Traditional boarding house fare gets healthy shake-up

Fish and chip Fridays are a thing of the past at Saint Kentigern College's boarding house.

The students at Bruce House in Pakuranga instead get fish and chips as special treats, and even then the fish is baked, not fried.

The boarding house is the first in the country to adopt an eating programme which, when introduced in 1998 at over 100 Australian mining sites, put an end to average annual weight gains of between five and 10kg by workers eating unhealthy foods in staff cafeterias.

Within a few months of the Taste Life programme's introduction, miners were swapping sausage rolls for multigrain bread, and drinking noticeably more trim milk.

From miners to minors, Bruce House is also noticing a difference, with positive comments from its 96 residents. A traffic light labelling system is used to highlight healthy options: red for foods to eat the least of, orange for foods to consume moderately, and green for those to eat most of.

But the menu had not altered radically, said matron Rosemary Capill. Instead, the changes have been subtle, such as using white high-fibre bread instead of regular white, swapping regular milk with low fat in sauces, and incorporating more vegetables in something like a quiche.

Changes that have been more noticeable include two salad options and grainier breads for lunch.

"Pies may still be on once in a cycle, which could be a month, but not on a regular basis, and that would have a red tag on it."

It does not cost more to feed the boarders healthily, she said.

The boarders eat in the hostel's dining room, separate from the tuck shop which still serves regular fare - pies included - to the school's 1600 students.

Since St Kentigern adopted the programme last year, hostels at Whangarei Boys High School and Waikato University have followed suit. Another 20 work cafeterias around the country have also cut back on the butter, including two at dairy firm Fonterra.

There, at least half the food carries special 'healthy choice' labels, says catering company Eurest, which owns the Taste Life programme.

Eurest dietitian, Kristin Leaity, expects the programme to change people's eating habits by focusing on moderation, rather than restriction.

"It's got a lot more salad fillings that look bright and colourful, and interesting breads. That seems to be the biggest seller, making the healthy food look good.

"Offering healthy food just isn't enough these days - people need to be educated on the best options."