Plants vs. Fats - which diet do you choose?

Plants vs. Fats - which diet do you choose?

by Jeff Brandt -
Number of replies: 5

Nutrition for Culinary Professionals (term 2)

Learning Outcome: Demonstrates effective verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills to provide nutritional information.

Rationale: The purpose of this assignment is to introduce, explore and discuss current ideas about diet and nutrition which influence the foodservice industry.

If you had to choose between a plant-based diet or a high-fat, very-low carbohydrate (Keto) diet for a restaurant menu, which would you choose? Why would you choose that diet for a menu? What would it taste like or look like?

Expand on the information given during the course introduction with your own research to write a discussion posting explaining why you made your choice.  Give a detailed example of a possible menu item that fits your choice of diet.

Refer to marking  rubric for evaluation of this discussion.


In reply to Jeff Brandt

Re: Plants vs. Fats - which diet do you choose?

by Sylvia Currie -

Thanks for all the context, Jeff! I know right away that I want to take your course! Diet and nutrition is such a fascinating topic, especially with the "influence" angle.

Your discussion prompt zones right in on important knowledge and skills. I imagine each student would bring a lot of what they know about nutrition, trends, and everything else that goes into menu selections. 

I stalled a bit when I contemplated what I would choose and why -- and what would it taste like. I appreciate the strategy to bring in personal points of view and perspectives, and also the request to draw on research. I wonder though if we would need to back up a bit. Is there a way to engage your learners in a discussion about menu designs by opening it up for discussion about all possible trends, possibilities, demographics, and other considerations? As it is now each student is asked to explain why they make their choice, but where does it go from theret? Would opening it up as a more general discussion, yet still drawing on personal experiences, result in more of an exchange?

In reply to Sylvia Currie

Re: Plants vs. Fats - which diet do you choose?

by Jeff Brandt -

Thank you Sylvia for your feedback.

I agree with a wider approach too, or I mean, that is what I have been doing, so I am curious to see where a discussion would lead within a narrow topic, either one or the other to comment on. Both discussion choices fall outside many of skills the students practice (centre of the plate meat), so I hope that this is something to engage the students.

Sometimes, the general approach of past discussion has lead to some very unusual topics, that do not lead to further discussions even on my part, as the instructor. There is just too many weird food trends on the internet.

In reply to Jeff Brandt

Re: Plants vs. Fats - which diet do you choose?

by Beth Cougler Blom -

I'm wondering if those weird food trends might give you some fodder for another way to approach this, just to offer up an alternative?

For example:

Give an example of a "weird" food trend going on right now in the world and why it may or may not meet the nutrition guidelines that we've discussed in our course. If someone posts a trend that you're particularly fond of, make a rebuttal! Give your reasons why it's not "weird" in your view.

In reply to Beth Cougler Blom

Re: Plants vs. Fats - which diet do you choose?

by Jeff Brandt -

That is a helpful comment Beth. I never really knew what to do with the "dirt ice cream" or "raindrop cake" trends students would find on-line. Flipping it to the weird side will definitively make it a more delicious prompt with some inclusion of course learning outcomes required.

In reply to Jeff Brandt

Re: Plants vs. Fats - which diet do you choose?

by Leonne Beebe -

Jeff,

Interesting prompt.  Food and visuals just go together, especially on a menu.  If I were your student, in response to your prompt, first, I would want to have fun designing a food item that reflected my choice of diet by finding online and/or developing a visual+description that could be displayed in a "ready-to-use in a restaurant" menu.  Second, I would need to research and write about why I chose this food item.  This would appeal to the "foodie" in me first and the "student" in me second: a good compromise to get me researching and writing.

When I look at a menu in a restaurant, the first things I see are the pictures; then, I read the description of ingredients. With so many people now being dairy and gluten-free, written info is critical independent of which diet you choose.

Out of confusion comes clarity.

Leonne