Everyone wants to be healthy. But when the caf has burgers, fries, and chocolate chip pancakes available everyday it’s hard to resist. That combined with what appears to be a lack of healthy and tasty options makes eating healthy harder than it looks. But, there is hope. It may be a little harder but eating healthy on the meal plan is possible if you get a little creative. I’m only a freshman so if anyone knows of any other good hacks or foods please share I know I will check them out!
Breakfast
I want to start off with breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Pancakes, omelets, bacon egg and cheese all delicious but not the best way to start off a productive and long day. Breakfast actually has a lot of healthy option.
Yogurt
Obviously there is the yogurt bar. This can be healthy in moderation. For example, don’t add too many chocolate chips or the sugar filled granola. They also have classic cups of yogurt in the fridge.
Egg Whites
Another option is egg whites. Whole eggs have more cholesterol, more calories and more fat. Egg whites are a great alternative. Also be smart about what you put in your omelet. Mushrooms are a great substitute for bacon or meats and if you need cheese as to go light. This is a great breakfast that will keep you full and energized for the rest of the day.
Cereal
Another option is some classic cereal. Most of the cereals are super sugary and more like candy then cereal but they do have healthy cups of kashi cereal right next to the big containers. Also they have honey nut cheerios and chex which are healthier and delicious options. They also have the fruit bar. Fruit has good sugars which give you a great morning boost and add some variety to your meal.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is the meal of champions. I love oatmeal when I know by days is going to be long and busy. It keeps you full and focused on the hard day ahead. You can add some of the peanut butter packets from the fridge or my add different fruits especially bananas.
Lunch/Dinner
Now it’s time for lunch and dinner. I know it’s easy to just grab some chicken and dip but eating healthy isn’t that hard.
Salads/Wraps
At both the rat and caf there are salad stations. Now the crispy chicken may be delicious at the rat but you have to go with the grilled. It may be in water but I have eaten it countless time and I can tell you with certainly it is delicious. Also Mondo’s wraps are great I especially like to get a veggie wrap with all of the veggies or get chicken and save on half for later. Whatever you choose by getting dressing on the side you can control the amount and less dressing is always better. If your wanting a salad at the caf you can order some grilled chicken from the grill and boom you have a Mondo’s knockoff that’s just as delicious and nutritious.
Allergy Station
Another option is the allergy station. This is a hit or miss for me depending on what they are serving but, the meals are always healthy. It’s a great way to add variety to your diet when the salads and egg whites start getting a little old.
Soups
The caf always has a variety of soup you just have to be careful. While they are low in calorie they can have a lot of added sodium. The rat also now has the packaged panera soups that you can bring to your room and heat up whenever you want.
Sushi
Sushi has many health benefits you just have to be careful to not eat it everyday. The seaweed wrap contains iodine which helps regulate hormonal balance. The fish contains omega-3 fatty acids which help keep cholesterol down. Fish is also low calorie and boosts metabolism.If you eat it with ginger the ginger has great vitamins and helps to fight illness. Just be careful. Shrimp tempura is fried and soy sauce contains a lot of sodium. Along with Sushi their are Pho bowls. Udon noodles are the healthiest and have only 35 calories per serving. Add some healthy veggies and you have a healthy soup that you can always count on to get your through the day.
Snacks
Everyone needs snacks. This is probably the hardest part of being healthy for me. I so badly want to eat a family size bag of doritos but I know I will regret it the next day.
Veggies
My go to snack when I am near the caf is veggies and ranch. Just go to the salad bar load up on carrots, cucumbers and pepper, and add some ranch on the side. Once again just be careful with the dressing because that’s not exactly healthy but I know I can’t live without my ranch.
Fruit and Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is the holy grail of snacks. I eat peanut butter straight off the spoon but I know that’s not for everyone. You can order organic peanut butter on amazon or pick it up at target. The best kind is made with just peanuts but I discovered skippy natural as a great middle alternative. Its creamy just like skippy but it has much less sugar and none of the unknown chemicals you see on a regular skippy jar. I’ll grab an apple or banana and bring it back to my room to eat with some peanut butter. It’s easy and it will keep you extremely satisfied.
Smoothies
This one is a no brainer. You can add whatever you want and sip it on the go or in class. I love to add some yogurt to get a good smoothie consistency and keep me fuller longer. This option is also great because its available at the rat or the caf.
Drinks
QU appears to have a million fridges filled with every type of drink on the planet. But they are not all great. Soda is obviously bad. I stopped drinking soda about a year ago and not only did I lose weight but I got rid of my sugar addiction. The caffeine and sugar and soda are both addictive substances which makes it hard to quit but I found the easiest way is to transition and not just start drinking only water all the time.
Kombucha
Kombucha is a carbonated beverage that has live probiotics. It’s great for digestions and protects against cancer. The flavors can take some getting used to but if you need a fizzy fix go to kombucha
Seltzer
Seltzer is the original soda knock off. It’s just as refreshing but has zero calories and added sugar. I drink it cause I love the fizz and I struggle to drink water throughout the day. THis is also great for people who think the kombucha taste is too much to handle but still want to get off their soda kick.
Tea
Iced or hot tea is a amazing. Different teas have different health benefits. There is sleep time tea, breakfast tea, fruity teas. I can’t seem to give up coffee completely but I turn to green tea as an alternative for my second cup. The caf has a bunch of tea bags and you can use a keurig to make plain hot water right in your room. The glass bottles of Pure Leef, NOT the regular bottles, are a great iced tea. They still have added sugar but it’s a small fraction of what is in the regular iced teas.