Healthy for life: New options on the menu at Café 3001 Published March 20, 2014 By Kimberly Woodruff Staff Writer TINKER AIR FORCE BASE -- Officials with Aramark's Café 3001 heard customer feedback and have made changes to provide more healthy food options in their restaurants on base. The 'Eat Well' leaf is the new symbol of healthy food options on the Aramark menu. The Eat Well selections include nutritious foods like vegetables, lean proteins or whole grains, foods lower in calories and saturated fats without losing any of the delicious flavors. "Our customers drive the menu," said Joe Hackett, Aramark's chef manager. "We are working to provide healthy options, but healthy the way people want us to be -- flavorful." Studying what customers were purchasing, and looking at their eating habits, chefs rebuilt the deli menu so there are easy-to-grab items for speedy service. "People hate to stand in line," said Chef Hackett. Low calorie choices in the deli include lean proteins, wraps, chicken and tuna salad made with low-calorie ingredients. Gone are the pre-packaged wedge sandwiches packed with preservatives. "Now sandwiches are made fresh daily, packaged and ready to go on in our air screens," the chef said. Based on customer suggestions, the Superfortress offers a 12-inch sub, which is available from 10 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Main Eat Well dishes are an average of 500 calories or less, and a saturated fat average of just 10 percent of calories or less, none more than 15 percent of calories. Additionally, to be considered an Eat Well option, main dishes must have sodium levels of 700 milligrams or less, and any higher than 800 milligrams have two or more servings of nutritionally dense whole foods. Soups and sides average 250 milligrams or less, with none higher than 400 milligrams. Chef Hackett is definitely enthusiastic and very passionate about food. Describing the new menu with healthy food options in each of the stations, from the grill to deli, the salad bar and yes, even pizza was exciting for him. He wants his customers to know about the flavorful choices they have like Mexican burrito bowls, gourmet pizzas made with real dough and fresh vegetables and lean proteins, garden burgers, low fat chicken or tuna salads, all under 500 calories. The salad bar is set up with lean proteins, eight fresh vegetables and three salad blends. For dressings, Chef Hackett uses colored markers to indicate the healthiness of the dressing; green is good to go, yellow would be in the middle range of fat and sodium content, and those marked with red should be used sparingly. Soups are all homemade from scratch. Additionally, Chef Hackett said they do not use cornstarch to thicken the soups. Among the soup choices are vegetable, veggie and shells, chicken tortilla, pinto beans, creamy potato and much more. To help diners keep track of their calories, Aramark teamed up with a popular app for smartphones, tablets or computer that will do the calorie counting and track physical activity. For more information, ask an Aramark employee. Incidentally, the app is the same one used by the Health and Wellness Center's FIT program. Aramark chefs are embracing the menu change. "Foods are seasoned but not smothered," said Chef Hackett. "The foods are still flavorful without all the fat and sodium. Salt and pepper are on the tables and there is butter available for those who wish to add it to their taste." "We're working toward faster service, the best service, and fresh good quality food options," said Lee Woods, Aramark Food Service director. "Our guarantee is if you don't like the food, bring it back up to the counter, and we'll make it right," said Chef Hackett. For more information about the Aramark menu, check out their page at www.tinkerliving.com. Follow the link for fun and dining and make a plan to try one of their new healthy options soon.