I was sitting in the corner of a (for once) quiet Lu’s Café one afternoon last year when I overheard two café employees discussing the nutritional value of the eatery’s options.
“Those peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? My friend said, they’re, like, 700 calories,” one worker said to another from behind the counter.
Across the room, I almost spat out the sip of tea I had just taken. A PB&J? Seven hundred calories? I would never have guessed that a little sandwich could pack such a calorie-laden punch. I realized it was time to get a handle on what I was eating during the semester. During the year since that eye-opening eavesdropping at Lu’s, here’s a little of what I’ve learned about some of the options available all around campus. Think of it as the first installment of “Eat This Not That!: UConn Edition.”
Eat This Not That!: The Cafés
We’ve all been there—after three straight hours of staring at your laptop screen in a corner of the third floor in Homer, you’re starving and looking for an excuse to do anything besides write that paper. Bookworms it is!
What to avoid—breakfast: Yogurt and granola parfaits or chocolate chip muffin
Sure, yogurt and granola may seem like two healthy choices combined into one convenient cup. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case here. The blueberry granola parfait is over 500 calories (520), with more than 14 grams of fat and 86 grams of carbohydrates. If yogurt is a must, the strawberry parfaits without yogurt are best—258 calories and only about 2.5 grams of fat.
Another high calorie/fat trap are the café’s muffins. The chocolate chip variety packs 640 calories, 35 grams of fat, and 79 grams of carbs. Unfortunately, there’s really no low-cal alternative equivalent to having yogurt without the granola.
What to get instead—breakfast: Bagel and cream cheese or fruit plate with maple vanilla yogurt and an Odwalla bar
Bagels get a bad rap for being high in carbs. However, compared to the muffins, they don’t look too bad. A
plainbagel is 344 calories, less than 2 grams of fat, and 67 grams of carbs. If you need something on top, one of the single-serving Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat cream cheese packets adds only 70 calories and 6 grams of fat!
Another combination to consider is the fruit plate with yogurt and one of the Odwalla bars available at some of the cafés, including Bookworms and Wilbur’s. The fruit plate is only 195 calories, less than 1 gram of fat, and 47 grams of carbs. If you can eat fruit and a couple ounces of yogurt and be ready for the morning, go for it! For those who need a little more to get moving, a Berries Gomega Odwalla bar adds 210 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 36 grams of carbs. If you were to skip the yogurt in the fruit plate (not that I condone wasting food—share with a friend!), you could probably save on carbs. Still, that’s 405 calories for a decent breakfast!
What to avoid—lunch: Husky peanut butter & jelly or smoked turkey focaccia
This week’s winner for unhealthiest pick, a Husky PB&J contains 774 calories, 35 grams of fat, and 100 grams of carbs. Let’s just say it will take more than your average afternoon workout to burn that off.
While not the next-unhealthiest pick on the menu, the smoked turkey focaccia loses out to the smoked turkey and cheese. On the thicker bread with mayo, the focaccia sandwich is nearly 550 calories and 21 grams of fat.
What to get instead—lunch: Classic chef salad or smoked turkey and cheese
The cafés’ colorful chef salad is a lunch in and of itself and less than 300 calories (244) and 12 grams of fat. For another lunch option around 400 calories, get the smoked turkey and cheese (359 calories, 12 grams of fat) with a small apple.
Next year I’ll be continuing the series, and first up- the skinny (pun intended) on the healthiest Union Street Market choices. As a preview, I would suggest thinking twice about ordering a burrito for lunch…