He says he has “an appetite for destruction.” UNH senior Lance Mailloux lends his protein-rich diet loads of credit for his success on the football field.

This year, Lance’s football coach has given him “weight goals” that guide him to gain a certain amount of weight to become a better defender. Being a former weight-conscious wrestler, Lance decided to gain his weight “in the healthiest way possible.” And so begins his hulk-a-licious diet description:

“I get in extra calories through drinking lots of fruit juice…”

“Instead of eating junk food, I eat larger portions of healthy (3-star) foods…”

“I eat a slow-digesting meal before bed to prevent muscle breakdown overnight…”

“I eat protein at almost every meal and I eat every 3 hours…”

Lance gets most of his diet advice from reading Muscle Fitness and Men’s Health magazines. Over the past year, he has also taken advantage of Guiding Stars ratings at the dining halls where he consumes 3-5 meals a day. “I have seen it around the dining hall but I didn’t know Guiding Stars extended into grocery stores,” Lance explained. He plans to take full-advantage of the rating system at the local Hannaford in the future.

This informed athlete is a great example of why every person has different nutritional needs—one diet isn’t perfect for everyone. The day of our dining hall chat, Lance had a variety of things on his tray: an apple with peanut butter (chunky, of course), a steak and chicken wrap, a small bowl of whole wheat pasta, some garlic bread, a piece of meatball pizza, and some celery sticks (for good luck). Although his tray was extremely full, Lance had made some pretty good choices according to Guiding Stars.

He was so excited to try my Guiding Stars inspired meal that he could barely continue talking to me. So I prepared him a healthy version of chicken parmesan (which he mentioned was his favorite food). I used whole wheat pasta, marinara sauce, grilled chicken, and melted some mozzarella cheese on top. He loved it – even more than the pre-made version that the dining hall offers during the year. This wildcat plans to add this to his weekly diet, and intends to eat about three times the portion that I prepared for him.

So what else has this nutrition conscious undergrad been able to accomplish.

He has always been a star athlete – since the day he could walk – but during his glory years at UNH, Lance has won a wrestling national championship, has played as a key part of the defensive line on the UNH football team for 4 years, and currently holds the team record for bench pressing 450 pounds.

Lance is made of muscle but also brains, as he majors in Environmental Conservation, minors in Business Administration, and holds a summer internship at the Jackson Estuary Lab in Durham, New Hampshire. He spends free time working out, hanging with friends, “mudding” in his best friend’s monster truck, going to his summer house at Lake Winnipesaukee, swimming, ice fishing, and going to concerts.

Although football is his highest priority, this wildcat is able to have some fun for himself – no wonder he needs to eat so much! His next step is getting a personal caterer, hopefully someone who specializes in 3-star chicken parmesan!

About our Student Blogger

Sarah Frederickson is a junior Nutrition & Wellness major at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). She has a strong passion for promoting healthy eating and overall wellness. With some help from the UNH dietitian, Sarah recently finished a project called Creative Eating which is an approach to educating students on making interesting, delicious, and smart choices in the dining halls.

Along with a personal blog that she uses to support this project, Sarah has a Facebook group where Creative Eating enthusiasts can stay updated with project events, news, and recipe ideas. She is also an active member of Students Promoting Information on Nutrition (SPIN), a UNH student organization meant to spread nutrition knowledge to students through peer education.

Like a beehive, a college campus is a small city of residents with wildly different roles and needs. You’ve got your workers, your studying drones, your drama queens – some need just enough energy to hold a book up, others to run a marathon.

Each month, my blog will track down one type of student trying to find his or her way through a maze of dietary options. I will get to know them, discuss their food choices, and make an interesting “Guiding Stars inspired” meal suggestion for them to try. I begin here with my first summer voyage to Holloway Commons, the main dining hall at UNH:

For the first time since freshman year, I felt lost in the dining hall. I scanned through a sea of prospective students and UNH Wildcat campers. Although I seemed not to fit in, I felt entitled to be there, a dining hall “veteran” – like a worn crayon thrown into a box of crayons fresh off the press. Just when I was about to give up on my search for a college student, a gray UNH t-shirt caught my eye. I approached her carefully as if she was a mirage but quickly recognized her authenticity. After getting her permission to feature her in my first blog, we sat down to talk food.

Erin is a senior at UNH studying Athletic Training. When she graduates, she plans to get her certification, go to grad school, and eventually become a physician’s assistant. She is spending her summer working at the UNH sports camps. Erin explained that if she had free time she would spend it at the mall, hanging out downtown with friends, or enjoying Portsmouth, NH.

Stir Fry Bar at the University of New Hampshire

This busy-bee is highly active and needs to feed on some serious (yet quick) grub. She meant business this day with a green plate filled with several delicious 2 and 3 star choices. She chose stir-fry—one of her dining hall favorites—with snow peas, carrots, broccoli, and chicken. We both agreed that stir-fry is an easy way to get a well-balanced meal: whole grains, lots of fiber, various vitamins and nutrients, and lean protein. This meal is healthy, filling, and will sustain a girl like Erin throughout a hectic afternoon.

She defines nutrition as “choosing options that are healthy” and was proud to share her knowledge about Guiding Stars, “3 stars are the best,” Erin explained.

Guiding Stars can be helpful for busy students like Erin who need to make choices quickly. She is often pleasantly surprised when certain foods in the dining hall get 3 stars. Even if you normally eat and enjoy broccoli, when you see that you are making the 3-star choice it’s as if you are receiving a badge of honor.

This multi-tasker needed to get back to camp but expressed an interest in my Guiding Stars inspired dessert. I made her a healthy spin on apple crisp by using juicy sliced apples, about a tablespoon of water, a sprinkle of cinnamon & sugar, and a healthy sprinkling of granola – I nuked it in the microwave for 45 seconds. It was more than a success. Erin was happy to know that she could make a dessert at the dining hall that had more nutritional value than something like a chunk of brownie. Impressed, “the bee” shook my hand and made her exit, seeming to have a new swing in her step (or should I say wings) knowing that dessert can be made healthy.

I know many students at UNH that would be classified as “busy-bees” just like Erin. Guiding Stars caters to this lifestyle—it helps us make decisions without having to think too much. If you’ve been studying all day, save some brain power and let the stars reward you – but remember to get creative!

Sarah Frederickson is a junior Nutrition & Wellness major at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). I have a strong passion for promoting healthy eating and overall wellness. With some help from the UNH dietitian, I recently finished a project called Creative Eating which is an approach to educating students on making interesting, delicious, and smart choices in the dining halls. Along with a personal blog that I use to support this project, I have a Facebook group where Creative Eating enthusiasts can stay updated with project events, news, and recipe ideas. I am also an active member of Students Promoting Information on Nutrition (SPIN), a UNH student organization meant to spread nutrition knowledge to students through peer education.

You toss your backpack on the shelf, swipe your ID at the entrance, and grab a plate. Knocking into other students as you weave your way through the dinner rush, you send out a mass-text message to see where your friends are sitting. You pile a couple of slices of pizza on your plate because they’re a quick choice and you’re trying to get to that 6:40 review session for your nail-biting exam tomorrow.

You’re a college student trying to stay nourished in a fast-paced, multitasking society, and you don’t have time to plan the perfect meal.

At the University of New Hampshire (UNH), this is where Guiding Stars comes to the rescue, giving “fast” food a new meaning.

Guiding Stars is a food rating system that helps you to identify more nutritious choices. The system is meant to direct you towards foods with more vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, whole grains – and less fats, cholesterol, sugar, and added sodium.

Using a scientific algorithm, foods are rated and marked with simple tags reading 0, 1, 2 or 3 stars. The more nutritious the food is, the more stars it receives.

Nutrition knowledge varies among students and the “dirty work” in determining nutritious value can be time consuming, but when UNH dining halls implemented Guiding Stars in September 2009, making healthy choices was no longer a time commitment— it became a breeze.

Guiding Stars is catering to our hectic lifestyles by giving us a way to make smart choices at a glance. And this easy-to-understand rating system is on its way to impacting the health of UNH students as well as grocery consumers.

My name is Sarah Frederickson. I am a junior Nutrition & Wellness major at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). I have a strong passion for promoting healthy eating and overall wellness. With some help from the UNH dietitian, I recently finished a project called Creative Eating which is an approach to educating students on making interesting, delicious, and smart choices in the dining halls. Along with a personal blog that I use to support this project, I have a Facebook group where Creative Eating enthusiasts can stay updated with project events, news, and recipe ideas. I am also an active member of Students Promoting Information on Nutrition (SPIN), a UNH student organization meant to spread nutrition knowledge to students through peer education.

The University of New Hampshire was introduced to the concept of utilizing the popular Guiding Stars program into our campus’ dining program almost 1 year ago. From the moment we began to discuss the program, I felt it was a good fit for what we were trying to accomplish – communicating quick and easy nutritional information in our dining halls.

Prior to Guiding Stars, we presented nutritional information on cards that were placed next to each menu item. While that offering was informative, this easy to understand symbol system, with Gus as its mascot, seemed a natural addition to our program and provided an informational platform for our guests to make food choices.

After the rating of some 1,200 recipes, we introduced the Guiding Stars program to our guests. We viewed the launch as an educational opportunity for not only our students, but for us as well. We quickly learned that some of the menu items we previously thought were “healthy” didn’t pass the Guiding Stars parameters and some items we didn’t think would pass – did.

The Guiding Stars ratings have challenged us to rethink ingredients and incorporate more vegetables and fiber – and less salt and sugar. Feedback has been positive; students, faculty and staff want to see more items on the menu with more Guiding Stars. Recently, we held a Healthy UNH luncheon where almost everything on the menu earned at least one Guiding Star. The feedback on the menu was outstanding and Guiding Stars had a lot to do with the meal’s success.

Throughout the implementation process, right through today, Misty and her colleagues at the Guiding Stars Licensing Company have been great to work with. The team has worked to bridge gaps between our production software company, our IT staff and our evolving needs/ideas. They have been available, supportive and a true partner in the creation of the program at UNH.

I am very pleased with the results and the immediate impact the Guiding Stars program has had on our operations. It sets us apart from other Universities and helps put UNH Dining Services in the category of truly innovative organizations.

In the news: Press Release
Related album: Schools, Colleges & Universities

Jon Plodzik is the Director of Dining at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. UNH launched Guiding Stars in their dining halls in August 2009.