Simply select where you are dining, choose which items you ate and see the nutritional content of your meal. YourNutrition also can be used to look at a meal beforehand. You can pose the question: “Do I really want this penne pasta with alfredo?”
Athletes loading up on carbs or students trying to watch their weight can add another tool to their dietary arsenal from Residence Life and Dining Services.
Tucked away under the Residence Life and Dining Services tab of the University of Wyoming website is a new and little-known tool called YourNutrition.
The program was implemented in Fall of 2011 as a way to help students make smart dining choices.
“We feel it’s important for diners to know the nutrient content of our foods in order to make healthy decisions,” Amy Bey, Nutrition Information Specialist for Residence Life and Dining Services, said.
Students who have special dietary needs, such as food allergies, can visit the site and view selections that meet their needs.
YourNutrition is designed to help students plan a balanced diet using what is available at Washakie Center and offers other useful information, including nutrition information on food items available at the Wyoming Union.
Unfortunately, Panda Express is not listed on the YourNutrition tool, so students have to look elsewhere for the nutrition information for items on its menu.
“YourNutrition allows for planning meals on campus daily or weekly. This gives you the freedom to choose any of the foods on our menu and balance out the less healthy options with the healthier ones,” Bey said.
Using YourNutrition could make it easier for students to avoid the typical weight gain known as the “Freshman 15.”
“Diners following eating plans to add or subtract nutrients from their diets also find the website handy,” Bey said.
Navigating the site is easy. Students simply choose where they wish to eat, pick what they want and add the items.
YourNutrition automatically calculates how many calories, fat grams, carbohydrates, fiber and other nutrition information meal contains.
“We hope our diners use the site to compare the nutrient content of our menu selections and build balanced meals,” Bey said.
As students become more familiar with the nutrient content of the foods available on campus and what to expect in certain foods, they can use that knowledge and apply it to future food choices.
The university purchased the software for the program from an outside company, but the work of adding all the information was the responsibility of the staff at Residence Life and Dining Services.
“We were responsible for the stylistic design decisions as well as configuring our menus and recipes to work with the software,” Bey said.
“We also had to review food labels for all the items that we purchase and input any of the common food allergens they contain.”
Mustering the will power to avoid the dessert section at Washakie Center may still take some work, but planning meals with YourNutrition has made staying healthy on campus a little easier.
