Up until recently, attending a business conference may have also meant long, sedentary periods of physical inactivity - sitting in airports, on planes and in conference room meetings.

The highcalorie dining experience often didn’t enhance a healthy lifestyle, consisting of meals that may have sustained participants’ energy levels, but didn’t necessarily maintain “healthy” waist lines.

The recent trend toward the greening of the conference center and hotel industry has also come to include the ‘greening of guests’ to meet today’s healthy lifestyle movement.

ARAMARK Harrison Lodging (AHL) conference centers are taking a holistic approach to sustaining the environment, incorporating environmentally friendly paper products, building and cleaning

materials, and lighting and landscaping, while also providing the highest quality foods and activities that maintain a healthy lifestyle and help the planet.

AHL’s Corporate Executive Chef, Brian Stapleton, is making sure that healthy, sustainable and organic cuisine is becoming an everyday practice at AHL conference centers across the nation.

“Gone are the days of providing just three or four package menus of snack options,” says Stapleton.

“With so many people making special requests for gluten-free, peanut-free and other dietary restricted items, meeting planners are now offering an overall list of options with a per person price attached, so attendees can customize options to meet their needs.”

For example, at AHL’s North Carolina Inn, a Four Diamond Hotel, the Carolina CrossRoads Restaurant offers gourmet cuisine, service and atmosphere to create an exceptional dining experience, both with healthy and sustainable options.

The dining rooms at Kalaloch Lodge and Lake Quinault Lodge located in Washington state serve seafood chosen from Monterey Bay’s “best choice” National Seafood Guide, as well as Hearst grass-fed beef. In addition, Kalaloch Lodge serves fresh Alaskan Wild King Salmon and crème brulee, which is made with BGH-free milk.