Healthy College Food
Eating Healthy College Food
Ok, so you got the acceptance letter, you called your new roommate and now what? It's time to look into the food situation. Sure your parents paid for the room and board. That means that you won't starve but do you really want to eat that junk?
Eating Vegetarian can be a healthy alternative to the greasy burgers and meat layered pizza that seem to be a staple in college. The most important thing to keep in mind if you plan to start eating vegetarian is that you keep in mind what you can eat, not what you can't eat.
Photo Credit: Vegan Food Pyramid
by artists John Clark, M.D. & Julie Clarkon on Vegan Food Pyramid
Used by Permission
It is important to include food from each of the groups because:
1. Grains give your brain and muscles energy.
They are a good source of B-vitamins and iron. Try to include grains like rice, potatoes, pasta, and whole grain bread at every meal.
2. Fruits and Vegetables help eyes, hair, and blood and boost your immune system. They are a good source of vitamins A and C, minerals, and fiber. Try having fruits and vegetables like apples, broccoli, pear, carrots, squash, salad 5-7 times per day (2 1/2 cups of veggies and 2 cups of fruit).
3. Milk or Dairy Products help maintain strong bones and teeth. They are a good source of calcium and protein. Try to have a serving of low fat dairy foods like 8 oz milk, 1 oz cheese, 1 cup yogurt, cottage cheese, pudding, or frozen yogurt 3 times a day.
4. Foods high in Protein help build muscles, fight infection, and heal wounds. Try having beans, peanut butter, fish, tofu, or eggs at 2 meals daily.
5. Fats and Oils keep hair and skin soft and give a feeling of fullness. They are a good source of dietary fat. Try to include a little fat like salad dressing, olive oil, guacamole, nuts, or seeds at each meal.
Please note: Many young women don't get enough of all of the vitamins they need every day, even if they eat a balanced diet. Talk with your doctor about taking a multivitamin.
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Antioxidants can help prevent heart disease and certain cancers, as well as keep your eyes, mind, and immune system sharp.
How many foods do you eat daily that are high in Antioxidants?
Healthy Dorm Room Snacks - What happens if you get hungry while studying at night?
Keep your room stocked with healthy snacks such as:
Granola bars
Oatmeal (packets)
Energy or protein bars
Trail mix
Popcorn(Air-popped is the healthiest.)
Nuts
Animal crackers
Tuna fish
Peanut butter (100% Peanuts)
Fresh fruit
Whole Grain Crackers
Pita bread
Soup
Cereal
If you have a fridge:
Cheese
Yogurt cups and smoothies
Baby carrots
Hummus
Water, flavored seltzer waters, or low fat milk
Photo Credit: Healthy Garden Salad with Fresh Vegetables in Bowl
This refrigerator not only holds enough healthy college food to get you through the week but it also doubles as a night stand. This is an important feature since dorm rooms are notoriously small. This refrigerator is just the right height for a lamp and a few books. This is the perfect refrigerator for a college student.
Photo Credit: Spaghetti Squash with Tomato Sauce
by Witchywife on Photobucket, Creative Commons
Spaghetti Squash is very easy to cook in a toaster oven. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Add a little water to the hole left by the seeds. Cover it with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour. This should give you time to study for your next class.
The squash is done when you can prick it easily with a fork. Use the fork to scrape the spaghetti strands onto your dish. Pour on some tomato sauce and sprinkle on a little Parmesan cheese and you would never know it's not really pasta.
Yum! Yum!
Photo Credit: Bean Tacos
by bjz0819 on Photobucket, Creative Commons
Flour tortillas (Whole Wheat is best.)
can of beans (Bearitos)
salsa (Green Mountain Gringo Salsa)
lettuce, spinach, or arugula
cheese
leftovers
Bake in the toster oven unitl the cheese is melted and the tortilla is slightly toasted.
Photo Credit: Applesauce by jshontz used under creative commons
Photo Credit: Warm Beet Salad with Toasted Hazelnut & Blueberry by Vegan Feast Catering used under creative commons
What's for dinner?
Are Humans Carnivores? - Eating Healthy Vegan Foods
Let's Chat about Healthy College Food
Check out my Facebook and Go Activism sites
I have a couple other forms of communication. See my facebook group, Viva Vegetarianism
Or check out my page and blog at Go Activism This space is for the promotion of Vegetarianism. It is a place to swap recipes and ideas.
2/12/08 How can I become even more liberal and start promoting vegetarianism?
2/20/08 Trying to do my part, Localvore - 'think globally, act locally'
Locavore by Preshrunk
on Photobucket
Localvore is a movement that challenges its participants to eat all local foods (local meaning grown or produced within a 100 mile radius.) Writer and professor Bill Mckibben ate local for 7 months while living in Vermont and really brought the message of this national movement home.
Now the question is, why localvore? Well, in a world with quickly diminishing resources it is becoming vital that we try to conserve by eating food that is grown or produced close to home, therefore decreasing cost, time and energy in the transit process from the grower/producer to the stores. Also, buying local keeps dollars spent local and enhances profits for our neighbors who are producing the food. And in this the era of mass production of food by large corporations and factory farms from faraway places, there are many who just feel better knowing where there food has come from.
College Dorm Cookbooks for Eating Healthy
Watch What You Eat
If I haven't convinced you to eat healthy food yet, check out these movies. The amount of fat and calories in a fast food diet is atrocious. The even scarier fact is that often that is what is being served in college cafeterias. Invite some friends over to your dorm, put out a bowl of carrots and watch what you are missing by eating a healthy diet:
Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear) is the Mickey's food restaurant chain's Marketing Director. He is the inventor of the "Big One", the best selling hamburger of Mickey's. An independent research reports the presence of cow's feces in the Big One. So Don is sent to Cody, Colorado, to verify if the slaughterhouse, main supplier of Mickey's, is as efficient as it appears and the production process is regular. During his investigations he discovers the truth behind a simple hamburger; the reality is not like we think it is. Don discovers that the mass production system involves the exploitation of Mexican illegal immigrants. The film also shows how restaurant employees are treated and the expectations of them.
![Super Size Me [DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51T82FS9Y8L._SL160_.jpg)
Super Size Me is an Academy Award-nominated 2004 documentary film written, produced, directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock's film follows a 30-day time period (February 2003) during which he subsists entirely on food and items purchased exclusively from McDonald's, and the film documents this lifestyle's drastic effects on Spurlock's physical and psychological well-being and explores the fast food industry's corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit. During the filming, Spurlock dined at McDonald's restaurants three times per day, sampling every item on the chain's menu at least once. Also, if asked to Super Size his meal, he must. He consumed an average of 5,000 kcal (the equivalent of 9.26 Big Macs) per day during the experiment.
Vitamin Supplements
Many young women don't get enough of all of the vitamins they need every day, even if they eat a balanced diet. Talk with your doctor about taking a multivitamin.
You probably won't have much space in your dorm so I suggest that you check out the 3 in 1 Breakfast Maker. It is a very versatile kitchen appliance.
Some of the proceeds from this lens go to Oxfam
Help the rest of the world Eat Healthy too!
Oxfam America is a non-profit organization that works to end
global poverty through saving lives, strengthening communities, and
campaigning for change. We are an affiliate of Oxfam International.
Scholarships
Find Scholarships so you have money left to eat healthy college food. Signing up is free and will give me a chance to win another desperately needed scholarship.
This lens is part of a community service project to promote healthy eating in colleges. Please pass it on to any college students that you know and email me with suggestions. Thank you all for all the wonderful responses so far.
How are you planning to stay healthy for the next four years?
Love the lens!! It will be on our Tumblr page on April 25.
I lived in a dorm and ate at the cafeteria. I ate way too much. Too convenient. When my daughter goes to college in a few years, I will tell her about some of your ideas. Thanks.
Thanks for sharing htis awesome list of food.
Amazing list, really helpful to those wanting a lifestyle change in college. A great resource for people seeking to make healthy food choices. :)
Also check out my lens: http://www.squidoo.com/food-for-healthy-teeth
Thank you!
Add workouts as well.... this makes perfect for college guys!
Glad I don't have to be a college student to enjoy your healthy recipes!
Eat healthy and earn a little money: http://www.squidoo.com/ekufrugal.
There are actually a few iphone apps that PAY you to exercise (for those of us that need a little incentive)! See http://earndit.com/ for a great example!
More colors in my food and staying as physically active as possible.
Going to college and keep yourself healthy is something for eberyone to thinks about. Very nice lens about staying healthy
Lots of exercise!
Great suggestions for eating healthy while attending college.
Squid Angel Blessed!
Great Post, with actually useful and interesting information. we don't pay attention while eating, if we should pay a little, we can enjoy health lives definitely.
I didn't know much about why nutrition is so important?, then I found some extra information on this site and now after reading this I have planned how to stay healthy for coming 30 years even. :)
I'm finished with school (I have a lens showing where I went and what I thought about it). I have to say that in my college years it wasn't easy to eat right. Your lens will make it easier and more fun for current undergrads.
wir finden nicht das was wir suchen
@anonymous: i have a coffee pot, a hot pad, and all of this is relevant to me.
Never seen the Vegan Food Pyramid before. I like that the biggest section is full of fruits and veggies!
great share specially in ti,e when people are having problems like weight gain this lens is a great help for college students to avoid weight problems :)
@anonymous: Not true. I live in a dorm and have a coffee pot.
@Yeti_Works: What a great and informative lens Well done!
Great ideas!
Heads up... No dorm will ever let you have a toaster oven or coffee pot or anything with a hot pot. They don't even let you have poster larger than a 3 ft by 3 ft. Makes most this article useless when talking about dorm life
Most people don't realize you can eat healthy, even on a budget.
gotta focus on exercise so I can somewhat eat what I want.
While I'm only in the dorms for my first year in college, finding healthy foods has been struggle. I've found that keeping spinach or salad bags in my mini fridge and some good dressing has been wonderful for a healthy salad. I'll also throw in sliced fruit from the dining hall or some nuts that I bought. I also keep bread, 100% peanut butter, hummus, yogurt and oatmeal on hand. By keeping a food journal too I've been able to track what all is in the food I eat. It's amazing how fatty and heavily salted food on campus can be.
It's not impossible to eat healthy in college. The food in the cafeteria tends to not be the most nutritious but if you eat a healthy salad (without loads of cheese, meat, or dressing full of fat), something simple like pasta with sauce, and fruits, you'll be well off. It's important to find time to cook a good meal and doing it in bulk will really help save time too.
It's hard to eat healthy when you are so stressed out about assignments and exams, but I will try to eat more healthy food this year.
Great lens, with great ideas! :)
I'd like to just stay healthy for the next day. It's something new I'm working towards and 4 years is way to hard at this point!
Let's face it, every one of us is dying to have the size, shape, proportions, or fitness that we want to have. Miami Food Delivery will help you get the body you want!
I am showing this lens to my college aged son. He is all on board with eating healthy but doesn't know how to do it cheaply.
I love this lens! You have really put together some great info. This is a good resource, especially for those new to college. It's too easy to just order pizza.
Wow great lens! I'll definitely pass it on.
great for my small budget
Very good ideas for healthy food on a small budget
A very good lens indeed
nice yummy lens
I want to say thank you for this lens. It give a lot of tips and clear direction on how to eat healthy while off at school. I know in my fist year, I couldn't find anything healthy to eat. It takes creativity for sure.
Nice lens to eat healthy while in college. Angel Blessings! Please add your lens on the Not Zazzle Lens plexo on http://www.squidoo.com/august-2011-zazzle-sales-an...
i always want to be a vegan but my family always cook meat, and i couldn't hold that temptation. Any idea?
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College students should read this lens. This is a healthy diet solution for young students, keeps the body healthy and mind alert. Which is essential for a student... However, this is really good for everyone, young and old.
@DailySkin: Eating healthy indeed is getting a healthy body and mind :)
Good idea for students and those on the go. We should try to eat more vegetables in stead of meat.
When I was in college, all we ever ate were grilled cheese sandwiches made with an iron and a healthy diet of Ramen noodles. Great lens.
eating healthy food is really cool. great lens!
Great stuff!! I like your lens; itâs very informative and engaging. Iâm also building a site Drinking how much is too much which is really useful for drinkers.
Great lens on healthy eating in colleges....thanks for sharing.
Thanks for some great tips. All the best!
Very helpful lense, especially since school serve horrible food (in terms of weight & health)
I'm headed to college in the fall and I'll definitely be using some of your suggestions. I also plan to join a fun exercise club, like yoga or zumba. We'll see!
Love the Are Humans Carnivores? video. Yes, I'm planning to stay healthy as much as possible. I hope I can. Nice lens by the way! cheese shop
Avoiding the "freshman 15" by having a healthy diet during the college years is so important, especially for active college students who are pursuing a DePuy Pinnacle Lawsuit due to side effects from metal toxicity, such as depression leading to weight gain, caused by defective metal-on-metal hip replacements. Thanks!
I am planning to go to college and i am planning to lose weight, i hope this work because i do not want to be the victim of freshmen 15.
greats lens for college students!
Excellent Lens! Too bad all college student don't have to read it.
Our son is addicted to coffee so we got him a Keurig single cup coffee brewers for his dorm room along with a mini refrigerator because he loves all of the fruit I raise in our garden.
Great Lens - gonna tell my daughter about it!
Interesting lens..lots of info taken..thanks...
Zimmer Hip Recall
Great lens, some great tips and ideas in this.
thanks for the lovely lens! im a healthyvore! cheers
great idea for a lens! Its hard to find good food to eat as a college kid! this gives me some good ideas =) thx
sorry forgot to leave my lens address https://hubpages.com/education/online-nutrition-ed
Hey i like your lens as i am a person who is always keen in promoting the importance of nutrition, i am happy to read a really informative lens on nutrition.
Do check out my lens as well referring to online nutrition education.
Great lens, students need to eat better! cheers
Great idea, great lens! When I was in college, the food was pretty bad in the dorm, so the next year 3 of my friends and I moved to an apt and cooked our own food. way better!
Great Lens
@anonymous: Reading articles that can educate you with certain illness and about health is a must, well these kind of articles can help you to be aware or prevent such kind of illness like colon cancer well colon cleanse can be very useful in preventing colon cancer as well as taking extenze
Just stopping by to say hello. Hope all is going well.
Splendid lens. Protein shakes are great for College and workouts.
I recently had a Vegan Burger and it was so delicious, I am a huge Fan of them!! I think I will have one today!! Thanks for making me Hungry!
Great lens!
a great lens, a great start! GOOD LUCK! thanks, my mom is a cancer survivor, so I know what is the healthy food.
Love reading this Lens.... Thanks.
Great lens! love to go on diet. thanks.
My son has lost 100 Lbs in 18 months, and every morning he has a Joan's Sweet Treat for breakfast. They come in two flavors Original and Oatmeal Raisin. They have 175 calories and 183 calories respectively. They are made with 100% natural ingredients, but the most important ingredient is the WHOLE wheat flour. This is not your regular store bought ENRICHED wheat flour. This is the grain ground into flour with ALL the nutrients that nature intended. These granola bars are VERY FILLING and will stick to your ribs. My son (age 20) would eat a bar on the way to his 8:00 class and he is satisfied until lunch. ALL for 175 calories.
Please visit the website WWW.NATURALTREATS.ORG
They taste great and you will enjoy them.
Wow, very informative lens, and so true!
I'm glad you made this lens. College is a time when people really start to attain bad eating habits being out on their own (hence the "Freshman 15" thing), so it's imperative that they squash it before it spirals into an unhealthy habit. Great lens!
Great lens, money seems tight for many college students and it is great if they can find healthy foods to eat!
This is a great lens, full of healthy ideas for college students and kispy too!
Check out www.dormzy.com, Dormzy is a great way to shop for all your favorite college foods. Dormzy is an online convenience store for college students. They specialize in college delivery and dorm delivery. They have every college student favorite college food and dorm food. But, they have great healthy selections that can help keep off the freshman 15.
This is so true!!! Trying to eat healthy while on a budget and on the go is nearly impossibe! Some of these recipes are near genius and I can't wait to try them out. Not enough college kids cook at home and they don't know what they're missing out on?!?
Very cool lens! It is so hard to maintain healthy eating when you're away from home at college. You gave some great tips here that will be really useful for kids in the same situation. I featured this lens on mine titled Top Ten College Dorm Essentials.
Healthy eating in college is a touch thing to do. I did it, but I was given good information from very reputable resources. This Lens is great because it gives people solid knowledge as to what they should do and what they should avoid. I made sure everyday that I'd have a good detox juice and try to avoid certain things in my diet. Food is now full of so many toxins and chemicals, but if we ensure we eat raw, quality food with anti-oxidants, we can counter-balance a lot of the side effects of our environment.
I also made sure I avoided microwaves. Irridation can have altering, and in fact, harmful effects to your food. In other words, the food you eat from a microwave can have harmful effects to you. "You are what you eat" in the sense that if you're eating food that is altered by a microwave, you are eating something that should not be in your body. Anyway, there's much more, but I'll save it for another day. ;)
Thanks for the great Lens
This is such an amazing resource and I thank you on behalf of the whole college community for this. Actually, I thank you for raising awareness to the people that need it, which is everyone.
It is incredible how what you eat effects everything from in to out. Eat well and it will be reflected not just how you feel (which is very important, of course) but also how you look and it becomes readily apparent in your skin. That is one of the first indicators. Acne if a huge issue, primarily due to what you eat. My friend and I at
This is good information for college students. I am vegetarian, though it's been a long time since college. Spaghetti in a toaster oven -- I wouldn't have thought that. I will say that even when I went to college, the U of A had some good options in the student union, which included a salad bar with pasta salad, fairly fresh peas, fresh spinach etc.
Wow... I wish had known about this lens when I was in college :) It would have made a difference for sure. Here's a link that perhaps healthy college students might find interesting too.... especially those looking for more "get-up-and-go" https://hubpages.com/health/natural-energy-chews
Great lens 5* I am lenrolling to my healthy eating lens. Great job.
I suggest they buy a bag of flax seed meal and sprinkle it on lots of things...very healthy...lensrolling
I definitely learned a few things. Nice job! Really good info.
Great tips ~ thank you~
Great Lens! Great tips! Thanks for putting together. If you are looking for a check list of snacks to print out before you move in, go to http://raising-roots.com/2009/08/healthy-snack-lis...
there are so many temptations in college when it comes to food! i guess that's why people in highschool don't recognize you anymore when you have your reunion after college or something. it's because you probably gained a few flabs in your stomach. thanks for sharing this article. it really helps college students to stay healthy.
What a great resource! I loved reading your lens. My daughter left for college yesterday and I've been looking over lenses today for some great recipes. 5 Stars for you!
Thanks for the food pyramid, it's pasted on my fridge now... :) Great lens, would rate it 5 stars... By the way Super Size Me is an eye-opening movie... You're welcome to visit diabetes and lose weight
Very nice lens, 5***** Great ideas for eating sensibly. It's amazing how much junk we can consume, even when we think we are eating healthily.
I don't remember ever eating healthy, per se, during my college experience. Hell, I don't remember doing anything healthy during those years unless you count exercise of the more provocative nature.lol. Wonderful lens though. I do love my veggies as well.
Wow what a great lens. And if anyone is looking for some healthy meal plans This is one of my favorite health & fitness sites. It lets you track food, workouts, and calories!
It took me two years to start eating healthy at school; thanks to production at my school job, I learned from my co-workers how to eat healthy and deliciously! Whole in the Wall has organic, healthy food!
Wow this lens is impressive! I like it =)
I'm promoting a group on health and fitness, if interested please join and share your lenses :]
www.squidoo.com/groups/startlivinghealthy
Wow! This is a great info for all of us.
I really like your lens! so I gave you 5*.. how about that?!...
Please try to stop by my lens. I would really much appreciate if you could rate mine too!
Thank you so much!
Zion
Lets all have a healthy Living!! very healthy lens..
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