My name is Darian Schick. I am a Sodexo dietetic intern and I am currently in my food service management rotation at St. Luke Miners Hospital. I have had many new and wonderful experiences in my internship. One of my favorites was during National Nutrition Month. At this time I was in my clinical rotation at Miners and I was to create an activity for the employees and visitors of the hospital. I decided to focus on healthy substitutions. This topic involved ways on how to substitute certain foods and ingredients in recipes to make them healthier. I created a display board with tips on how to make nutritious substitutions. For example, spaghetti squash for pasta, seltzer water with lemon instead of soda, applesauce in baking rather than butter, etc. To draw everyone’s attention, I made a game for the topic. I baked a chocolate cake and replaced the fat in the cake and in the icing with avocado. Experimenting with ingredients and finding a way to make the cake healthier really allowed me to be creative. The hospital employee’s then taste tested the cake and had to guess the secret ingredient. Whoever guessed correctly was eligible to win a prize. Seeing all the employees participating and having fun with the game really gave me a sense of satisfaction. Not only were they having fun but they were learning and becoming more aware of how to make healthier choices.
