When power bowls become available weekday mornings, they are sold out in 15 minutes, according to Metz Culinary Retail Manager Paul Bowman.

For the past few weeks, A.J.’s Cafe has offered three different power bowls in response to increased interest in healthy to-go options. The options include breakfast, teriyaki, and southwest chicken.

“As of right now, the power bowls are in a ‘beta testing’ mode,” Bowman said. “We love having them available on the menu; however, as of right now we are limiting the number per day based on the resources we have available at our disposal.”

Power bowls are currently served Monday through Friday. The breakfast bowl is available until 11 a.m., while the other two sell beginning at 11:30 a.m. A.J.’s is currently looking to hire more employees to assist with the rush.

Kim Griffin, Metz director of nutrition and health promotion, mentioned the importance of having a balanced plate, and how power bowls fill this need.

“When I try to make meal plans with students, I always encourage their plates to look like it’s divided in three compartments: one compartment for protein, the other compartment being a complex carbohydrate, and then the third one filled with all different colors, like fruits,” Griffin said. “I feel like the power bowl is just amazing because it encompasses all of that.”

As the campus nutritionist, Griffin said she is always available to help students create a better meal plan with their resources at hand. Students can email her, or DM her @chargersdietitian to create an appointment.

The power bowls were introduced after multiple requests to Griffin. For students with meal ideas, comment flyers are available near the check-in desk at Knorr Dining Hall.

“I would strongly encourage students to always place one of those in with us,” Griffin said. “That way we can hear what students have to say, what they liked, what they don’t like, what they want to see more of. It’s just a great communication tool so that we can make sure students’ needs are being met.”

Because of strong demand for the power bowls, A.J.’s employees emphasized the need for more prep time.

“Creating these power bowls takes a lot of prep work and hands, and unfortunately, like many businesses lately, we are quite short-staffed,” Bowman said. “The goal is to eventually be able to have the power bowls available all day long without limiting the number of them.”

Bowman says it’s a struggle to adjust the menu in addition to these daily tasks, especially when understaffed.

“If we had a person in our kitchen who was dedicated specifically to prepping and cooking the power bowls, that would be phenomenal,” Bowman said.

A.J.’s employee and sophomore Juliana Fandakly said it’s been a tough balance between improving the menu and serving the campus.

“I think it’s a really good idea in theory, but we only prepare about 10 of each power bowl, so by the time anyone comes out of classes we are out of them,” Fandakly said. “I think we definitely needed some menu changes and some healthier options that are not fried food and actually have some protein.”

Bowman asked for patience as the chefs adjust to the new menu.

“We just ask that the students be patient with us at this time as we do our best to try and get these power bowls more available,” Bowman said. “If any students are looking for a job on campus, we do have positions available in our kitchen if they would be interested in learning how we operate.”