Helping you to make HEALTHY choices

In our catered halls, we've committed to these actions to help you choose a healthy, balanced diet that will support your physical and mental wellbeing.

5-a-day

So that you can get your recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables, we offer:

• three whole fruit choices and one cut fruit every day at breakfast / brunch*;
• an extra piece of whole fruit, in addition to your breakfast / brunch items*;
• two vegetable side dishes daily*;
• salad bar*;
• fruit alternative to dessert.

* Refer to our meal entitlement information at the bottom of this page for full details.

Brain-boosting seeds

Top your soup with sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds – rich in magnesium, zinc, selenium, and omega fatty acids – thought to boost your mood, reduce anxiety, and improve memory and concentration.

Caffeine reduction

Too much caffeine can trigger your stress response and reduce sleep quality, especially if consumed in the evening.

Ask for decaf tea or coffee, or for green tea, which has less caffeine than black tea and is rich in antioxidant flavonoids.

Fresh and seasonal

We base our menu on the Eat the Seasons campaign, so your diet can be in tune with the rhythms of nature.

Fried-food-free breakfasts

Fried foods are linked to heart disease and low mood. Except for fried eggs, we don’t fry breakfast / brunch items: everything is baked, grilled, or boiled.

Fried potatoes

We serve fried potato dishes (e.g. chips, wedges, etc.,) no more than twice per week.

High-fibre cereals

We always offer one high-fibre cereal for breakfast/brunch. Dietary fibre helps prevent heart disease and is associated with longer (=healthier) telomeres – the protective “caps” on the end of our chromosomes.

Knowledge is power

• We use the EatWell Plate, by Public Health England, to help you make healthy menu choices.
• We will provide further healthy eating information throughout the year.

Leafy greens

Dark green, leafy vegetables are rich in magnesium and folic acid. They can aid relaxation and improve your mood. We serve leafy greens twice a week (for a trial period in autumn 2019, depending on uptake).

Low-fat milk and yogurts

We offer yogurt daily at breakfast and as a dessert at dinner time. The selection always includes a low-fat option.

We offer 1% fat milk as standard.

Naked salads!

Except for coleslaw and potato salad, all our salad bar options leave dressings “on the side”.

Part-time carnivore

• On Mondays, we offer one vegetarian and one vegan main course (only one meat dish).
• Our soups are always vegetarian (vegan four nights a week).

Try going meat-free on Mondays to reduce your carbon footprint. Our personal wellbeing is inextricably linked with environmental sustainability.

Porridge

Porridge oats can help reduce your cholesterol. We make our porridge with water, so it’s suitable for vegans, too.

Wholegrains & wholemeal

• A wholemeal bread / roll option is available every meal time.
• We serve brown rice at dinner time once a week and wholemeal pasta once every two weeks.
• Our brunch pasta bakes always use wholemeal pasta.

Wholegrains are rich in B vitamins and selenium, and are linked to better memory, less stress, lower risk of depression, and healthier chromosomes. Wholemeal bread is high in dietary fibre.

Meal entitlement information

Breakfast

You can have any six items, plus one extra piece of whole fruit and one drink (either fruit juice or a hot drink).

Brunch

You can have any eight items for brunch, plus one extra piece of whole fruit and one drink (either fruit juice or a hot drink). We also offer a ”main” brunch option (for example, a pasta bake). If you choose to take one of these main options, it counts as three of your eight items.

Dinner

Dinner consists of three courses, plus one hot drink:

• A bowl of soup and bread roll.
• One main course and two side dishes (or, if you do not want any of the main course options, you may have three side dishes).
• The last course can be either a cold/hot dessert or piece of fruit.

We normally offer one vegetarian and two meat/poultry/fish main courses.

You can choose any two side dishes out of five: two starch options, two vegetable options, or a salad bowl.