Villanova Eats Great

Villanova Dining Services proudly presents VEG, a Nutrition Program designed for everyone!
Too often we hear about fad diets and wonder why they don't work!
Every body is different and has different nutritional needs!

VEG stands for "Villanova Eats Great." Villanova Dining Services aspires to bring you nutritionally-dense cuisine on a daily basis, in each of our 18 dining locations across campus. We designed a Nutrition Program that anyone can follow to make more mindful choices. Increasing your nutrition is as simple as making more plant-based dietary decisions. We've introduced concepts that don't require calorie or carb counting, rather focusing on eating whole foods that are less processed and more wholesome. 

Here are our four simple concepts to follow to naturally increase your nutrition:

• Make fruit and vegetables the center of your plate during every meal
• Increase your intake of fresh water. Reduce your consumption of sugary and artificially sweetened beverages
• Increase your intake of whole grains and reduce your consumption of highly processed foods
• Decrease your animal protein intake, reduce portion sizes in half

Villanova Dining Services' Goals:

• To develop a Nutrition Program aimed at educating and guiding the Villanova University Community in making healthier choices today as well as in the future.
• Make it fun, Make it simple, Make it Villanova’s, Make it delicious!

Objectives:

• To develop a Nutrition Program that is simple to understand, simple to recall, simple to follow at each meal, and offers excellent health benefits.
• Develop a program which avoids controversial and contradictory nutrition trends, as well as diet fads.
• Develop a program which uses evidence-based research in establishing the core nutrition message.
• Develop a program which focuses on a lifelong strategy for obtaining proper nutrition and health.

The Solution:

VEG – Villanova Eats Great!

• VEG incorporates guidelines from four nationally recognized health authorities in health and healthy cooking.  Utilizing the CIA’s Menu of Change research and guidelines, in partnership with the Harvard School of Medicine, we developed the four core columns of VEG.
• Incorporating Kaiser Permanente findings into VEG regarding plant-based diets and good health we have promoted a plant forward approach to dining.
• The USDA program, MyPlate, influenced VEG’s focus of putting the right foods on your plate in perhaps a more simplified, easier to follow approach. VEG does not require one to read nutrition labels to be success on this Nutrition Program. 

Learn more about how VEG connects to the food you eat and enjoy every day

PLEASE NOTE: VEG is an acronym used for the Villanova Dining Services' Nutrition Program. VEG is also an acronym used for the Villanova Environmental Group. If you're searching for information about the Student Group VEG, please click here.