Eating healthy in college isn’t always easy. In fact, most of the time, it can seem downright impossible. The majority of us think that we know what healthy food is; wraps, salads, soups, etc. But if you’re not careful, calories, high sodium, and ridiculous amounts of sugar can sneak up on you. Here are some great tips to use your meal plan to your advantage. Eating healthy on campus can be easy, that is, if you know how to make the right choices.
1. Kick the morning time sugar to the curb.While smoothies and iced coffees are a great pick-me-up in the mornings, (especially when there’s a coffee shop or smoothie bar in every building) it’s easy to forget about all of those calories in the cream and sugar. Instead try just a plain black coffee with skim milk and minimal sugar or honey. If you’re really looking to kickstart your morning the healthy way, try some green tea. Most on campus locations offer hot water and tea bags, so grab this great combo and add some honey or lemon for a zesty morning!
2. Watch your Wraps.Wraps can be a great way to get your fix of veggies, protein, and fuel on the go in college. Pretty much everywhere you go on a college campus, there’s a wrap or sandwich place.
A few ways to keep your wraps healthy and delicious are:
-Go for the plain flour or wheat tortilia, as opposed to Spinach or Tomato Basil tortillas. Often we’re fooled by the idea that if it’s green it’s healthy, but this is hardly the case. A Spinach and Herb tortillia has about 600 MG of sodium, along with 250 calories (over two times as many calories as white and wheat tortillas alone.)-Lay off the sauce. Sour cream, guac, and queso can really destroy a healthy wrap. Instead, opt for salsa, which weighs in at only about 10 calories per tablespoon.-Add as many veggies as you want. Pack your wraps full of lettuce, peppers, onions, tomatoes, and carrots. These will fill up the wrap, and fill you up faster!
3. Hydrate yo’ self!The key to keeping your body happy and healthy is to hydrate it. Keep a water bottle with you at all times, and constantly fill it up. Instead of snacking because of boredom, drink water. It’s easier to drink water if it’s nice and cold, and also if it’s from a straw, so grab a waterbottle like this Camelbak. Try to stop by your cafeteria and fill up your water bottle with ice and filtered water (usually they’ll let you fill it for free). To really spice it up, add some fresh fruit or cucumbers to make your water exciting!
Follow the directions on this website to calculate exactly how much water your body needs throughout the day: Click here.
4. Cut the late night snacks…and late nights, period.Staying up late and studying is the number one killer of great eating. Even if your entire day is balanced, and full day of healthy eating, a night up too late in the library can lead to lack of sleep and too much snacking. It’s SO easy to mindlessly eat chips, pizza, or snack-friendly-junk while you’re busy stuDYING (yes girl, we’ve all been there).To combat this, pick up a bag of grapes, or maybe some strawberries. These are great foods to have on hand when you’re mindlessly eating for hours, and they’re much better than traditional salty snacks, muffins, or scones found in the vending machines or coffee shops on campus or in the library. Most importantly, get enough sleep. Yes, good grades are important, but organize and budget your time so that you can get the sacred 8 hours. According to sharecare.com, studies show that a full night of sleep can reduce appetite and the desire to consume more calories than you need. Get that beauty sleep girl!
5. Keep it fresh.It’s hard to over-do it at the salad bar. Make a huge salad with tons of fun veggies, top it with some sunflower seeds, and a little olive oil and vinegar or low-fat dressing (most college campus salad bars have a low-fat italian dressing, just don’t drown your salad in it.) Just stay away from too many crutons or too much cheese. Try to keep in mind, if it can go bad, it’s probably not too bad for you (fruit, vegetables, yogurt, etc.) To kick a sweet tooth, grab some greek yogurt or blueberries and top them with honey!
Photo credits:
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