College Meal Plans= Very Unhealthy Food

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ashleym9925
ashleym9925 Posts: 19
in Food and Nutrition
So I really hate going to the dinning hall everyday because I have to look/smell pizza, french fries and chocolate. I stay on one side of the dinning hall so I don't have to walk by the unhealthy food. Does anyone else have this same problem? It doesn't have to be a meal plan it could be work.

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  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    Even in my college dining hall in 1995, we had a salad bar and one veg-heavy vegetarian meal option available daily. Of course, I more often than not went for the cheeseburger and onion rings, being the skinny thing I was.

    In college and even now at corporate cafeterias, there are healthy and unhealthy choices. Keep making the healthier choice (at least the vast majority of the time) and it will pay off.
  • trumpeteramu
    trumpeteramu Posts: 13 Member
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    We have pizza/fried options as well as a stirfry, vegetarian option, sandwich station, and a salad bar. I completely understand and know what you mean when it comes to college food, and sometimes the choices just aren't that great. Pizza/cheeseburgers/fried things are okay once in a while, just try and not make it a habit. :)
  • Lecterman
    Lecterman Posts: 97 Member
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    While it wasn't around when I was there years ago, my alma mater now has one all vegan dining cafeteria as part of their dining system.

    Pretty awesome menu in my opinion. While there are some "junky" options, there are a lot of awesome healthy options.

    Here is their sample menu:

    http://aits-iis.unt.edu/foodpro/nutframe.asp?sName=UNT+Food+Department&locationNum=10&locationName=Mean+Greens&naFlag=1
  • jessicawrites
    jessicawrites Posts: 235 Member
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    I had a crappy selection at my college, which is part of why I put on some weight (along with studying/hanging with friends trumping gym time and a predilection for giant m&m cookies when I was stressed...)

    I lost 15 pounds my senior year by eating a healthy breakfast, salad for lunch at least 4 days a week, and eating dinner normally. I also found an awesome fitness buddy in my best friend. We committed to exercising 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week and stuck to it religiously. It was tough, but we kept each other going.
  • moonsforeyes
    moonsforeyes Posts: 228
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    Willpower girl! I was in the dorms for 4 long years and worked with what was offered. Avoid the fried and unhealthy stuff and be creative! also, if it doesn't work out in the dining hall, maybe get your own groceries or even just things to help spice things up already in the dining hall maybe? For example, i use to bring my own little bowl of prepacked cereal for breakfast and used the hall's milk and bananas.I also packed my own lunch sometimes just so i wouldn't miss out on the social aspect being there.
  • TooTatToTrot
    TooTatToTrot Posts: 81 Member
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    I go to Ohio State (yeah it's expensive so we have money to blow for more meal options) but in the worst dining hall we have there's a salad bar on one side, and a place to get grilled chicken on the other. I just tell them to throw it on the grill with no butter or and a little olive oil. They listen. Just tell them what you want. I also visited a small college in Chicago (where I'm from) and they had the option for grilled chicken, vegetable stir fry, brown rice and some sort of fish product everyday. And on the other side there was pizza, chocolate and nachos. It's hard because hey, we're still kids and we like to eat, but you have to decide on what you want more. I've lost 45 pounds in college and I've had quite a few pizzas ha. Here's to 30 more!
  • capnlizard
    capnlizard Posts: 73 Member
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    When I was in college, I was a vegetarian and all I ever ended up eating was pasta with red sauce or rice with stir fried veggies (both meals LOADED with salt!!!). The school didn't provide any other vegetarian entree options and the salad bar sucked (limp veggies, FROZEN lettuce, no variety, fatty/dairy/cheese-based dressings). I gained weight VERY quickly and decided to start incorporating meat again. That made it slightly better, but I still ended up having very few options for healthy meals.

    I now work in a boarding school and frequently encountered the same sort of problem in terms of unhealthy options. It is difficult to make 300 servings of really fresh, healthy, unsalty foods that taste good in one shot, and because they are trying to get the kids to eat their veggies, they often add cheese and heavy sauces in order to do so. I was recently diagnosed with a dairy (not lactose) intolerance, so it is really difficult for me to eat in the dining hall without simply eating a piece of chicken and some lettuce with no dressing every day. I often plan ahead and bring food with me that I can eat at my desk, keeping healthy options around at all times. I have a mini-fridge stocked with seltzer water, pre-washed baby spinach for salads, healthy dressings, hummus, fruit, etc, and have a small store of packaged low-sodium soups, granola, pita bread, etc, so that when lunch is a dairy-fest, I am covered. It sucks to have to do this when you are a college student paying for a meal plan, but if you can afford to stock your room with some healthy meal options, you may not have to face the temptation so often.

    Also, I don't know if your school has meal options other than going to the main dining hall? My college had a snack bar that we could use our meal points with; while most of the stuff served there was of the mozzarella stick or pizza variety, yogurt and fruit smoothies and salads were also decent options. Good luck!!!!

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