Eating a balanced diet in college can be extremely difficult, and is something I really used to struggle with. Walking into a dining hall with seemingly endless options is very intimidating, especially as an underclassman when you do not really know what food you like there or how to navigate the building in general. Not only this, but because college is busy in itself, it can also be hard to devote time to eating healthy, as it is already so limited. However, as a current junior, I feel as if I have figured out a way to eat a balanced diet that really works for me. Although I am not a professional and am certainly not a nutritionist, I thought I’d share some of my favorite snacks and food hacks to help inspire busy girls like myself, who might need some food inspiration.
1) smoothies
My first, and probably my favorite snack to have in college is smoothies. In my efforts to eat healthy, I try to have at least one serving of fruit a day. However, as an underclassman, I found this to be very difficult, as I was extremely underwhelmed by the quality of fruit being served in my school’s dining hall. Thus, my solution to this problem was smoothies. To make my smoothie, I bought a Magic Bullet from Target for $50, and it is probably one of the best investments I have ever made. I use it almost every day to make my favorite smoothie, which consists of a frozen banana, a medley of frozen berries, peanut butter, and almond milk.
2) bowls and salads are your best friends
Along with getting a serving of fruit, I also do my best to eat my vegetables. Although I have found this to be much easier than getting my serving of fruit, as my school has a great salad bar, it does get a little easier making the same salad every day so I try my best to switch it up.
Some of my favorite dining salad creations include:
- A buffalo chicken grain bowl, which I make using a base of brown rice topped with chickpeas, shredded carrots, cucumbers, grilled chicken, and buffalo sauce
- A Greek salad, which consists of a bed of spinach topped with cucumbers, green peppers, quinoa, feta cheese, chickpeas, and balsamic dressing
- A hummus platter with assorted vegetables
- I also have become obsessed with the sweet potatoes at my school, as they are very filling and super nutritious, so I include them on the side in almost all of my dinners
3) make sure you eat breakfast
As is the case with most college students, I have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning. Therefore, I do not always make it to the dining hall before my first class. However, as I have learned the hard way, it is very important to eat something breakfast (even if it is little) before you start your day, so you’re not starving by the time lunch rolls around. Even though I am personally not a big breakfast person, I thought I’d give some of my favorite things to eat in the morning. My first and favorite breakfast item, which I have also gotten my roommate hooked on, are Belvita break biscuits. These little biscuits are great because they are not too high in sugar (only 12g) and give me just enough energy to start my day. Moreover, because they are carb-based I love to have these before I go to the gym in the morning because they are easy to digest. If I do not have a Belvita, I either have a yogurt, smoothie, or some other bar to start my day.
4) eat protein
Although I am not vegetarian, I have never been a big meat eater, and have thus struggled to incorporate enough protein into my diet. However, as I have been trying to gain more muscle, I have realized the importance of eating enough protein. Some of my favorite sources of protein include chickpeas in salads, peanut butter in my smoothies, OWYN protein shakes and Oikos protein yogurts.