Watching What You Eat
by Juliana Rodriguez
Photography courtesy of Noor Nasser
For many college students, winter break means going home and indulging in all sorts of treats. Luckily for students at BU, healthy foods are within reach on campus. From the dining hall to the GSU, students are always surrounded by healthy options on campus.
When it comes to eating on campus, it can be quite easy to be drawn in by the endless amounts of pizza and dessert in the dining halls, but the trick to staying healthy is avoiding those sections. The three main dining halls — Marciano Commons, Warren and West — all have their own salad bars containing ingredients to add character to even the plainest of salads. If salad isn’t your idea of a complete meal, the dining halls also have gluten free sections which tend to have relatively healthy options. The great thing about the gluten free station is that the meals offered typically consist of a protein, carb, and vegetable, so the one station alone provides a full meal. The dining halls are also equipped with fresh fruit stations. A perk of these fresh fruit stations is that students are permitted to take one piece of fresh fruit out of the dining hall for later consumption.
“Warren is notorious for giving small portions,” said Isabella Civitarese (CAS ’21). “So, bask in the glory and don’t go back for seconds. Also avoid the dessert table.”
At the GSU there is a multitude of healthy choices. Similar to the dining hall, it is easy to be swayed by the unhealthy options, but don’t let the abundance of choices prevent you from seeing the healthy potential. Both Loose Leafs and Charles River Bread Company are both great choices. Loose Leafs allows people to pick and choose what goes into their salads and even has a series of protein options to choose from. The best part about Loose Leafs is that their menu rotates every week to accommodate a different flavor theme.
One of the hidden dining options on campus is at FitRec. There is a food bar on the first floor which offers healthy snacks and smoothies. These options are perfect for after a good workout at the gym, a PDP class or maybe just a mid-day snack on the way to class. You can create your own smoothie or just order one from their menu, which includes dairy free options. In addition to that, you can add ingredients like protein to smoothies to increase the health benefits.
“After going to the gym, I really like getting the berry smoothie from Healthy Blends and adding protein to it,” said Meredith Varner (COM ’21). “It’s a great way of making sure I’m hydrated and well-nourished after my workout.”
The secret master behind BU Dining Services’ twitter, @BUDiningService, said that the best way to eat healthy on campus is to take advantage of the special menus they run with the help of BU’s student nutritionists. “When thinking about eating healthy, Dining Services has a great partnership with The Sargent Choice Nutrition Center and we feature Sargent Choice menu items everyday on campus,” BU Dining Services said.
Even though getting back to eating healthy after the holidays seems daunting, on campus healthy food is readily available for the taking. And while dessert typically isn’t considered part of a healthy diet, a cookie here and there might just be the cure to the study blues.