Everyone fears the dreaded “freshman fifteen” and tries their best to avoid it at all costs, here are some ways to avoid the unwanted weight gain freshman year and the rest of your time at college. Yes, the “fake” money on your meal plan card is one daunting aspect that contributes to weight gain freshman year as well as the unlimited food supply that never runs out. At Pace, unlike other universities, we are able to use our meal plan unlimitedly throughout our day, making it tempting to frequently visit Café 101 multiple times a day. Whether it is the bacon, egg and cheeses or scrumptious mac and cheese, there will most likely be one thing that keeps you coming back to the cafeteria every morning and/or night.
Check The LabelAs college students, eating outside of our campus cafeteria can be a challenge simply because we are living in New York City, one of the most expensive cities in the world and most of us are feeling the tight budget. But, Pace does a wonderful job at offering students a variety of food and other options for those who are gluten free or kosher as well. There are usually a variety of soups available everyday that change weekly, one benefit of choosing this option is that the calories are listed above on a small label. Their chicken noodle soup is available almost everyday, this is the soup I tend to choose because it is lower in calories than some of the other soups and perfect on a windy fall day.
The GrillAt the grill, there are not a lot of healthy options.Therefore, you may be tempted to order, for example, the five-dollar deal, which consists of a hamburger, fries and a soft drink. Instead of that deal, you can opt for the salmon or turkey burger, with or without the bun and pass on the fries; instead pick up a smoothie from the juice bar.
Chopped SaladsRecently added last year was the chopped salad bar, this has become a favorite among students as it offers a delicious healthy option to all of the choices within the cafeteria. A good choice for lettuce would be the kale, arugula or spinach and the tofu or shrimp as a protein. Unfortunately the chicken they offer is chicken fingers, which are deep-fried (stay away!) and not necessarily the healthiest choice.
PastaIf you are a frequent user of the pasta bar I suggest the whole wheat pasta, as whole grains are the healthiest and there are plenty of vegetables you can choose from to add to your pasta but, it’s best to pass on the melted cheese or alfredo sauce.
SandwichesThe sandwich station offers fresh Boars Head cold cuts and spinach or tomato wraps which are delicious and so healthy (note: for all of you that don’t like spinach or tomato, they don’t really taste like the vegetables!).
SushiThe sushi bar serves fresh sushi and features a “vegetable brown roll” which consists of brown rice, avocado and cucumber, this is a favorite of mine and it’s delicious as well as healthy. When it comes to sushi, it is best to pass on the spicy mayo or eel sauce and choose the low-sodium soy sauce instead, as these both tend to be high in sodium and the sushi chefs tend to over do it on the sauce if you make the choice to have it.
A great benefit of everything in our cafeteria is our ability to make choices and customize our sandwiches, salads, smoothies or pasta! It’s okay to have easy mac and ramen noodles every now and then but not everyday.As a freshman in a new setting it is easy to feel yourself gravitate to the cafeteria often. We have money that is available to us at any time with the swipe of a card and sometimes we may not find time to eat as healthy as we should because we are pressed with homework, tests, and maybe even a job. It is important to eat healthy while at school as we may be under a lot of stress and need to preform at the highest level possible. Fresh healthy food will only make us feel better on a daily basis and it will give us the fuel we need to make it through our most difficult days here at our home away from home. Café 101 offers an array of healthy options to steer us on the right track throughout our four years here at Pace!