“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

So reads the famous words from author Michael Pollan in his 2006 book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Good advice, but Americans need help. Dietary guidelines suggest 1.5 – 2 cups of fruit and 2 – 3 cups of vegetables per day, but according to The Center for Disease Control, only 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. succeed in this plentiful pursuit of plants. Read that again – only 10% of us eat anywhere near close to what we should.

This is one area Epicurean Group can really help our customers. Let’s talk salad bar, but up the ante. Traditional salad bars have been shown to dramatically increase fruit and vegetable consumption, some 64 percent.** We all like to customize and choose the items and amounts we want. Younger generations are demanding this personally designed eating style. But gains in consumption can come with a cost. Salad bars of the past led to eater overload, a certain assembly paralysis brought on by too many choices. Lacking inspiration, we tend to create the same composition all the time, choosing the ingredients we did last time and missing out on all the bar has to offer, both in flavor and nutrition. Food allergies are another problem. Salad bars can be confusing for folks avoiding foods such as gluten and nuts. How can we know what’s in what? Food waste also comes into play. Over-estimating portion size is common; we pile on too much and then don’t finish, wasting resources required to make the food and throwing precious food budget dollars in the trash.

Epicurean Group wondered, could we build a better salad bar?

Enter LiveWell – a catapult into plant futures.

With colorful descriptions of portion size and creative ways to assemble the perfect bowl, eaters get help as they travel through the lunch line. A new look at food bars, Epicurean Group’s LiveWell station offers less options than many bars on purpose (reduces waste) but more things to do with them. Visual how-to’s teach new creations, composed salads well-balanced with flavor, texture, and nutrition, and direct eaters with food allergies to the best choices. Designed like a painters-palette, LiveWell challenges eaters to assemble with new possibilities and a rainbow of colors. Creative dressings like homemade Orange Vinaigrette join classics like Italian to mix familiarity with creativity. “Show-plates” remind customers what a healthy portion size looks like – an effective tool for reducing wasted food. LiveWell stations can be customized for your needs and are an optional buy-in for any account. Please talk to your sales representative for more details.

HOW TO BUILD THE PERFECT BOWL

A Layer of Leaves
Start with a bed of your favorite greens. Look for the darkest colors, such as spinach and spring mix, rather than head lettuce, signifying a higher amount of plant power and essential nutrients.

Top with Veggies
LiveWell stations offer customers a good variety; ingredients chosen to complement each other. Check out the suggested compositions above the bar and create a new combination of flavors. Our bars give you more variety than one naturally finds at home or buys in a market, but don’t leave you feeling overwhelmed with too many choices.

Place the Protein
Many Americans eat double the amount of protein we need. Today’s plant-inspired world considers protein a side dish, not the main part of a meal. LiveWell stations guide customers to choose the right size portion and the opportunity to add in plant-based proteins like beans and soy products. Protein gives your meal staying power but look for lean proteins free from fatty dressings like mayonnaise.

Smart Starches
Salad bar starches are often white flour pasta coated in mayonnaise and other high-fat dressings. LiveWell stations offer healthy starches and plain whole grains such as quinoa and farro. Whole grains work as a perfect sprinkle for your bowl, offering the carbohydrates for brain power that we all crave, but with their bran and germ still intact. This means better nutrient value and grains that are slower to digest, reducing blood sugar and insulin spikes.

Find Fresh Fruit
Get an opportunity to grab a few slices of freshly cut-up fruit? Take it! Americans don’t eat enough fruit, and a few slices throughout the day can bring us closer to our goal. LiveWell stations offer a daily selection of fresh fruit. We look for seasonal and local options, when possible, picked by our partner farmers. Local, seasonal foods are not only trendy, they offer superior flavor, often at a better price.

Top with Crunch
Variation causes us to eat more. There’s something about different textures and flavors that keeps our tastebuds and minds engaged. When composing a salad or bowl, remember the crunch. Select from nuts, seeds, croutons, and other toppings for the perfect garnish.

Dress with Awareness
Salad dressings can add just the right zing or an unnecessary amount of sodium and fat. Be aware of adding more than you need. One way to control it is to put the dressing on the side and dip it in each forkful. Focus on the oil and vinegar-based dressings or go for half-and-half, smaller sides of both an oil-based and creamy dressing. Just a little taste of a fattier favorite such as blue cheese can be plenty satisfying.