When thinking of words to describe a generic college dining hall experience, “healthy” doesn’t exactly come to mind. The dining hall stereotype of mass-produced, appearance-questionable “food” usually trumps any kind of fair evaluation, but don’t despair! Right here on Columbia’s campus, among the culinary jungles of John Jay and Hewitt, nutritional options DO exist, and with a bit of creative gastronomy, can even taste decent as well. My recommendation for healthy dining hall eating? Do it yourself.
John Jay: Known for its Hogwarts-esque décor and brightly colored dishware, “Jay,” as it is lovingly referred to, offers items from the grill, a selection of pre-made salads, a salad bar, a hot-foods bar, a deli bar, an action station and an array of various desserts on the daily, for brunch and dinner. Some healthy suggestions include:
Pasta Primavera: mix vegetables from the hot bar with whole-wheat pasta, and then add olive oil and sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese, both found at the salad bar.
Turkey Pita Bites: Don’t stick to plain bread for your next sandwich! Head to the salad bar and grab a few slices of pita, some hummus, and take some turkey, cheese, tomato slices and lettuce leaves from the deli bar. Spread hummus on the pita triangles, and stick on combinations of deli topping! Try the pita toasted if you’re feeling dangerous. But beware: the toasters are known to sometimes catch on fire.
Hewitt: With a mission of feeding all of Barnard’s strong, beautiful women, Hewitt is generally regarded as the healthier option of the two dining halls. It offers the same basics as Jay: a salad bar, pre-made salads, hot food, various pizzas, an action station, and a dessert selection. Random yummy healthy experimental combos:
Breakfast Blend: Mix cottage cheese, yogurt, granola/bran cereal/Cheerios/ Smart Start, raisins and sliced banana. Garnish with some organic PB and nuts. Carbs, protein, calcium, (healthy) fat, fiber, all in one. (You can make this at John Jay, too!)
Presto Pizza: Get a piece of pizza from the pizza bar and scrape off the cheese (don’t worry! Only temporary!). Throw on some marinated veggies from the salad bar and add back as much cheese as you want (to seal in the toppings)…healthy pizza! Warning: eating this is a two-handed endeavor!
Obviously these are all only suggestions, so make substitutions or leave things out as you find appropriate! In general, stay away from food served in heavy sauces or creams, mostly because you simply don’t know what actually goes into them. Incorporating basic, fresh ingredients into your dining hall eating experience not only changes things up from the monotony of nightly rice and beans (John Jay literally serves some variation of this every single night), but it also allows you to tastefully integrate (in more ways than just one!) healthy eating into your dining hall routine.
