Hello everyone, my name is Torie Estes and I am a dietetic graduate student interning with Sodexo at the beautiful home of the Gamecocks! I put together some nifty healthy eating hacks for your meals here at JSU. My hopes are that you take away one tip from this list that helps you live your healthiest year yet!
1. Add one type of colorful vegetable to every meal
The goal of a meal is to make it as colorful as possible. This ensures that you are meeting all your important nutrients every day. Try adding one type of colorful vegetable to your meal. The most common is bell peppers. They come in green, yellow, red and orange. Try this hack— Dip them in hummus, or top them on your taco salad for added crunch!
2. Have fruit for dessert
When you are stressed out around exam time it is easy to reach for sugary desserts. I know some nights I felt like just having ice cream for supper after a long day of stressful classes and exams; however, this does not help the stress in the body. Foods like these cause skin breakouts, weight gain, and trips to the bathroom (if you know what I mean). Instead of having sugary sweets try reaching for fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth. Fruits offer nutrients and hydration that helps you feel refreshed instead of bogged down. Try this hack- Eat your banana with a spoon. This tricks the brain into thinking it is having something indulgent, but is healthier for you!
3. Work in some extra calcium sources
We all hear how we need to eat more fruits and vegetables (like we said above), but you don’t realize how important calcium is at your age. Calcium is important for many things in the body and the hard fact is we stop storing it before age 30. You need to take advantage of this time to eat plenty of calcium. Dairy products include calcium such as cow’s milk, yogurt, and cheese. Other sources include almond milk, nuts, and dark green leafy vegetables. Shoot for three servings a day. For example, you can have a glass of milk in the morning, add cheese to your scrambled eggs, and have yogurt for dessert at lunch—So easy a caveman can do it!
4. Drink more water
Up to 70% of your body is made of water! So obviously if we want to stay healthy and keep things moving, we need to drink a good amount of water. Water helps improve digestion, clear skin, maintain weight and so much more! Try this hack— Try drinking your water with a straw. You will drink more with a straw than sipping directly from the bottle. Doesn’t that feel refreshing already!?
5. Try new things
The dining hall has a lot of options to choose from in their sections such as pizza, deli sandwiches, gourmet salads, international foods, grill items, and full meal entrees. This is the time to try new things! Try this hack—Start with your normal menu selections and then add a bite of one new item. Do it again the next day and try something else until you find something you enjoy! Trust me it won’t bite back!
6. Start a roommate dinner club
College life can get busy- family time, friend time, study time all gets in the way. Why don’t you make a one two punch and do two at one time? Ask your friends to all meet at the caf for dinner at 5pm. It will be a good time to socialize and eat so you can save studying for when you get back to your dorm room. Or try breakfast and call it the Breakfast Club (ha, you get the picture).
7. Make your meal APP-ealing
There are ways to track the food you eat so you know you are getting in everything you need. The caf has access to an app called My Fitness Pal. A super easy way to track what you are eating is when get your meal, scan the QR code located in front of that item. It will upload and tell you exactly what was in your meal. Try this hack—Count how many servings of fruits, vegetables, and water you are having throughout your day though the app to know if you are on track.
8. Don’t skip breakfast
We have all heard breakfast is the most important meal of the day and its true! Eating breakfast ignites your metabolism which kickstarts your brain. Those hard tests at 8am are so much easier when you give your brain the fuel it needs. Try this hack—If you’re not a breakfast eater, try just eating a small handful of nuts. It can be taken on the go and will satisfy you for hours. Let’s go easy A!
9. Keep calm, and stay fresh
Preservatives are the devil, okay not literally, but I believe they may be his sidekick. They are chemicals that we introduce into our bodies that cause inflammation. It is important to eat fresh foods that will instantly nourish our bodies and give them the nutrients they need. Try this hack—In between class when you are short on time, but are needing that afternoon pick-me-up, go to Freshens and order a smoothie for the road.
10. Have a vegetarian meal
An easy way to stay healthy and get all of your vegetables in is having a vegetarian meal. No, I don’t mean turn vegan and get rid of all your leather for a day, but try to incorporate a vegetable platter for your lunch one day of the week. Try this hack—Replace your meat with a bean. It is very filling and has a high amount of protein which will keep you satisfied without having the meat.
- Torie Estes