Napkin Board Responses

March 25th

Q: Dear Christine,

I am an avid hard boiled egg fan. Recently I've been told the hard boiled eggs come from clear plastic bag with some sort of liquid. Are the eggs boiled on campus or are they shipped boiled and shelled? This has been a long subject of debate between me and a friend. Thank you for any information you can shed on this.

Thank you,

Ana Brzezinska '11 P.S. What are the ingredients in the juices? I am mainly just wondering if they contain high fructose corn syrup. Thanks for your time! Sent via BlackBerry by
AT&T

A: Yes the hard boiled eggs do come in pre -cooked. This makes for better more consistent product . It is important to note that these are fresh hard boiled eggs with no preservatives etc. As for the juice, the only ones that contain high fructose corn syrup are the peach, cranberry and grape.

March 23rd

Q:Are there any salad dressings that are all natural?  I especially want to know if any of them have high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils. 
A: Sorry that it was taken me sometime to respond back, but I needed to do some research. At present most of the dressings we offer have have vegetable oil- though not hydrogenated- and corn syrup- though not high fructose. Your e-mail brings up a good point and we will be looking more closely at the dressings we offer.

March 18th

Q: Given the evident health benefits of garlic in our diets, I am pleased that it is offered fairly regularly in the Commons.  Might it be possible to provide garlic differently prepared than the current stir-fried, whole cloves, mushy, sitting cold in olive oil?  How about chopped garlic, slightly baked, slightly coated  in olive oil?  As far as temperature, I realize keeping it warm will weaken garlic's health and textural integrity.  If it were thusly moderately baked, I would like to at least see the relative quality of this preparation of garlic in the Commons setting.
A: We actually do this on occasion. I talked with the cooks at the vegan station and they are going to offer this more often.

Q:Sweet potato home fries for breakfast! You know it sounds awesome.
A: Interesting.
 
Q: I was wondering if the sesame ginger or balsamic salad dressings were made from olive oil, or another type of oil? Thanks.
A: They are both made with soybean and sesame oil.

March 11th

Q: I was wondering if the oil-based salad dressings offered in Commons were made from olive oil? Thanks.
A: It depends on the dressing. Can you be more specific?

Q: Can the falafel balls in Commons be made larger, like they were in old Commons? I feel like they had a better texture because they weren't crispy all the way through. Thanks.
A: We can look at doing that.

March 10th

Q: I LOVED THE RED VELVET CAKE!! Please make that a reoccuring dessert!!!!
A: Can do.

March 9th

Q: Where o where has paws gone? A day sans paws is a sad day.
A: Just temporarily out. Will return soon.

Q: Where can I get PAWS granola when I'm not at Bates? I've looked everywhere and can't find it!
A: You can not get it anywhere but here because we make it.

March 4th

Q: Can we have bacon more often please? And also - I know this is a weird request - can the leftover bacon be put out at the deli station maybe? It's really good to put in sandwiches :)
A: We have bacon at breakfast at least twice and week and typically there is none left.

Q: Can the chicken in peanut sauce dish be added to the regular rotation please? It is my favorite meal at Bates!
A: Sure can!

March 2nd

Q: Concerning the whole wheat pasta,
that certainly is not the staple of my diet. What I meant was that when other pastas are served, it would be nice to have a whole grain option as well as long as it is not dry. Having  whole grain entrees/side dishes is my main concern. I agree a variety of whole grains variety is very important. Thank you very much.
A: Thanks for writing.

Q: Could Commons offer hot cereals like oat bran or steel cut oats on the rotation? Or maybe some multigrain whole grain cereals? Thanks!
A: We certainly can.

Q: Can we please get fiber one original cereal? It has a lot more fiber than any of the other avialable cereals with a lot less sugar.
A: We will be doing a cereal survey the middle of the month. At that time you can vote for your favorite cereal.

Q: Does the paws granola contain a lot of fat and calories?
A: Not so bad on the fat, but like most granolas it is not low in calories.

Q: Commons current salad bar is good, but I think it could be great if more greens wererotated in. Offerings like kale, beet greens, mustard greens, basil, chard, and the like would be much appreciated.
A: We can take a look at this.

Q: Concerning the whole wheat pasta,
that certainly is not the staple of my diet. What I meant was that when other pastas are served, it would be nice to have a whole grain option as well as long as it is not dry. Having whole grain entrees/side dishes at each meal is my main concern. Thank you very much
A: Thanks for bring forward your concerns.

Q: I'm curious as to why the red Powerade has disappeared.  I had it during lunch one day, and by dinner, it had been replaced by lemonade.  Why couldn't one of the two blue Powerades be replaced?  One of the best things about the new dining hall was that we would have them both.

Also, chalk it on my undiagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or even common sense:  why is there Diet Mountain Dew on one side of the hall, and TWO regular on the other side?  Wouldn't it make more sense to have one diet and one regular on one island, and a regular on the other?
A: We can no longer get red Powerade in fountain pack. You are correct about the Mountain Dew and we will be making a change.