Whether vegetarian or not, meat lover or someone who could care less, as a vegetarian, here are just a few hacks at SLU to create healthy, meat-free meals!
For Breakfast (the most important meal of the day):
I know we all can get a little bit tired of eating at the dining hall every day, meal after meal, but it’s good to know a few ways you can mix it up. The Dana eggs will always be a staple for breakfast and a great way to start your day with a significant amount of protein, but you can surprisingly get the same amount of protein in a healthier way! Head on over the oatmeal station and get yourself a cup, or a cereal bowl (because sometimes we all wake up a little extra hungry). A cup of oatmeal contains 6 grams of protein but if you top it off with quinoa (the secret ingredient) you get even more protein. It’s the ultimate no meat high protein breakfast!
For Lunch (get those veggies in):
Surprisingly there are so many different ways you could go for lunch. If your headed over to Dana, a veggie burger is a great option to get in the protein especially if you add a salad. It is a perfect, well rounded meal. If your more into a sandwich mood, there are so many places to check out. You could grab a sandwich from the Pub as a Dana meal exchange or head to some of the other places on campus. One of the best vegetarian SLU hacks is to add as many veggies on the sandwich as possible and throw some cheese on. It’s a filling meal for between or after classes to get some healthy veggies in your system!
Some killer snack ideas:
SLU is known for some amazing things. Our alumni network, our amazing professors, our athletic programs but something that should be on this list is our pub smoothies. Truly one of the best parts of this school in my opinion is the amazing smoothies, made specially by local workers or fellow students. It’s a great snack/drink to get with a meal, but more importantly you get those fruits in your system. A great vegetarian hack is to ask for a smoothie with yogurt in it to add extra protein and calcium.
Besides the smoothies if you’re in the mood for a snack in between those long days of classes, check out the protein bars in the Pub. The biggest struggle as a vegetarian is trying to maintain the proper protein intake and a good granola bar is a great way to get some protein and get filled up! If you’re not in the mood for a bar check out the protein drinks in the fridge. They’re a significant amount of protein and really yummy.
Another great snack is always a yogurt with granola from the Pub or if your not in the mood for some yogurt order a side of broccoli and add some balsamic vinaigrette. The dressing definitely makes it more delicious and a lot healthier than just ordering some fries (even though some days a side of fries or a bag of chips is needed).
For Dinner:
For dinner there are so many options to create yourself a perfect meat free meal! Firstly, check out Dana, depending on what they’re serving sometime you can get a really good vegetarian lasagna or tomato soup which sometimes hits the spot. An obvious Dana hack is their salad bar. Just pack those veggies on and it makes a super healthy, filling meal.
If your not in the Dana mood go check out the Pub. Sometimes a quesadilla with guac is a perfect meal with a fruit smoothie or sometimes a Pub veggie burger (which you can also get at Pub 56 if your feeling adventurous). Dinner can go so many different routes, and in the Pub there are so many amazing options for vegetarians! To top dinner off, maybe grab some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream or a bar of chocolate from the Pub, because it has to have some nutritional value right?
(Photos: Molli Morris)