By Julia Brewer ’19, Staff Writer

Metz Culinary Management is shaking things up in the Allan W. Mund Dining Hall with a new smoothie program for students who want to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into their diet.

After receiving input from experts such as Jared Hatz, the strength and conditioning coach at Lebanon Valley College, about how to bring healthier options into the dining hall, Metz decided to implement the new smoothie program. For $25, payable with cash or Flex Dollars, students can purchase a travel cup to be used with any of the six Vitamix blenders to make as many custom smoothies or shakes that they want.

“I like the new smoothie program, and I think it is a good option for people who need something quick for a meal and who want to save the smoothie for another meal,” Brenna O’Neill, a junior biology major, said. “People are taking advantage of it because it offers something different than we have had in the past.”

One of the biggest challenges college students face when trying to eat healthy at school is a lack of time and resources. The new smoothie program addresses both of these issues with a variety of fresh fruits and leafy greens that are provided every day.  The special cups are portable and easy to bring to class or practice.

The possible benefits from drinking smoothies frequently are endless. According to Hatz, many of the struggles life as a college student brings about such as having trouble sleeping, falling asleep during class and getting sick are often the result of a poor diet. Making smoothies allows students to incorporate a large serving of fruit and vegetables into one meal and get many of the nutrients they are missing in their typical diet.

“Maybe if we were eating better, we would be getting the appropriate amount of nutrients that help with all these processes in the body,” Hatz said.

For students who want to take advantage of the smoothie station but who do not know where to begin, information is available in a variety of places. Associate professor of philosophy Dr. Robert Valgenti, who teaches a class on the philosophy of food, introduced freshman to the new option during orientation. Also, resources for recipes and nutritional guidelines will be available on the strength and conditioning website once it launches later this semester.

Currently, the new coffee shop in the library offers smoothies with protein in them but the dining hall has yet to adopt this feature so the phrase “B.Y.O.P.” has been coined to encourage students to “bring your own protein.”

“If you’re going to Metz and thinking about making smoothies consistently as a meal replacement or meal on the go, then I would recommend buying a protein powder and adding that in your smoothie,” Hatz said.

The smoothie program is an innovative addition to Mund Dining Hall because it allows students to incorporate nutrients they may be missing in their diet in a convenient and enjoyable way. This is one of the many ways the college is promoting the well-being of their students.  A healthy diet goes hand-in-hand with a healthy life.