Celebrating a Happy Thanksgiving with the Campus Dining Staff

As a dietetic intern with the University of Maryland I got the unique opportunity to celebrate Thanksgiving with the campus dining staff and student body. My last three days of this exciting rotation held three completely different experiences all themed after the upcoming holiday.

The festivities started as I acted as a food runner at the dessert table during the annual Thanksgiving meal served to the student body. My first task was artistic and fun, I was able to arrange the variety of pies and pastries in a visually appealing manner at the dessert table to entice the students over. As the night picked up I was in a constant flurry from the serving area to the kitchen fighting the crowds to keep the desserts stocked. It was a great experience to interact with the student body and the campus dining staff.

The next day we turned our efforts from food service towards employee wellness, as we compiled an educational wall to promote a healthy holiday to the campus dining staff. We provided many suggestions such as:

·      Controlling your portions by limiting yourself to 3 ounces of turkey and 1 cup of mashed potatoes.

·      Bake your turkey instead of fry.

·      Reduce the fat content of your meal by switching to yogurt in place of sour cream in mashed potatoes, or using oil instead of butter.

·      Exercise with your family by playing football at halftime, going on a walk, or taking a bike ride around the neighborhood.

The wellness wall turned out great check it out!

My final day at campus dining included a gourmet Thanksgiving meal where my rotation partner and I were transformed into chefs. Through the help of Chef George and many others at University of Maryland we produced a delicious meal consisting of a butternut squash salad, roasted sweet potatoes with caramelized red onions, green bean acorn squash carrot cheddar au gratin, stuffed turkey breast with red wine demi, and southern peach cobbler. As we enjoyed our fantastic food I was able to show off all the great work we had accomplished during our three weeks at campus dining.

This rotation was full of exciting opportunities and we were sad to see it go, but cannot wait to see what the rest of our internship has in store for us!