Nutrition Suite

Introduction
List of Services
Our Team

Introduction

The Nutrition Suite houses a Teaching Kitchen suitable for meal preparation classes or cooking demonstrations and a Metabolic Kitchen for the production of controlled meals. The nutrition activities can be coupled with the clinical analysis of bio-specimens, imaging (MRI, PET-CT, DXA, Ultrasound etc.), exercise testing in the Cardiopulmonary Suite, as well as exercise and sleep protocols. There is also the possibility to measure metabolic rate and absorption, in these ways the Nutrition Suite is perfectly designed for lifestyle intervention studies and transdisciplinary community services.

The Nutrition Suite has been used to support Research, Community and Education projects and provides the following services:

Nutrition counseling
Cooking classes and demonstrations
Interactive workshops
Nutrient analysis of menus and food journals
Meal preparation
Collection of dietary intake data
The Teaching Kitchen is an excellent studio space for creating nutrition and cooking video content for courses and webinars.

List of Services

Nutrition counseling – for Individual Participants

Services for Groups of Participants

Services for Educators

Dietetic Internship placements	PERFORM currently collaborates with McGill University School of Human Nutrition as a placement site for their dietetic internship program. PERFORM receives undergraduate students, as well as graduate students completing a Dietitian-Nutritionist credentialing diploma. Rotation durations range from three to seven weeks. Activities offered in PERFORM’s Nutrition suite include: nutrition counseling appointments, meal preparation, webinars and workshops, menu planning, dietary intake analysis, literature review for projects and protocols, and developing materials to use in PERFORM’s Nutrition Suite and other platforms. The dietetic internship activities are determined by competencies necessary to practice as a Dietitian-Nutritionist. The Practice Competencies, Performance Indicators and Foundational Knowledge statements outlined for the dietetic internship are defined nationally by Partnership for Dietetic Education and Practice (PDEP). To practice as a dietitian-nutritionist a professional license or permit is required in Canada. In Québec, the professional licensing body is the Ordre professionnel des diététistes du Québec (OPDQ). In Québec, a dietitian may be referred to by the following titles: Professional Dietitian (P.Dt.), or Nutritionist, both titles are reserved by the Québec Code des professions.
Nutrition and Cooking video content for courses	The Teaching Kitchen has been a studio space for filming cooking segments for Fundamentals of Nutrition (BIOL 203). Nutrition education content and animation of recipe preparation adds support to the Instructor’s course content.
Motivational Interviewing Learning group	A multi-disciplinary learning group for PERFORM staff and internship students in nutrition, kinesiology and clinical exercise physiology, exercise science and athletic therapy to learn, practice and hone skills in motivational interviewing.
Guest Lecturer	Nutrition education content with review of evidence-based practice adds support to the Instructor’s course content. Lectures have been provided for Intro to Food Studies (FFAR 254).

Our Team

Currently, in the Nutrition Suite, we are working on the application of the nutrition components of research projects and community programs for different target populations. Some examples of people that we have worked with include: young families at risk for type 2 diabetes, young athletes, our Stinger athletes, our John Molson School of Business Executive MBA participants, people living with chronic conditions and people making a lifestyle change…along with everyday active living enthusiasts! We also provide learning opportunities for nutrition and dietetic interns and volunteers.

Nutrition evaluation appointment (1 hr)	Learn more.
Nutrition follow-up appointment (45 min.)	Learn more.
Online food journal monitoring* (20 min)	Using an online food journal tool, the participant enters food intake for a minimum of 3 days (2 weekdays + 1 weekend), the dietitian gives feedback in comparison with recommendations given by the tool for age, gender and activity level (Dietary Reference Intakes recommendations from Institute of Medicine and Health Canada) and responds to queries. *NOT a nutritional evaluation
Food journal analysis	Participant records their food intake for 3 days (2 weekdays + 1 weekend) in a prepared document which includes space to indicate: feelings as they eat, where food is eaten, brand name, portion size, etc; Food intake calculations and nutrient analysis with nutrient analysis software (Food Processor) are then performed.

Nutrition workshops	Interactive discussion on nutrition education topics
Development of specialized calculated menus	Includes modifications to recipes using nutrient analysis software (Food Processor) and development of a menu for different nutrient levels, number of portions for each test diet etc., development of parallel menus for different energy needs.
Nutrient analysis of menus	Learn more about what is in the food your participants eat! Menus analysed by dietitians for food groups and nutrients, using nutrient analysis software (Food Processor).
Meal preparation	Choose from a variety of menu items that will be prepared and ready for your project participants.
Cooking classes	Cook a meal or learn from a cooking demonstration and eat together in one of our Healthy cooking sessions, or cook several recipes and take food home for the week in our Cooking Ensemble program.

PERFORM Centre