Choosing Healthy Foods

with campus executive chef Tom Barton Who doesn’t love a potato right? Especially here in New England where Maine is ranked 10th in potato production nationwide. There are many varieties and colors to choose from, all having their own various health and nutritional benefits. So potatoes can definitely be good for you but sometimes we tend to eat too many which can leave us feeling a bit lethargic and overly full. I’m not suggesting we give up these tantalizing spuds but change how we think about our intake. Perhaps putting a smaller portion of potatoes on our plates along with some fresh vegetables is something to consider with the warmer weather coming quickly. Or another idea might be to think of some alternatives to potatoes like chick pea fries! Here’s a delicious recipe from one of my favorite websites Food52 https://food52.com/recipes/9642-chickpea-fries-with-yogurt-dipping-sauce . These are so easy to make and so tasty! The optional cumin in this recipe really gives it a special...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton As a chef, seasoning and flavoring of food is one of the most important things that we do. What is the difference between seasoning and flavoring?  Seasoning is enhancing the natural flavor of a particular product while flavoring is changing the natural flavor of that product. For example: when roasting a chicken simply adding salt and pepper enhance the natural flavor of the chicken but if you were to enhance with a BBQ rub, that would change the natural flavor. Knowing when and what to season and flavor foods with is a skill that I am constantly working on. Hopefully at this point everyone knows that excessive use of salt is a health issue that should be taken seriously. As someone who prepares food for others, we have an obligation to serve tasty food that is also good for you. Here are a few ways to reduce the amount of your salt intake: Read nutritional labels You would be amazed at the amount of sodium in some of your favorite foods espec...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton Hi everyone! Did you know October is National Seafood Month? We will be celebrating on Tuesday the 24th at both International Village and Levine Marketplace (Stetson East) with delectable menus and  a display of fresh caught seafood. Get ready to see – and touch – the seafood display as well as enjoy some locally caught sustainable seafood! All of the fish we serve daily is verified sustainable as well as the tuna is FAD free. We are proud to partner with companies like Red's Best, which is a local fish and seafood provider that focuses on working with local family fishermen. Red's Best guarantees they will buy the fishermen’s catch and get them a fair price, which is typically a concern for the fishermen. Another awesome thing about Red's Best is that they have a program that focuses on underutilized species. I know here on the east coast we tend to love all of our traditional white fishes like cod, but unfortunately they have been ove...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton Have you been to Xhibition Kitchen lately? Or have you ever been? Whenever I ask I am always amazed that there are many students who still do not know about the amazing Xhibition Kitchen, or "XK" as we like to call it. The XK is located at 11 Speare Place inside Stetson West Eatery and is a state of the art demonstration kitchen - which is currently in full swing! We host many cookbook authors, and local and nationally acclaimed chefs. Sometimes our guests stop by because they are in the area and they have heard about what an amazing space it is. Inside the kitchen itself we can seat approximately 60 people with additional seating in the outside room. How cool is it to be watching a demonstration up close and personal to many of the areas most recognized chefs? One of the best parts of my job is that I get to meet these chefs and authors as we prepare their mise en place (all their prep). I cannot even begin to tell you how many wonderful...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton Hi all! It’s quite busy around here and I wanted to let you know about a few of the things we have going on around campus. In January, we started doing Foodie Tours of each of our dining locations. These are in depth tours with our nutritionist Christine Clark and me. We select a dining location and go station-by-station talking about the back stories of how are menus are created, where we source many of our products from, and, in some cases, the science behind some of the things we do. We have received great feedback from the tours we have done and anticipate continuing this initiative next semester. They are open to all students, faculty, and staff and are – of course – free! We have also been busy planning for our upcoming Lobstah Night . We are happy to say that we will be working with Red's Best to obtain the 1,000 lobsters needed for this event. It is certainly one of the highlights of the school year so be sure to get to Stetson West ...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton As you may have already seen or heard, Northeastern is actively participating in something called Menus of Change . This initiative is a collaboration between the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Culinary Institute of America. Menus of Change is built on twenty-four principles that revolve around sustainable eating and education about making healthier food and drink choices. Northeastern Dining has been involved with Menus of Change – and its companion educational initiative, the Menus of Change Research Collaborative – for well over a year. We typically focus on two principles a month. This month we are focusing on "Leverage globally inspired, plant-based culinary strategies" as well as "Serve less red meat, less often." One of the exciting and unique things about all of the principles is that the schools participating in the initiative each interpret them slightly differently. A dish that we have on our menus...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton As you may have seen – or already tasted! – we are now featuring an awesome, delicious, and locally sourced apple sauce. The sauce is made with apples grown in local Massachusetts orchards. And if that wasn't enough, there is only one ingredient: apples. That's right, just apples. No sweeteners or additives, just 100% locally sourced apples. Currently, it is being made with Macintosh apples but changes with the seasonal offerings. The sauce is made by Karl Dias – commonly referred to in our kitchens as "the apple sauce guy." Karl reports that he has a steady supply of various varieties of apples and will continue to make sauce throughout the winter. Karl sent me a note over the weekend letting me know that he just finished a batch using macoun apples and thought it just might top his current batch of Macintosh sauce! Because of the outstanding flavor, clean label, and local regionality of the product, we wanted to feature it as q...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton As you may know by now, the Northeastern dining team has been heavily engaged in Menus of Change . Our latest initiatives include finding ways to move vegetables and legumes to the center of the plate as well as including more globally inspired plant based recipes. Legumes are packed full of flavor, contain plant protein and fiber and, from an environmental perspective, produce an impressive amount of protein per acre. Some examples of current menu offerings include lentil bolognese, a healthier take on the classic dish made with traditional meat sauce, a delicious Cajun lentil stew, and a refreshing lentil couscous that is perfect for spring time. Many grains and legumes can also be found on the salad and vegetarian stations. Try "hacking" your meal by adding any of them to just about any soup to create a heartier version or try infusing them into some of the brown rice dishes! We have also been applying some techniques and recipes that ...

with campus executive chef Tom Barton Our latest Menus of Change principle is "Celebrating Cultural Diversity and Discovery" and over the next few weeks our residential dining halls will be featuring menu items that celebrate the cultural diversity of our associates. As I was reviewing recipes in preparation for these events at both International Village and Stetson, it occurred to me that some of the ingredients in the traditional recipes could be swapped out for healthier alternatives while also remaining faithful to tradition. Here are some examples of ways to make recipes even a little bit healthier (which means you can enjoy them even more often!): Instead of using butter why not use a fat free margarine? Canola, safflower or olive oils could also be substituted Rather than using whole milk try a skim, evaporated skim or even plain nonfat yogurt can be used Instead of using whole milk cheeses, look for ones that are made with part skim Low fat or fat free sour cream can ...

with Northeastern campus executive chef Tom Barton Building flavors and making sure our foods are seasoned properly is a large part of what we as chefs and cooks do and part of that is using salt. Teaching someone how to season is not easy as all of our palates our different; what is enough salt for one might be too much for another. There is much in the news about our salt intake and how we must take steps to reduce it and if you are a label reader then you already know there is sodium in many of the foods that we eat, especially those that are processed or pre-prepared. We definitely support the notion of using fresh herbs and spices to add flavor rather than increasing the amount of salt to most preparations; however, as a chef I have to say, when used properly, there is no substitute for salt. As a cook coming up through the ranks I learned that salt should be added throughout the cooking process, not all at the beginning or all at the end. Over-seasoning tends to occur when salt i...

with Northeastern campus executive chef Tom Barton I would like to welcome everyone back to campus. Hope everyone had a great summer and hope everyone is settling in. We have received a few questions about some of our local products that we serve so I thought I would take this opportunity to talk a little more about the products that we do purchase locally. Right now is a GREAT time to buying local. What we buy changes from week to week based on our menus and what items the farmers feel is in peak condition to send to us. The past few weeks have been filled with potatoes, carrots, onions, beets, kale, chard, lettuces, squashes of all sorts, tomatoes, corn, and, of course, apples. Keep an eye out at Stetson for Chef Sam's fresh corn station – if you like Mexican street corn you'll love this! Many of the items listed above fit perfectly into our "root to tip" vegetable program. In short, we use as much of the vegetable as possible – including the peel and the tops. Many...

Campus Executive Chef Tom Barton here with a behind the scenes look at the Hungry Hungry Husky's new menu for this spring. The food truck is a great place for us to have a little fun and experiment with emerging food trends and with the international theme of the truck we are especially interested in exciting menu items from around the world. This spring's menu features your favorite H3 items – our Famous Mac & Cheese and the Thai Basil Bowl (now with chicken or new sriracha glazed tofu) – as well as two unique tastes from two different sides of the globe: Mexican tortas and Korean chicken wings . Latin food, and especially Mexican food, has always been popular but with the explosion of places such as Chipotle, more and more attention is being brought to these types of foods. While not as widely accepted as the burrito or quesadilla, the torta is a staple of Mexican cuisine. The sandwiches are made with freshly prepared ingredients served on sliced telera , the tradition...

A look back at 2014 and the events that made it special. - - January & February - - café716 Renovation Northeastern University’s 716 Columbus Place is a major administrative building on campus that houses an array of university departments. For years, the only food and drink offered within the six-story building was a small café in the first floor lobby, discernible only by an unmarked doorway in one corner of the space. During the fall of 2013, an opportunity to renovate the building lobby included plans to significantly expand the café’s presence and the new, rebranded café716 opened in January 2014. Many of the building’s employees were counting down the days until café716’s reopening and their patience was rewarded with complimentary sampling events in the days leading up to launch. Chocolicious Valentine's Day Desserts with Guest Chef Amie Smith, Northeastern Alumnae '87 For the love of cooking we welcomed owner of Lulue’s Patisserie and NU Alumnae Amie Smith back to ...

by Campus Executive Chef Tom Barton Well it's finally here -- the final Cooking 101 class. As promised, next week's final session will be the student chefs' chance to utilize the tips and techniques they have learned during the past eight weeks to prepare a complete three course dinner for their invited guests. In this past Tuesday's class, our chefs were busy practicing the surprise menu. Chef Tom going over the menu with our student chefs Follow Northeastern Dining on Instagram! Just before the start of class, each student was presented with a very special personalized Xhibition Kitchen chef coat that they will wear proudly next week -- well actually, some couldn't wait and wore them this week too! The group was split into two separate teams and the students got busy chopping, pounding, sautéing, braising, whipping and folding. Timing the food to come out at the same time proved to be a bit of a challenge but everyone overcame the cramped quarters behind the count...

by Campus Executive Chef Tom Barton Last night was week seven of our Cooking 101 class in the Xhibition Kitchen and after learning about knife skills, cold preparations, and entrées over the past few weeks we had finally reached most everyone's favorite area of the kitchen: dessert! We brought in a heavy hitter, Ritz-Carlton Boston Common pastry chef Bouchaib Errafiy , to work with us and show us the finer points of several desserts. Chef Errafiy spoke about the various differences between all of the flours and sugars that we see these days at our favorite market. The discussion was very lively but I could tell everyone was ready to start making (and tasting!) some great desserts. First off -- cheesecake . We learned one of the secrets to a great cheesecake is in the creaming of the cream cheese and sugar. We spoke about the technique of creaming and its importance in many dessert recipes. We then moved onto the classic recipe of profiteroles au chocolate . The nice thing about ...

by Chris Jennings, Northeastern Dining Quality Assurance Manager Braising – Sauteing – Pan Frying – Steaming. These were just some of the cooking techniques demonstrated this week in the latest segment of Cooking 101. The main topic of focus were dry and moist heat cooking methods. Follow NUDining on Instagram! Dry heat refers to cooking foods where the heat transfers to the food without any moisture and typically involves temperatures of 300ºF or higher. Examples would be sautéing, roasting, baking, grilling and deep frying to name a few. And yes, despite initial hesitations, deep frying and pan frying are in fact dry heat cooking methods since you are submerging the food in hot liquid fat and not relying on a water-based moisture. Moist heat refers to cooking foods with a water-based moisture, be it water, steam, stock, wine, etc. Cooking temperatures typically range from 140ºF-212ºF and examples include braising, stewing, poaching, simmering, boiling and steaming. Our student chef...

by Campus Executive Chef Tom Barton Hi everyone! Last night we had the fifth week of our Cooking 101 class and we had a great time talking with all of our student chefs about the oh so popular subject of side dishes. While it can be a bland topic, we instead focused on some of the more nontraditional, but increasingly popular, starches and vegetables available at your local market. Follow us on Instagram! It's easy to pick a great vegetable side dish in the summer when produce is at its peak...but how about in the dead of winter? Our class participants made and tasted things like lemon scented multigrain pilaf, wild mushroom risotto , smoky cider braised greens, and roasted spiced winter squash. We also spoke about various potatoes and what their best uses are. People are very particular about their mashed potatoes so we tried to settle some important mashed potato debates, such as lumps or no lumps and skins on or off? To spice things up a little we used the knife skills learned i...

by Northeastern Dining Quality Assurance Manager Chris Jennings We dove right into stocks and sauces this week. Chef Tom had a beautiful chicken stock already simmering before class started. The aroma filtered thru the XK and set the tone for a stimulating experience on how to create your own stocks and sauces. Once we covered the different types of stocks and how to create them thru many variations, we figured we would transform some of them into sauces. Most sauces require a thickening agent and the type of thickening agent used depends on the desired texture, flavor and appearance of the sauce you want. Many were discussed but the class tried their hand at it with a roux, corn starch, beurre manié and a liaison. Quite a bit of whisking, tempering, and straining was involved but the end results were very nice. The goal was achieved. We transformed chicken stock into chicken velouté; a Béchamel sauce became a Mornay sauce; but the highlight was the hollandaise. Chef Andy and Chef Jenn...

Hi everyone! Chef Barton here with our weekly Cooking 101 recap. After a week off last Tuesday so everyone could enjoy Mardi Gras , we got back on schedule last night with session three of our Cooking 101 series. This week featured the " Garde Manger ," or cold section of the kitchen. We talked about strategies for putting together great looking contemporary cheese boards, crudité platters, fruit platters, and antipasto displays. We also prepared several dressings from scratch and everyone got to try their hand at making their own vinaigrette. The ranch dressing I made with homemade mayo came out a little thin but tasty - I think I got carried away with our housemade buttermilk! We also tasted many different salad greens to showcase the wide differences there are of greens there are to choose from. We saw some different salad presentations with "bowls" made from baked parmesan cheese, or frico , and also created a thinly sliced cucumber round just large enough to ho...

Chris Jennings - Northeastern Dining Quality Assurance Manager We rolled right into Session II of the Cooking 101 series last evening in the XK. Before you start cooking your food, it is generally a good idea to cut it to your needs; so we worked on knife skills. Chef Tom helped us identify some different types of knives from a French Knife to a Slicer to a Boning Knife and what applications they are best suited for. In order to make sure that our knives where not dull, a honing demonstration needed to make the sharp edges keener. After some quick safety tips and discussion on potential cross contamination we started to rock - our knives that is! With fingers tucked in and knife tip on the board the cutting began. Everyone started by trying their hand at dicing and chopping. By the end of the evening we had some great brunoise onion, julienne carrot, and paysanne potato to name a few. It was a job well done by everyone. The best part of the evening was that no one cut themselves (phew!...