjoyed 5 different sets of fireworks on the 4^th as we watched from the 14^th floor of a building on campus. We could see the local, New Haven fireworks, as well as many of the neighboring towns along the ocean…what a treat!  This weekend also brought fun as Leandra’s parents (from Saskatchewan) came to visit. They spent the weekend touring NYC (Leandra is now a master at getting around the city) and exploring Yale’s campus. I spent the weekend viewing fireworks in a nearby town (New London) and relaxing by the pool, soaking up the sun.

We sure hope everyone else is learning and having as much fun as we are. We’ll be heading to the NACUFS Conference this Friday, so stay tuned for our adventures from Boston…a nice change from NYC. Bye for now!

Leandra and Kirsten