Woodwinds Launches Healthy Fare Menu

Consider these words: hospital food. Did your gag reflex kick in? It’s a natural reaction. One of the greatest ironies of our healthcare system is that our healing institutions prepare and serve unhealthy, uninspired and unappetizing food. With more awareness of the connection between nutrition and health, hospitals are now launching wellness programs that focus on providing nutritious and delicious food for staff, visitors and patients. The HealthEast health care organization is one of the pioneers of this movement, so lucky Woodbury residents can look forward to tastier and more salubrious fare in our local hospital. The Woodwinds Health Campus in Woodbury has been steadily adding healthy dishes to its menu, and in June launched a comprehensive “Eat Well, Be Well” initiative closely integrated with its holistic “Ways to Wellness” program. Three years ago Joan Fry, Woodwinds’ nutrition service director, put together a focus group consisting of the executive lead for integrative healing, a registered dietician, a foundation representative, the hospital’s medical director, the lead chef, nutrition service supervisor and a marketing executive. “We wanted to find ways that the café could compliment the ways to wellness program,” Fry says. “We did a survey and asked people questions like ‘What do you want to see?’ and ‘Would you pay more for organic foods?”The group used the responses to put together a menu, devise a logo and develop symbols to identify different categories of health-conscious fare: healthy fats, carbohydrate control, responsible sodium, whole grain fiber-rich, calorie control (300 calories or less), vegetarian/vegan and gluten-free. Each dish is labeled accordingly so diners can make the appropriate choice. The team also looked at other green issues, such as the merits of Styrofoam versus cardboard and what could be recycled. “We considered anything related to guest relations and food service and tried to create innovative, fun solutions that matched our culture at Woodwinds,” Fry says. “Our goal was to help the community and staff be engaged in what they’re eating and to recognize how that fits with a better lifestyle in general.” There are more than 40 new items and many more fresh fruits and vegetables on the menu. Chef Jesse Sturm devised many of the recipes himself and in some cases updated ones that were already on the menu. “Sometimes it’s tough to come up with healthier ways of cooking after being trained in traditional French cuisine,” he admits. “But eating healthy stuff makes me/you feel better—you can get up and take a walk afterwards because you’re not stuffed and plastered to the couch. You actually have energy.” Born and raised in Woodbury, Sturm started working at Woodwinds as a server at age 17. After graduating from Woodbury High School in 2001 and a stint at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, he returned to Woodwinds as a dishwasher and enrolled at the Cordon Bleu cooking school. Sturm worked in the kitchen at St. Joseph’s Hospital. “I was just waiting to get back to Woodwinds,” he says. “As soon as a position opened up, I started cooking there.” Sturm appreciates the beautiful campus, the personality of the hospital and the fact that he is now close to home. Sturm is pleased with the positive feedback about Woodwinds’ new menu. “People really like to eat healthier and they love having that option,” he says. Some of the more popular dishes include an Asian tilapia, a variety of quinoa salads, chicken sandwiches and maple-glazed salmon filets. There is freshly-baked stone ground bread and rotating seasonal options. The spring and summer will bring lettuce wraps and kebabs that the kitchen grills on the outside patio every Wednesday. “In the summer we do lots of salads including pasta salads and in the winter, obviously, we do more comfort foods,” Sturm says. The program at Woodwinds has affected the way that Sturm eats at home for the better. “It’s actually changed the way I cook,” he says. “My wife and I have definitely switched to a healthier style of cooking and dining.” & Asian Tilapia Serves 4   Ingredients 4 tilapia fillets Marinade: 2 cups soy sauce 1/3 cup sugar Veggie Topping: 1 tomato 1 cucumber, seeded and peeled ½ red onion 1 green apple 1 carrot, peeled 10-15 snow peas   To Make Heat soy sauce and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside to cool. Marinate tilapia fillets in the marinade for approximately 10 minutes, turning over after 5 minutes. Cut all veggies into julienne strips and mix together. Sear the tilapia filets in a hot pan. Once seared, place in an oven set at 350 degrees until fish reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees (If you want, you can cook to a lesser degree; I prefer my fish at a temp of 135-140 degrees.). Once fish is taken out of the oven, top the filets with the veggie mix. Serve with lemon cilantro rice and steamed fresh asparagus.