EAT THIS NOT THAT
1) Iced Coffees – In college most of us probably do the hail Mary to coffee in the morning, maybe in the afternoon, and most likely at night when that paper needs finishing or that test needs to be studied for. So you might find it surprising that a Dunkin Donuts Mocha spice Iced Latte is better for you than Starbucks Iced White Chocolate Mocha with Whip. With less calories, less sugar and fat you can save yourself from a sugar overload!
2) Breakfast sandwiches – Like I said, we like things that are fast and easy, and in the morning if you can combine something like a breakfast sandwich to get your protein, meat, and carbs for the day, then you are set. For example, McDonald’s Egg McMuffin has fewer calories than the Panera Bacon, Egg & Cheese Grilled Breakfast Sandwich. Even if Panera isn’t a place close to your college town it’s easier to assume that McDonald’s carries the heavier load but if you take the time to look at the nutrition facts you might be surprised!
3) Hamburgers – Late night In-N-Out double doubles are a personal favorite of mine and animal fries tend to call my name as well. An easy way to get the same taste and indulge in both In-N-Out delights is to try the protein style burger. With lettuce as your bun you save calories and still get the signature taste of In-N-Out burger.
4) Yogurt Smoothie – Even though a Jamba Juice a day would be glorious, on the college budget its just not realistic. The easier choices are usually something like Dannon’s or Stonyfield smoothies from the grocery store. Unfortunately the sugar in these items is no way to start your day. The Stonyfield smoothie is smaller than the Dannon’s light smoothie but has more than twice the calories and sugar. A good tip for smoothie making or buying is to look for things made from real fruit rather than juice! For a quick morning smoothie choose the Dannon Light & Fit Strawberry Banana Smoothie.
5) Cheese — Cheese lovers are common, myself being one of them. I love nothing more than opening the fridge and grabbing a cheese stick, snacking on shredded cheese, a ball of cheese or a whole block – really, anything involving cheese usually has my name written all over it. If you’re anything like me then you probably want to know that the better of the evils is actually shredded cheddar cheese over Parmesan cheese. Try to stick to buying cheese in packets with the calories already portioned!
6) Cereal (Granola) – Thought the sweetest cereal in American was the one with tiger on the box or a rabbit on the box? Try again. The brown sugar and honey clusters of Quaker’s Natural Granola have more sugar than you find in three Krispy Kreme original glazed donuts. Instead, try something like Post’s Shredded Wheat for less than half the calories, no sugar, and more fiber. Or go for flax seeds in your cereal or Kashi cereal. A reminder for eating cereal is to watch you’re measurements! Usually the serving size is far less then what we put in our bowls!
7) Juice – If you like your juice – whether it’s in the morning or for chaser at night try to keep in mind that juice, like most other drinks are empty buckets of sugar that you are pouring into your body. Instead of Hawaiian Punch try Tropicana Pure Triple Berry. You’ll save calories, sugar, and get your daily dose of vitamin C and E in every 8 ounce glass.
8) Sandwiches – Most sandwiches have the same ingredients: heavy meat, lots of sauce, and cheese. How to choose between Subway and Quiznos? Well, if you want to avoid eating 75% of your daily sodium allotment in one meal then the authors of Eat This Not That suggest eating the Subway Double Roast Beef with Provolone Cheese over the Double Cheesesteak Sub at Quiznos. When going out to places like Subway or Quiznos try to find the easy substitute for healthy choices like whole wheat bread, saving half the sandwich and sparing the side of chips for something like carrots or an apple.
9) Chinese Food – You’d probably think that the biggest problem with Chinese food would be the fat content, but frying the foods in fat rich sauces is not the only problem. Carbohydrates are easily forgotten in the mix when you add rice to your favorite chicken and beef dishes. If you have to choose a better evil, go with the Panda Express Kung Pao Chicken without rice as opposed to P.F. Chang’s Sesame Chicken with white Rice. You save over 700 calories and more than 1,000 mg of sodium. Again, it’s crazy to think that Panda Express could be better for you than P.F. Chang’s but the truth lies in the nutrition facts!
10) Arizona Ice Tea > SoBe – SoBe wouldn’t be my first target for sugary drinks but a SoBe Pina Colada has 77 grams of sugar in one 20 fl oz bottle! It’s the equivalent of 2 cans of Coca-Cola. That’s a crazy amount of sugar for a something liquid. Instead grab an Arizona Arnold Palmer Zero Half & Half Iced Tea Lemonade. For zero calories and no sugar you can enjoy the same type of drink with no cost to your health.
11) Ice Cream Bars – The new Magnum Double Caramel Ice Cream Bar that has been all over the t.v. should really leave itself on the shelf. The Ice Cream Bar has the equivalent of 19 tablespoons of Extra Creamy Cool Whip! Just in one bar you can have 70% of your days worth of saturated fat. Surprisingly enough, the eat this recommendation is a Snickers Ice Cream Bar.
What can we learn from all this? Well for starters never judge a book by its cover. Eating healthy is never easy and sometimes making the right choice can be tricky. Even with your limited schedule as a college student make sure you are looking at the labels don’t like brand names vs. store names fool you. Everything is hidden in the label and with a few extra seconds to check the contents you could save your body calories, grams, and pounds of unwanted sugar and fat.