As a college student, it’s pretty much impossible to eat healthy all the time. Between meeting up with friends for meals, late night study sessions that need a little jolt and hitting up Franklin Street past 11 p.m., we are all tempted to make bad food choices. When you’re in a college world, sometimes the options are between unhealthy and “less unhealthy.” Picking less unhealthy could save you a lot of calories.
You’re meeting up with some friends to study in the student union, and it just so happens that you’re hungry and seriously craving some Alpine Bagel. So, Alpine isn’t the healthiest choice on campus, but it can be practically irresistible on certain days. So go ahead, hop in that long line if Alpine is just calling your name and order a healthier option than you were originally planning to.
Skip: The BLT with mayo, which packs 656 calories and 36.5 grams of fat.
Pick: The Ham Sammy with cheese, which has only 434 calories and 11.3 grams of fat instead.
You’re at the grocery store debating on which snacks to get for your late night study session with some friends at your apartment. Now you could opt for the carrot sticks, pretzels and grapes, but you know that those snacks just may not cut it for that monster mid-term you and your friends are studying for. To the frozen snacks isle you go! While you’re there:
Skip: The Totino’s pizza rolls, which have 230 calories in a serving and 12 grams of fat.
Pick: The Bagel Bites, which only have 190 calories in a serving and 5 grams of fat.
It’s a night out with your girls and what girls’ night doesn’t end with a sweet tooth craving? So you’re at Cold Stone and you want to enjoy a treat without totally ruining your calories for the day (since you’ve probably been counting for spring break…) Good news is you can get a relatively low calorie frozen treat! Just decide to:
Skip: The OREO crème ice cream with 440 calories.
Pick: The Sinless cake batter ice cream with 210 calories instead.
By the way, make sure to order a Like It size!
It’s 2 a.m. You’re out on Franklin Street and the masses are headed to grab some sobering-up food. Of course, counting calories isn’t at the very top of your list right now, so if you end up at Qdoba, just remember this one thing: quesadillas are evil! Delicious, yes, but:
Skip: The grilled chicken quesadilla because it has 960 calories and 54 grams of fat!
Pick: The grilled chicken burrito with black beans, lettuce and cheese. It has only 500 calories and 25 grams of fat.
You’re walking down Franklin Street, catch the scent of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and follow it into the store against your will. It happens to the best of us. If you find yourself in this situation, keep in mind that at Krispy Kreme, quantity could actually save you some calories!
Skip: One Glazed Devil’s Food Old Fashioned Cake Doughnut that has 340 calories and 27 grams of sugar.
Pick: Three chocolate mini cakes for only 270 calories and 16 grams of sugar.
Spring has sprung in Chapel Hill (at least for a couple days a week) and you stop into Starbucks to get your caffeine fix. If you love coffee, you have probably been waiting for weather that is acceptable to drink cold coffee; once it gets warm, hot coffee isn’t quite as enjoyable. When you order your grande cold coffee:
Skip: The Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino; it has 300 liquid calories and 3 grams of fat.
Pick: The Iced Skinny Flavored Latte, which has only 80 calories and 0 grams of fat.
Sources:
Krispy Kreme, http://www.krispykreme.com/nutri.pdf
Qdoba, http://www.qdoba.com/Calculator.aspx#
Alpine Bagles, http://www.alpinebagels.com/nutritional.html
Bagel Bites, http://www.bagelbites.com/nutrition/three-cheese.aspx
Totinos Pizza Rolls, http://www.dietfacts.com/html/nutrition-facts/totinos-pizza-rolls-pepper…
Starbucks, http://www.starbucks.com/menu/nutrition
Cold Stone Creamary, http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/assets/pdf/nutrition/nutrition_info_ice…
General Mills, http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-general-mills-reeses-puffs-i8194
Fiber One, http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-fiber-one-honey-clusters-cereals-i143592
Photo sources:
Fit Commerce, Girls Eating Popcorn, http://www.fitcommerce.com/Blueprint/Popcorn-For-Health—Reduce-Risk-Of-Heart-Disease-And-Cancer_page.aspx?pageId=276&announcementId=1313&portalId=2&cid=631
Precision Nutrition, Homer Simson, http://www.precisionnutrition.com/food-rewards-and-fmri