Afraid of the, “Freshman 15?” Yeah, well who isn’t?! This is one of the most commonly known fears that freshman have, especially girls, when diving into this new world known as, college.
But I am here to tell all you ladies out there, who have heard the dreadful horror stories of young women mindlessly gaining pound after pound, that there is hope! I call it, eating healthy at the dining halls. Yes, believe it or not you can actually maintain your current body weight and maybe even shed a couple pounds by selecting food choices that are packed with nutrients! Now the question is, which foods are the best for you and your body? There is no perfect food, however, there are many options that come pretty darn close to achieving such status.
Tip number #1:
Take advantage of the salad bar people! The kind employees that work at Nelson Dining Hall on South green do a fabulous job of setting up their salad bar; I personally love the variety of veggies they display! I will show you an example of a meal that I prepared this past Tuesday evening:
My tummy is grumbling just looking at this colorful beauty! As you can see I loaded this salad with a wide assortment of fruits and veggies. I began constructing this plate of Heaven with a bed of romaine lettuce and spinach, and before I knew it a swarm of toppings rich in antioxidants and fiber invaded my plate!
Let’s unravel the secret ingredients of this plate, shall we?
After the bed of lettuce and spinach, I added a gracious serving of the following:
*Green, Red, & Yellow Bell Peppers
*Carrot Slices
*Cucumber
*Red Onion
*Minced Garlic
*Blueberries
*Strawberries
(Blueberries and Strawberries were not out on the display at Nelson that day. I bought those from Kroger earlier that day).
Then as a dressing I added a dash of the following:
*Olive Oil
*Balsamic Vinegar
*Grated Parmesan Cheese
Fun Fact:
Balsamic Vinegar contains absolutely NO high fructose corn syrup nor does it contain an excess amount of fat. Translation- chose this dressing over the others, especially ranch. Let’s say, for example, you eat a salad for lunch everyday for a week and you douse your salad with about 2 tablespoons of ranch (I am being modest for you ranch lovers out there). The next week, I want you to try substituting that ranch for the balsamic vinegar and olive oil combo because on average you will be saving around 385 calories a week! That may not sound like a whole lot but if you keep this up, by the end of the month you will have eliminated 1,540 calories from your diet! Yay for you!
I also added a side of fresh cantaloupe to add some Vitamin C to my meal. I snagged a banana to take back to my room so I could add it to my bowl of oatmeal the next morning!
Nelson is not only the dining hall here on campus that offers a variety of healthy choices. For example, Boyd has an excellent salad bar as well, and also offers nutritious selections within its smaller confines too!
I had this wonderful side of red skin potatoes and green beans paired with a salad that had avocado, chicken and lots of veggies! A perfect way to get an adequate balance of carbs and protein! Yummy!
So you see, there are many ways to avoid gaining this- dare I mention it again- freshman 15, you just have to take the time to scope out the healthy options that reside in the dining halls here on Campus. I am not saying you have to stay away from Shively’s Mac & Cheese, but I encourage you to take a trip to their lovely salad bar and maybe even visit their sandwich station. You can get a wonderful turkey and humus sandwich on whole wheat bread in a jiffy!
This week, go out and scope out the various stations at each dining hall and see what nutritious selections you can find. It is not as hard as it seems! You have my word! With regular exercise and a B+ diet, the Freshman 15 will be the least of your worries.