This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at South Carolina chapter.
Finding healthy meal plan food in college can be difficult, but there are plenty of options on campus!
- True Balance: Okay I have to admit, I go to True Balance at least once everyday (unless it’s the weekend and it’s closed). Whether you go for an açai bowl, a salad, or a grain bowl, True Balance offers a lot of flexibility within their menu with its “create your own” options! They are even gluten free and vegan friendly and offer vegan meat. I personally love making my own salads, but if you are looking for something fast and easy, my recommendation is the Beyond Beef noodle bowl.
- Colloquium: In my opinion, Colloquium has True Balance beat on the açai bowls. They have a wider variety of toppings including granola and peanut butter to make the açai bowls even better. They also sell salads, sandwiches, pizza, and pasta that can make for a healthy, meal swipe friendly option.
- Horseshoe Deli: I have two words: Spinach. Tortilla. Horseshoe deli allows you to make your own sandwiches and wraps, which is extremely helpful when trying to control your diet. Whenever I come here, I always order a spinach wrap with grilled chicken and load up on the veggies, but you can customize yours any way that you want!
- Tavolino: Located in the downstairs of the Russell House, Tavolino allows you to create your own pasta. My usual order is the pesto sauce with lots of veggies on top.
- Panera: Although the Panara mac and cheese will always have a special place in my heart, I recognize that it is not exactly the best option if you are on a health kick. My top two favorites (besides the mac and cheese of course) are the Ten Vegetable Soup and the Greek salad.
- Cafe Verde: Cafe Verde offers salads, a garden veggie sub, and even has a vegan Mac & Cheese option.
- Gibbes Court Bistro: I love Gibbes because it always has lots of options to choose from. This includes salads, wraps, and black bean burgers- which I totally recommend.
- Carolina Creamery: Okay so I know what you are thinking… What about a creamery is healthy? Carolina Creamery has a make your own smoothie option AND you can get one for a meal swipe, so that sounds like a win win for me. I usually opt for a green smoothie with pineapple and mango.
- Gamecock General: The Gamecock General has to be one of my favorite things about UofSC. It is the most quick and convenient way to get food. They sell sushi, salads, sandwiches, hummus, yogurt, and more all for a meal swipe.
- Spice: Spice recently added customizable poke bowls that can easily be made to be healthy. I personally love the pineapple chicken bowl, but they also have a vegetarian tofu option and a tuna option (although watch out for this one because the total goes over the meal swipe).
While it may seem difficult to find a great healthy meal, our campus has plenty of options!