Whether you’re an Eickhoff rookie, or a seasoned dining hall veteran (no pun intended), it can be a challenge for any collegiette™ to adopt healthy eating habits in a room teeming with food. Her Campus TCNJ has four tips and tricks to help guide every collegiette™ through a meal in Eick.
1) Go in with a game plan:
With over 10 different food stations all cooking up something different, it’s far too easy to sample a little taste of everything. A scoop of mac and cheese, a plate of french fries, a side salad, fruit, cookies…Before you know it there’s a smorgasbord of half-eaten food before you and enough plates to keep the tray-return busy for hours. By mapping out in your head what you want to eat before swiping into Eik, you can avoid both the plate pile-up and overeating.
Keep this Eick recipe in mind:
Grab some chicken from the grill and bring it over to the sandwich line. While you wait, cut up the chicken into small pieces. When it’s your turn, ask for a whole-wheat wrap, your favorite cheese, vegetables (yes, there are delish vegetables behind the deli!) and any other condiments of your choosing. Ask for it grilled or take it as is! Add a little Caesar dressing from the Salad Bar for a Chicken Caesar Wrap, or any other preferred dressing.
My personal favorite: Italian dressing and hummus on the side for dipping!
2) Tray-Free Dining All the Way!
Trays may seem like a helpful aid that eliminate the number of trips you make to and from your seat, but collegiettes beware! All that room on your tray does not mean you have to fill it with food. To be safe, don’t use a tray. Not only does it cut back on food waste, but it also keeps in check the amount of food you eat. You can carry a plate of pasta and a side salad back to the table, right? And hey, take advantage of any extra trips to the food or drink stations as a chance to socialize and spot some campus cuties.
Try this combo:
Rotisserie Chicken and veggies from Quimby’s Kitchen with a side salad from the salad bar. Two plates? You can handle it! Make an extra trip to grab a drink and some utensils.
3) Approach Bliss Bakery with Caution!
The savory cakes, soft-baked cookies, frozen yogurt and assortment of baked goodies at Bliss Bakery have a lure so strong they could probably make Jillian Michaels embark on a bakery binge. To satisfy your sweet tooth, opt for some fro-yo, fruit or jello. Also, Eickhoff provides a Balanced Way snack that is healthier than their other desserts.
A dessert to die for:
Take a little fro-yo (I prefer Vanilla) and add a scoop of fruit. Top it off with some Nature Valley granola from the cereal bar to add a satisfying crunch!
4) Be Creative:
We all know the food at Eick is not what most of us are used to at home. For all my fellow Italian collegiettes™ with families who love to cook, satiating your hunger with the approval of your taste buds can be a real challenge. It’s easy to resort to easy meals like pizza and burgers to get the job done, which is why you need to think outside the box. Integrate different foods from different stations to come up with delicious, creative meals:
- Add some rice from the wok station, or chop up a veggie burger from the grill and add it to your salad.
- Try some fruit from Bliss Bakery with cottage cheese or yogurt, topped off with a little granola to go with half of a sandwich from the Deli.
- Mix the marinara sauce and the alfredo sauce at the pasta station for a creamy, Italian blend.
- Try chicken from the grill and veggies from the Wok over rice.