Healthy Eats in the Dining Hall

I apologize in advance for only having one photo

As a college student, especially a college student with a meal plan, it can be challenging to stay on track with making smart and healthy food choices in the dining halls. Last year when I lived in the dorms and had a 7 day meal plan with no access to a kitchen, I thought it would be much easier to make healthy choices once I lived off campus and could do all my own cooking. In some ways it is so convenient to have a kitchen, but I don't think I really appreciated the perks of the dining hall until I no longer had unlimited access to them. 

The past two quarters, I wound up buying several individual meals so I could stay properly fueled up for the days that I had to be on campus for more than just a few hours. I usually go after my German class which ends a little after noon, so it's the perfect time to have a quick bite and hang out with friends. Actually, it's rarely quick. We usually wind up loitering in the dining hall for solid hour or two (I'm a professional procrastinator when I need to be :)

So let me get to the point. A lot of people struggle with the fact that the dining hall is all you can eat. They almost always have pizza, burgers, fries and other oh so tempting but oh so fattening foods. While these foods can definitely make it challenging to make good choices, it is by no means impossible. At my school, we are really lucky in that we have a lot of vegan and vegetarian options. Even though I am by no means either of those, it's nice to have the variation and the options. Also, the salad and sandwich bars are always good choices. Lots of protein (like cold cuts and tofu) and tons of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Here's a run down of some ideas for things to eat in the DH!

Breakfast:

1. Scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, fruit

2. Scrambled eggs with cottage cheese (I'm so not a cottage cheese fan but my friend Noam loves cottage cheese and eggs!) 

3. Oatmeal with low fat yogurt and berries

4. Oatmeal with brown sugar and little bit of low fat milk and a banana

5. Peanut butter on toast with banana slices

6. "Pooh Bear Sandwich"- toast with peanut butter, honey and a few slices of bacon (I know it sounds weird but it is SO good) 

Lunch: 

1.Whole wheat or 12 grain bread, sliced turkey (or other cold cuts), low fat cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, sprouts and pesto. 

2.Whole wheat bread, ham, cheese and tomato heated up on the panini press with a side salad or cup of soup 

3. Mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, carrots, jicama and feta cheese (I don't like dressing, but oil and vinegar is always a good choice) 

4. Sushi! Sometimes our dining halls have sushi, and though it definitely isn't restaurant quality, it's still good 

Dinner: dinner is trickier because it varies a lot depending on what the DH offers. I try and stick to lean proteins like chicken and tofu and just eat tons of veggies. Remember Annie from my last post? She's the peanut butter queen so I often follow in her footsteps and have peanut butter and fruit for dessert. We also have ice cream machines that often have non fat choices so that's good when we're craving something a little more desert like! 

Anyway, that's all I have for now. Off to work and then study like a mad woman for my finals on Tuesday! 

Let's Get Real

It's crunch time for the quarter kids (actually if you've read my previous posts you'll know that it's almost always crunch time on the quarter system!) It's week 10 which means at this time next week I'll be done with my sophomore year of college. Holy crap. Not sure if I should be excited or terrified.

Anywho, I've been doing lots of thinking (and talking) lately and I've come to some realizations. Wanna hear? Ok, here it goes:

No matter what I accomplish or achieve, I never allow myself to feel good enough. Ever. I rarely celebrate my victories, am quick to judge myself and can't take a compliment to save my life. This my friends, is not okay!  I am incredibly hard on myself when it comes to my physical progress on this whole journey to health. I've come a longggg way but I continue to put myself down. One of my closest friends and I were talking recently about how we both need to be kinder to ourselves. We are constantly griping about how lost we feel for not knowing exactly what we want in life, how we need to lose weight, how we need to make changes in our study habits etc. However, we rarely acknowledge the fact that we must be doing something right considering we're still here.

At this point in my life, there is a lot going on. And by a lot I mean so much so that I can barely remember my name by the end of the day. With CKI, school, babysitting, volunteering, traveling and everything else that somehow manages to work its way in there, I barely have time to sleep. I try to stay on track with my food and my exercise but it is so hard sometimes.

So here's how I plan to address these things (some suggestions courtesy of my bestie, Miss Annie!)

1. No. More. "Fat". Talk. (Here's the link to an article from the NYT that explains a little more). We need to talk to ourselves like we would talk to a friend in the same situation. Be kind!
2. Take time to figure out what works and what doesn't! My summer schedule is a little funky but I hopefully won't be working as much as summers' past so I have some time to work on my routine. I've been thinking for awhile now that I need to revisit my days of being a morning workout person. We'll see how it goes!
3. Cliche but, "It's about the journey, not the destination." I need to appreciate what I'm going through and what I've already experienced. It's been a tough road but I have worked so hard and I deserve to recognize that and take credit where credit is due.

I apologize if this post was a little all over the place. It's pretty much "stream of consciousness" so it's not the most organized.

To end, here are a few of my recent breakfasts. I've been craving eggs like nobody's business lately! Super easy to make and oh so tasty! Basically I just toss in whatever veggies I have on hand. The picture on the top has really yummy Italian chicken sausage in it from TJ's :D