Last year I was a freshman at Drexel and I was obligated to buy a meal plan. I immediately recognized that there are way too many unhealthy options available in Drexel dining halls and that those are the most popular among students. However, I soon realized that if you are careful and creative, you can find healthier options for your meal. This is a list of tips based on my experience with Drexel dining.
Handschumacher Dining Center
1. Remember to mix and match between different food stations. You might find a healthy grilled chicken at the grill station, grab some vegetables from vegan station, and rice from the international food station creating a healthy wholesome meal.
2. If you’d like meat, try to avoid fried meat, or one that’s cooked in a heavy sauce.
3. Every Friday Hans offers a fish option that is usually cooked in a healthy way. I would definitely recommend taking advantage of that because it is good to switch meat to fish as often as you can for a well-balanced diet.
4. I learned that vegan station is a great source of healthy cooked vegetables. I recommend looking at it every time even if you aren’t vegan because they usually have super healthy and tasty vegetable dishes that you can combine with protein from other stations.
5. Definitely don’t forget about the salad bar and soups! You should include as much fresh vegetables and salad as possible in a healthy diet. Just be careful with salad dressings because many of them are heavy and contain a lot of unnecessary calories. Also, take a look at the soup options and consider those as a lighter alternative for your meal.
6. If you want dessert, try to pick one that isn’t very sugary and doesn’t contain a ton of calories. I recommend having fruit salad with yogurt instead.
7. Be careful with your choice of drinks. Hans has a selection of fruit infused waters that you can have instead of sugary drinks.
Urban Eatery
1. Try to limit yourself from eating the unhealthy options like burgers and Philly cheesesteaks.
2. If you want pizza, try to pick the healthiest toppings available.
3. Be careful with ordering pasta. Try not to select heavy sauces or sausage with it.
4. I recommend the salad station and the smoothie station. In addition, I always check out the station in the back because it changes every week and sometimes they have healthy options there. If you’re having salad, remember to choose a healthy salad dressing.
5. This year a new vegan station was opened which I haven’t tried yet, but it definitely looks like they offer several healthy dishes there too.
Northside Dining Terrace
If you want to have your meal at Northside Dining Terrace, I would recommend having sushi or a Subway sandwich if you are careful about your choice of fillings.
Hopefully these tips will inspire you to be more creative when picking your meal at Drexel dining halls. Good luck with maintaining a healthy diet in college!