By: Daniel Muise

One week last year, Trim went trayless and it was as if the floors had been greased and the plates lit on fire; there was confusion in the lunch-lines, plates were dropped, drinks were spilled, and cries of “now I have to make two trips!” could be heard throughout the dining hall. Despite the inconvenience, (and not to sound all righteous or anything, because I was one of those clamoring for that week to be over) real results could be seen bythe end of the week. Food waste had been reduced, water had been saved, electricity consumption was diminished, and we were all happy it was over. Then the bomb dropped. One massive renovation of the tray conveyor and a week of paper plates and plastic utensils later, we now have permanent trayless Trim.

 
So how do you save your fingertips from being scalded by your freshly steam-cleaned plate of mac-n-cheese and rotisserie chicken (again…really?) without making two trips through the food line? By following a few simple tips, you too can survive trayless trim.

 
TIP #1: The Waiter’s Plate Stack
If you have ever worked in a restaurant or even eaten in one, you have probably seen this move. It is a way to stack two plates, with food, on the same hand without crushing the other food underneath. This leaves your free hand available to carry a drink or dessert, eliminating a second trip.
Step 1: hold plate with wrist extended and thumb and pinky finger on top of the plate, all other fingers supporting the underside of the plate. (SEE BELOW)

Step 2: Place second plate halfway over the first, supporting the underside of the second plate with your thumb and pinky finger (SEE BELOW). This technique may require pulling the second plate farther back on your wrist to prevent the underside of your second plate from sitting on the food on your first plate (nasty).

Step 3: The dismount is vitally important to the success of this maneuver. The best way to do it is to first put down whatever you have in your free hand, and then lift the top plate off the bottom one. Then you are free to put down the bottom plate. This prevents any unfortunate spills from a little overenthusiastic plate dropping. Believe me, you cannot put down the two plates at once. Don’t be a hero.

TIP #2: Consolidation
Most people (unless you’ve mastered Trim efficiency) will usually get up partway through the meal to get more food or drink after the first initial serving. Take this opportunity to consolidate the trash you have from your first serving onto one of the two plates you brought over (you did bring over two plates right???). Bringing a steady stream of trash to the belt not only reduces the strain on the Sodexho workers, but prevents you from having a stack of plates at the end of the meal with no tray to transport them on.

TIP #3: The art of the Trim-sit
Frustrated that your Asian chicken salad flatbread is taking too long to cook? Waiting because someone took the last meatball/mac-n-cheese slider? Then grab a drink and some soup and let the conversation go. After all, nobody wants undercooked food (Bad news).

 
TIP #4: Get creative!
There’s always new ways to combine Trim ingredients, so try and get inventive. Here’s some tried and true recipes:
Breakfast:
Choco Breakfast Taco
1 Waffle
1 Banana
Chocolate Syrup
Whipped Cream
While your waffle is cooking, mash your banana into a paste. As soon as the waffle is done, immediately take it out and spread the banana on top. Next, pour chocolate syrup all over. Fold the waffle and then spray whipped cream in the top of the fold.

Ultimate Breakfast Sandwich
2 Slices of French Toast
2 Fried Eggs
Slice of Cheese
Bacon, ham, or sausage
Basically, take ingredients. Make sandwich. Try this in maple syrup!
Dessert Options:
Root Beer Float
Root beer
Vanilla frozen yogurt

 
We’re surprised that such an old standby for a refreshing dessert has not been made more often around here, which is why we decided to put it in. A great variation that a former employee used to love fondly was orange soda and vanilla frozen yogurt. We have had this as well and if you like Creamsicles, then this is something you should try.

 
Ice Cream Sandwich
Two chocolate chip cookies
Vanilla frozen yogurt

 
It is something that is so simple and tasty. We see more of these around than the root beer floats, but we wonder how well this would work with a variation like mint chocolate chip ice cream or dulce de leche soft serve. Hopefully, you will read this and find some inspiration to try and tell us.

 
Lunch/Dinner:
Buffalo Chicken Wrap
About 5 chicken nuggets, cut up into small pieces
Frank’s Red hot sauce
Lettuce
Tomato
Wrap of your choice
When the grill is offering chicken nuggets, grab about 5 or so and cut them up in a bowl. Add in Frank’s Red-hot sauce for the spicy kick (or sriracha if you’re in an adventurous mood). Go over to deli and ask them to put your mixture in a wrap with lettuce and tomato. Have the wrap toasted and enjoy!

 
Some variations on this idea:
Barbecue chicken wrap (same concept, replace hot sauce with barbecue sauce)
Chicken Caesar wrap (put nuggets and premade caesar salad in wrap)
Chef’s Salad
Romaine lettuce
Hardboiled eggs
Ham or Turkey
Cheese
Other vegetables of your choice
Dressing of your choice, (Wikipedia states that the intended dressing was Thousand Island, but we will not impose that on you.)
Pizza Quesadilla
Whole wheat wrap
Cheese of your choice (mozzarella would be a great call, though)
Sauce from the pasta station and/or tomatoes

 
Think about grabbing some extra toppings from the salad bar to top off your pizza quesadilla and make it your own.