The fajita bar has been removed from The View dining hall and a newer, healthier option has taken its place. The superfoods bar, the newest option at the Your Call station, fits a variety of students’ dietary needs.

The new superfoods bar offers a choice of main protein, a wide array of toppings from beans to fruits and vegetables, and quinoa or couscous, which are the main ingredients. Angela Hasouris, the View’s assistant director, believes this option allows students to create a healthy meal with ingredients full of beneficial nutrients.

One of the dining hall’s goals is to provide a wide variety of food options that all students can enjoy, Hasouris said. She believes the superfoods bar upholds those values.

“We wanted to introduce students to something different that they hadn’t seen before and then also give them some healthy options,” Hasouris said.

The idea of the superfoods bar was a combination of previous ideas and seeing the superfoods concept at a conference she attended last summer. The superfoods bar made its first appearance at the View during summer of 2016 for St. Thomas football players on campus, and it has since been available at the Your Call station every six weeks.

Your Call cook Ryan Carlson believes the superfoods bar meets the dietary needs of student athletes by providing nutritious ingredients.

“For a lot of the athletes, you’re going high in fiber with the quinoa. If you want to build up a little energy for the next day we’ve got couscous, so that’s like long-term energy,” Carlson said. “You get high vitamin C with pineapple … There’s a lot of little things that go into it.”

Apart from providing an option for athletes, the superfoods bar also provides more options to students with other dietary needs.

“It offers an alternative for people who are gluten-free because quinoa is gluten-free. It also is a great alternative for vegetarians and vegans,” Hasouris said.

Although the superfoods bar appeals to students with specific diet needs, Hasouris believes the healthy aspect of the bar is important in all students’ diets.

“I believe that nutrition plays a huge part in people’s study habits,” Hasouris said. “If you feed your body well, then you’ll be able to perform better whether it’s sports, education, just generally in life … You’re just going to feel better and you’re going to perform better.”

Sophomore Ben Seiford, a View student worker, appreciates the new superfoods bar both as a worker and as a consumer.

“It brings more variety and healthier options for food,” Seiford said. “It tastes great and it’s healthy… I love it.”

Though it may be an option that most students are unfamiliar with, many students have taken an interest in the superfoods bar.

“Word of mouth is getting out and everyday I get a few more people, few more people, and the more people the merrier,” Carlson said. “The lines never really stop, and we’ve definitely been (getting busier) every time we’ve ran it so far.”

For Hasouris, the superfoods bar is a learning experience for students.

“My philosophy is that the dining hall is also a classroom because you’re learning about nutrition and how to eat healthy without your parents telling you what to eat,” Hasouris said. “It kind of prepares you for when you leave campus and live off campus, or when you graduate, and then you’re going to have to start preparing food for yourself.”

Kassie Vivant can be reached at viva0001@stthomas.edu