A UCF Recreation and Wellness Center Dietitian shares advice and tips on how to eat and prepare food healthfully while in college without spending your entire monthly allowance.
Eating healthy in college need not be an oxymoron.
Licensed dietitian and nutritionist Meghan Van Camp dispelled rumors that eating healthy is expensive and an overall pain in the college person’s neck Wednesday at the UCF Recreation and Wellness Center.
The event was not heavily attended, in fact there were six people there including me, but those who were present were extremely interested in what Van Camp had to say. Her main points were:
Take-out is marked up about 50 percent for the convenience factor, so learn to make make things yourself to save money and be healthier.
The majority of students’ budgets go to snacks, eating out, and nonessential drinks like coffee and soda, which are all low nutritional in value. Keep a journal for a week of what you’re spending your money on, then ask yourself, Is it worth it?
“What did Britney Spears do to lose weight? She stopped drinking her venti frappucinos every day,” Van Camp said.
Students’ main concerns were just how bad is it to skip breakfast, and how to eat healthfully with a UCF meal plan as a freshman. Van Camp’s advice was to eat breakfast every day no matter what, even if it’s something small like yogurt or a granola bar on the go. As for eating at the Marketplace or Knightro’s, portion size is key, she said.
“It’s all-you-can-eat, so you have to use correct portion sizes,” Van Camp said.
The best strategy for the college student to eat healthy without spending a lot of money, Van Camp said, is to form a routine and stick to it: grocery shop on a certain day of the week every week, bring your own snacks with you, and limit your eating out as much as possible.
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