Nutrition 101: Raymond Dining Hall Hosts Upcoming Nutrition Classes

by The Cowl Editor on March 7, 2019


Campus


Max Waite ’21

News Staff

After spring break, Providence College students can look forward to new health and nutrition classes being taught in Raymond Dining Hall.

Samantha Therrien, a manager and dietician at Ray with a master’s degree in nutrition, has always wanted to provide an informative opportunity for students to learn about tasty nutritious options that they can incorporate into their diets. So, when an old professor from Framingham State University reached out to her with an idea for someone to come teach nutrition classes at the College, Therrien was immediately intrigued. Therrien stated that the PC student body would serve as the “audience for our own unique lesson plan.”

The instructor of the upcoming classes is Tanisha Amaral, a graduate student studying nutrition and education at Framingham State University. 

Recently, Therrien and Amaral have collaborated in order to create lesson plans that are unique and fit well within our community. According to Therrien, these nutrition classes will be provided part-time, for they are serving as a “trial-run” in the development process.

There are three upcoming classes for students to attend within the next month. Students will be allowed to attend these classes without using a meal swipe, and  healthy snacks will be provided for the attendees.

The first class will be held on Tuesday, March 19 at 3:30 p.m. The main topics to be covered are how to replace high fat or high calorie foods with more nutritious options, a discussion on healthy versus unhealthy fats, and how to properly read food labels.

The second class will be held on Friday, March 29 at 3:30 p.m. This session will discuss the process of choosing nutritious foods whether you are in the dining hall or enjoying a nice meal from any of the amazing restaurants throughout Providence. 

This class will also go into detail on how to incorporate fruits, vegetables, protein, and other ingredients into a delicious, yet healthy meal. Ultimately, this class will be all about general healthy eating and making good, nutritious choices wherever you are.

The third class will be next month on Tuesday, April 2 at 3:30 p.m. Though the specifics of this class have not been planned out just yet, it will go over how to prepare healthy options on your own, whether you are home or in your dorm room. 

These events are particularly great for students with kitchens, as it will provide them with new ideas for meals to prepare. They will also certainly aid students who enjoy fitness, but do not necessarily know how to properly incorporate nutrition into their daily lives. 

Michael Havens ’21 is excited for the upcoming classes, as he believes that he will learn a lot about how to improve his diet. “I’ve been trying to go to the fitness center whenever I can, but at the end of the day, I feel like I’m not making any progress because of my eating habits. Hopefully after attending these classes, I can learn how to restrain my urges to eat junk food and lean more towards healthy options.”

Therrien hopes to have these classes continue into the fall semester. In addition to the classes, Therrien is interested in possibly setting up tables at the dining hall with different healthy snacks displayed for students to try. This way, students can learn about the benefits of the ingredients which they are eating, and perhaps incorporate these nutritious ingredients into their own diet.

Posters promoting these new nutrition classes will be put up throughout the dining hall in the near future, and students are encouraged to sign up for these classes by contacting Samantha Therrien at samantha.therrien@sodexo.com.


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