Heres a little bit of information I found for those of you who still have a meal plan.
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First: Most universities offer a variety of meal plans, and your best bet is to choose the smallest one.
Second: Okay, I have the lowest meal plan but I obviously cannot live on 7/9/10 meals per week. What do I do?
Simple! Many universities offer dining points or some sort of money for food along with their dining plans, use this money at your schools local mini mart to buy food (healthy dinners, snacks, breakfasts etc) to keep in your dorm.
Third: How do I survive the actual dining hall?
Schools have fresh fruit out whether it’s fruit salad, apples, bananas, pairs, oranges, grapefruit, they have SOMETHING out that you can grab and go (I like to grab as many as possible and put them in my bag to bring to my room when no one’s looking).
Most schools also offer a sandwich bar or salad bar. So head over there first! I always make myself a salad first: spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, quinoa/couscous/croutons, cheese, sprouts, vinegar and oil. If you’re sick of salads, grab hummus or honey mustard from the bar to put on your sandwich instead of mayo. You can ask for whatever you want, don’t be shy to customize a little bit when ordering something, you ARE paying for this. Anyway, if you start with a sandwich or a salad you’ll fill yourself up a bit before you take a second look at the more tempting (and most-likely unhealthier) options.
So you’ve eaten a big healthy meal and are getting pretty full…but still want a little treat. That’s okay! Remember not to restrict yourself from these other options, moderation is key!
Grab a cookie or a brownie, or get a small bowl and get a little bit of ice cream and put fruit on it! Just watch portions. Some schools even have yogurt or granola. My personal favorite dessert is granola, rice milk, and organic peanut butter. Look at your options, cereal can make a great sweet dessert! Or even grab a banana and put peanut butter on it!
Fourth: Keep your room stocked with healthy snacks, quick dinners, or breakfasts or whatever for last-minute meals. Having something healthy right in your dorm room will prevent you from getting overly hungry and splurging on a big pizza at the last minute.
I personally keep oatmeal, kashi bars, fruit leathers, fruit, fig bars, yogurt, string cheese, popcorn kernels (to air pop), corn chips, hummus, jello with fruit, and peanut butter. You can either go to a grocery store or buy a few items to keep in your room for snacking on or a healthy breakfast or dinner, especially if you have a smaller meal plan.
Fifth: A great way to stay accountable in the dining hall and make sure you make good choices is to bring a friend with you. If you and your friend both have similar goals about sticking to healthy stuff, you’ll be much more likely to eat exactly that. You won’t be tempted by her greasy pizza or fries, and you won’t want to get that in front of her, either! Going together with a promise to get healthy stuff makes it a lot easier to stick to when unhealthy food might tempt you!
To help you eat as healthfully as possible in your cafeteria, here’s a guide to foods you should choose and foods you should eat only in moderation.
Healthy College Dining Hall Choices:
- Fresh fruit: Cafeterias are full of processed foods, and a piece of fresh fruit is a close to nature as you’re going to find. Try to eat a piece of fruit every day. It’s also a good idea to incorporate fresh fruit into other dining hall options— like by cutting a banana into a bowl of cereal, or by eating fresh strawberries with yogurt.
- The salad bar: Load up on healthy, fresh veggies as often as you can. Proceed with caution, however. Eat fatty salad toppings like cheese and croutons in moderation, and avoid full-fat salad dressing (see below).
- Whole grains: Whenever possible, eat whole grain bread, cereal, pasta, and tortillas. These are immensely more nutritious than products made with processed white flour. However, you may have to ask to find out if products are actually whole grain. Lots of brown breads and such are made with processed wheat flour, which is not nearly as nutritious.
- Water: Water provides an abundance of health benefits and may help fill you up. Get into the habit of drinking at least a small glass of water with every meal.
- Healthy hot or cold cereal: No, don’t eat Corn Pops every day, but eat your fill of Cheerios, shredded wheat, oatmeal, and anything else that’s relatively healthy. Even if there’s some sugar in your selection, this is a much healthier breakfast habit than bacon, pancakes, and other fatty choices.
- Ketchup, mustard, and other low-fat condiments: No, ketchup isn’t the best food available—it’s full of high fructose corn syrup— but a tablespoon of ketchup is a much healthier alternative than a tablespoon of fatty mayonnaise. Other good condiment choices include salsa and vinegar.
- Low-fat or fat-free frozen yogurt: Of course, this is a food to eat in moderation. However, it’s a much healthier alternative to ice cream or other fatty desserts, so if your cafeteria offers a frozen yogurt machine, enjoy it.
Not-So-Healthy Dining Hall Choices:
- Juice: Juice is not nearly as healthy as fruit— especially “juice cocktails,” which are loaded with high-fructose corn syrup. But even 100% juice lacks the fiber of a piece of fruit and has lots more calories. Go ahead and drink juice in moderation, like a glass with breakfast, but don’t substitute juice for more healthy fruit choices. Orange and grapefruit juices are better choices than apple because they are a good source of Vitamin C.
- Soda: Having a soda machine in the cafeteria is a little like eating at McDonald’s every day, and it can be tempting to load up on soda at lunch and dinner. Obviously, this is a quick way to add empty calories. Don’t make the mistake of loading up on diet soda either, as this is filled with chemicals and can actually make your body crave sugar.
- Full-fat salad dressing: Most salad dressings are almost 100% fat, and can up the fat content of a healthy salad many times over. Always choice low-fat salad dressings, and use sparingly. If oil and vinegar are available, these are better choices— light on the oil, heavier on the vinegar.
- Fatty breakfasts: For many students, the eggs and pancakes and bacon and other traditional breakfast favorites are quite a temptation. However, these should be enjoyed in moderation, or perhaps eaten as a treat after a grueling early morning exam. If the cafeteria offers dishes made with egg substitutes or egg whites, choose these, as they are much lower in fat.
- French fries and other fried foods: These are a quick way to load up on calories. If you’re going to eat fries, try eating a very small serving.
- Mayonnaise, butter, and other fatty condiments: On a sandwich, try using ketchup and mustard instead of mayo. If low-fat mayo is available, go for that, in moderation. Butter, of course, is something to keep to a minimum.
