The College Food Life

Hi there everyone! So as some of you may or may not know, I'm a student in college which means that I am back at school and yes, the summer is coming to an end. I had an amazing few months exploring new recipes and fresh ingredients, but all of that was flipped upside down when I had to eat my first meal back in a college dining hall. Because of this, I decided to create a blog post with some tips and tricks I follow while on campus to make sure I am properly nourishing my body with wholesome foods. Even if you aren't a college student or are one of the lucky few who have a kitchen, these tips can help you out, too :

Choose Whole:

• ​Whenever I want to make a sandwich or use bread in any way, I always look for WHOLE wheat. Whole wheat is the least processed form of a grain so it contains lots more fiber, B vitamins, and fewer starchy carbohydrates than white breads made with enriched flour. However, you should be cautious of breads labeled "multigrain" or ones that have any other fancy wording around the word "wheat" because chances are, those products are still made with enriched flour and are just colored or labeled fancy to try and trick you. Definitely not sure if the bread is WHOLE wheat or not? Check the ingredients list. If the bread is truly whole wheat bread, the very first ingredient will say so. Otherwise, even in the multigrain breads, the very first ingredient will be enriched flour.

Fresh Fruit is a Must:

• ​Always always always try to get in some fruit with at LEAST one meal of the day, or as a snack. The recommended amount of fruit you should eat per day is 3 cups. While that may sound like a crazy amount, keep in mind a medium apple, orange, or really anything the size of a woman's fist (sorry men, but your hands are bigger) is one cup of fruit. That means a small banana is a half cup serving of fruit, around two to three slices of melon is a one cup serving, and even a handful of berries is about a half cup serving. SO, if you spread those out between the day and have, say, melon with breakfast, an orange with lunch, and an apple as a nighttime snack, you are getting an adequate amount of fruit for the day! Another simple way to get your fruit fix is to throw it all in a blender with either yogurt or 100% fruit juice and make a smoothie.

Eat Those Greens:

• Much like fruit, veggies are super important to give your body ample nutrients to get through long classes and busy days. The recommended amount of vegetables to eat daily is 5 cups. Noticeably more than the fruit, vegetables are actually a lot easier to get in a campus dining hall. If you make yourself a side salad with lunch or dinner (or both!), you are probably using anywhere from 1-3 cups of lettuce (depending on the size of the salad). But then you probably add things like carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, radishes, broccoli, cauliflower (just to name a few) which increases the cups of vegetables on your plate. Likewise, you can put veggies in an omelet for breakfast, top off a sandwich or burger with lettuce and tomato, and even just put a side of steamed broccoli, mixed veggies, or whatever other hot vegetables they have on the side of meat or pasta. Vegetable options are pretty plentiful in a dining hall, so as long as you try to have some with lunch AND dinner, you are on the right track!

Stay Sane:

• Lastly, while it's nice to eat healthy and feel good about your food choices, it's also nice to stay sane and live the life of a college student. That's right, every once in a while eat the grilled cheese, the mac and cheese, the midnight pizza or ice cream sundae. Get a cookie or doughnut just because, and eat all the fries, wings, and nachos you possibly can in a weekend. BUT REMEMBER, everything in moderation!!!!!! I can't stress this enough. Not only does the possible overindulging of salty, greasy, and sweet foods cause you to gain some weight, but it can also cause you to feel sluggish, loose concentration easily, break out, and lose motivation. So stay sane, but also stay within moderation. I promise you, that one cookie won't hurt you.

I hope you find some of these tips and tricks helpful while trying to navigate a campus dining hall, or even in your day to day life!