Healthy Eating at GU

Written by Christina Bowman. Media by Momoka Murata.

Students have been complaining about food options on campus long before our transition to Greenville University. Whether it be not having enough healthy options in the Dining Commons or the Union being too expensive­, some days the choices are slim. One student said, “They don’t have enough healthy options and they don’t have much of a variety.” Believe it or not, though, there are some tips and tricks to eating healthy on campus.

First and foremost, the Union can (1) be too expensive, and (2) it can be very unhealthy if you let it. Unfortunately, there is not much students can do about the price of food, but there is something they can do about the second problem.

Here are 3 ways to make healthier choices at the Union:

• Most meals automatically come with cheese, so be sure to ask for it without. Next time you are ordering your favorite wrap, try it without cheese to see if there is even a noticeable difference. Most of the time it tastes just as good!
• Order plain grilled chicken. A lot of students are not aware that you can be as creative, or as simple, as you want in the Union. You can order as many grilled chicken breasts as you would like for $2 each. This is a decently priced option and a great source of protein!
• Choose sweet potato fries over regular fries. Even though they still aren’t the healthiest option ever, sweet potatoes are still known to be a better source of vitamins than starch-filled, white potatoes.

Besides the Union, most students eat at the Dining Commons on a regular basis. Here, it is a little easier to eat healthy because of the number of choices offered. An important aspect of eating healthy in the D.C. is making sure you are eating enough protein. A few good sources of protein always available are cottage cheese, milk, and meat. The main line always offers some type of meat — whether it is chicken, turkey, or ham, etc. If all else fails, there are always chicken and hamburgers at the grill, too.

Another good habit to adopt when on the meal plan is having a fruit and vegetable with every meal. Fresh bananas, apples, and oranges are always available at the salad bar and, oftentimes, there is also fruit salad at the deli. If the vegetables being served do not appeal, there is always the salad bar. The salad bar also often has other raw vegetables available such as carrots or cauliflower.

Lastly, skip the dessert as much as possible. The dessert bar will be there every lunch and dinner. If you are someone who is easily tempted by this, one of the best things you can do is to not look what is on the dessert bar and limit yourself to one to two per week or only on the weekends.

Next time you find yourself on a health kick with nowhere to turn, try these options in the Union or D.C!