Yum Yum- Typical Movement Grub: Carbs, Fats and Plenty of Sugars, with no real protein. Sounds like an enlightened recipe for chubby graduates and high blood sugar professors.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Dick Mays <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008803060367 > Maharishi University meals transcend mundane cafeteria food > BY ERIN JORDAN * DES MOINES REGISTER IOWA CITY BUREAU * MARCH 6, 2008 > > Fairfield, Ia. -- There's no mystery meat in this cafeteria. In fact, > there's no meat at all. > > Food served in the dining hall of the new $7.5 million Argiro Student > Center of the Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield is 100 > percent vegetarian, and almost exclusively organic. > > Some of the vegetables served to students, staff and the public come > from campus farms and greenhouses. > > > From left, Nisha Nahal, 24, and Binita Kachhepati, 25, both freshmen > from Nepal, join Vedic science professor Patricia Oates for lunch at > Maharishi University of Management's new Argiro Student Center. The > 563 on-campus students come from 68 nations. > > Students eating wheat-crust pizza, homemade herb bread and potato and > artichoke salad during a lunch last week said the vegetarian food > makes them feel good. > > "It's amazing," said Amber Price, 21, of Lincoln, Neb. "We have this > quality of food, and we can share it together." > > Price, who became a vegetarian at age 15, jokes that half the reason > she transferred to Maharishi from the University of Nebraska was the > food in Fairfield. > > > Maharishi University of Management's Argiro Student Center is a > 50,000 square-foot facility on the Fairfield campus. It houses > student lounges, an auditorium, student government, meeting rooms, > the dining hall and the World Peace Cafe. > > The school cafeteria is also open to the public. A fee of $6 per > person is charged for breakfast, and it's $8 each for lunch and > dinner. > > Bonita Carol, 44, a massage therapist from Fairfield, stopped in for > lunch last week with a friend. > > "I think the food is really delicious," Carol said. "I'm interested > in maintaining a healthy physiology. I feel good after I eat here." > > The dining hall is on the top floor of the 50,000-square-foot center, > built with the principles of Vedic architecture, which requires > natural materials and an east-facing entrance. The center will be the > school's student hub - with lounges, auditorium, student government > offices, meeting rooms and the World Peace Cafe. Students will be > able to order pizzas, paninis and other grab-and-go food here. > > The student center is palatial with marble floors, chandeliers and a > stained glass window. As a reminder that the building was intended > for mass use, there is a sign at the door that says "due to damage," > cleats and ice traction devices are not allowed inside. > > Maharishi University of Management, established in 1974 by Maharishi > Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, has long > provided vegetarian fare for students and staff. The university > doesn't serve caffeine on campus, so there aren't any Starbucks > kiosks or pop machines. > > The Pepsi machine located in the basement of the student center is > for the construction workers who are still putting finishing touches > on the building, administrators said this week. > > "The faculty has made it a point to consider every aspect of a > student's experience here," said Craig Pearson, the university's > executive vice president. "What you eat plays an important role in > how you feel and even how you learn." > > During the past eight or nine years, the school has replaced food > grown with pesticides or herbicides with organic food. The new dining > center is 90 percent to 95 percent organic, and much of the food > comes from local producers, such as Radiance Dairy in Fairfield. > > Maharishi farm manager Steve McLaskey provides the dining hall with > vegetables and fruit from the campus farm during the summer and grows > greens and cherry tomatoes in the greenhouse during the winter. > > > > Head chef Don Bowman, who came to the school in August 2006, learned > about vegetarian cooking while working in food service at the > University of California in Berkeley from 1984 to 1999. He was the > lead chef at Berkeley for almost five years, cooking for university > leaders, regents and visitors, including movie actors Jane Fonda and > Mel Gibson. > Berkeley's dining halls shifted toward organic food in the mid-1990s > and the university now has about 25 percent organic food, Bowman said. > > Demand for vegetarian and organic food in college dining halls is > growing nationwide, said Carol Petersen, vice president for the > National Association of College and University Food Services Midwest > region and associate director of dining at Iowa State University. > > "People want to know where their food is coming from," Petersen said. > Some urban colleges have all-organic convenience stores and even > large universities like (Iowa State University) are working to find > more locally-grown food, she said. > > Maharishi can lead the trend toward vegetarian and organic eating > because of its small size, Bowman said. "There is no other campus > that is organic like the Maharishi University," he said. > > Bowman helped design the new student center kitchen, which includes > top-of-the-line commercial ovens, water-saving dishwashers and > no-slip flooring materials. His Baxter oven can bake 100 loaves of > bread at once, allowing the chef to inject steam to make the crisp > crusts found on artisan breads. > > The kitchen was abuzz on a recent morning with staff doing > last-minute lunch preparation and readying for dinner. > > A married couple who used to operate a Chinese restaurant in > Fairfield stir tomatoes into a vat of fried rice. Nearby, a food > processor filled with graham crackers and a bin of finely ground > crumbs hints at the evening dessert: cheesecake with graham cracker > crust. > > t. > Hector Sanchez, a cook at the Argiro Student Center, slices > vegetarian pizzas for lunch. All the food served here is vegetarian > and much of it is organic. University officials believe vegetarian > and organic foods promote student health and learning. > > Upstairs, students, staff and a few visitors begin lining up for > lunch. Today's menu includes pizza, fried rice, pasta with red sauce, > chickpeas, sauteed vegetables, a full salad bar and two types of cake > for dessert. There is also fresh bread and beverages, which include > water, tea and milk. > > "They try to mix it up," said Jeremy Jones, 22, a student from > Fairfield. "Today, it's Italian. I'm usually able to find something I > like every day." > > A few students grumbled about the lack of variety and said they > wouldn't mind some meat options. > > "I wish they could have some nonvegetarian food once in a while," > said Biruk Juka, 26, of Ethiopia. He and his friends occasionally > leave campus to grab a burger or chicken sandwich, Juka said. > > But students appreciate that Bowman asks for recipes and tries to > have an international menu. > > The university's 563 on-campus students are from 68 countries, and > the dining hall reflects this diversity. > > > > OPEN HOUSE > The Maharishi University of Management in Fairfield will have an open > house for its new $7.5 million Argiro Student Center at 1:30 p.m. > Sunday. Guests can tour the building, see student performances and > sample vegetarian, organic food served in the center's dining hall. > > > Reporter Erin Jordan can be reached at (319) 351-6527 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Photos: HARRY BAUMERT/THE REGISTER >
