How to eat healthy at NYU

Buzz buzz SLAM, buzz buzz SLAM. The banausic buzzing of an iPhone scheduled to go off at precisely 7am plagues the ears of the typical college student most mornings — and it’s as annoying as it is necessary.

So the day begins with a long walk to work, hours spent uptown, another walk downtown for classes, a quick stop at the gym and back to that good old cozy dorm to plunge your head into some lead-heavy textbooks, all before finally making it to bed and doing it all over again the next day. Essentially, between the hours of seven in the morning and eight in the evening, the day is booked solid and your mind is a frenzy.

All this running around can certainly build up an appetite, especially at NYU. And when you’re new here and worried about the “freshman 15” and gaining weight at school, eating can feel like a laborious task rather than something you enjoy. Luckily for us NYU students, there are plenty of healthy food restaurants nearby. But if you can’t get yourself to a good restaurant (ahem, college budget much?), don’t sweat it, here are some healthy tips so you won’t have to worry about the boisterous grumblings of your empty stomach ever again.

Carry around healthy snacks

This is a piece of advice that I find myself constantly repeating, and for good reason: have you ever found yourself so hungry when you stumble back into your dorm, exhausted after your long day, that you end up scarfing down the entire pantry? Or perhaps if you’re on a meal plan you’re always the friend getting up for seconds (and thirds, and fourths…)? That’s the reason for this useful little tip. When you have healthy and filling snacks on hand you won’t have to worry about coming home on an empty stomach because you will be satiated and energized enough to make it through that afternoon slump. Foods high in protein in particular will help keep you fuller for a longer period of time, so bring on the nuts and Greek yogurt.

Useful snacks: fresh or dried fruits, nut butters, homemade trail mix, natural protein bars (check the sugar and ingredients in these guys!), cut-up veggies (carrots, cucumbers and celery are great options!), Greek yogurt cups, lean meat jerky (think turkey or chicken).

Always be prepared

Another useful tidbit is one I know you’ve already heard: plan out your meals before your week begins. You might consider this a boring use of a Sunday, but when you come back Monday night too tired to fully prepare dinner, you’ll be relieved that you have something already planned, just waiting to be heated in the microwave. The best way to divide up your meals is to pay special attention to MyPlate, an app which provides a great visual of the divisions of your plate for each meal. Granted, these are only guidelines so don’t fret if you miss a grain or a fruit here and there: that’s what your snacks are for!

Navigate the dining hall with confidence

Ok, so you have your healthy snacks and meals prepared for your week. But what if you’re on a meal plan and have to stick with what’s being served in the cafeteria? Easy. In most dining halls there is a salad bar with fresh lean proteins and veggies just calling your name. If you can remember to stick to the MyPlate rules when portioning everything out, you’ll be golden for every meal. Some NYU dining halls that carry especially great options are:

Hayden: With meatless Monday, emphases on sustainability, no soda served and a section with granola bars (again, check that sugar content), this dining hall is a good bet for a healthy meal and even some to-go snacks.

Weinstein: An easily overlooked gem, Weinstein has its own wok for you to roast veggies so you can top off your salad with warm and filling options. As an added bonus, you’ll be refining those cooking skills in the process. Get ready to impress your friends and family back home with all that practice.

Sidestein: A classic go-to for to-go snacks like carrots and pita with hummus, bags of edamame (these guys are filled with good-for-you plant-based proteins) and trail mix (the best kinds contain plain nuts and dried fruit; remember the less ingredients, the better).

Kimmel: The dining hall and marketplace at Kimmel are classics. The only downside? Everyone knows they’re classics. But if you’re willing to brave the lines, healthy options are readily available just for you.

Ingredients are everything

I’ve mentioned ingredients a couple times before, but let’s make sure they’re fully addressed: typically, the less ingredients a food item has, the better it is for you to eat. You should try to set your mind on whole foods (there’s a reason that’s the name of a major grocery store chain) like fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins. That’s going to include roasted or steamed veggies, brown rice in place of white rice, grains like quinoa (a complete plant-based protein FYI), fish like salmon and tuna, chicken, turkey…essentially, real food.

Items that are fried, processed and found in bags (i.e. potato chips and that Chinese takeout) are much too often laden with chemicals, preservatives, excess sodium and other junk that isn’t necessarily the best for the overall functioning of your body. Whereas whole foods help you keep up your energy, the bounce in your step, sparkle in your eye and wheels turning in your head, processed foods may cause you to feel sluggish, lethargic, unmotivated and sleepy — qualities that are not conducive to the heavy reading and studying that must be done during the semester.

Be as natural as this view

Portions, portions, portions

This is a lot of information here to process, but this is a very important message I would like to get across: portions matter. Going out to restaurants or constantly ordering takeout can introduce extremely large portions, often including two or more servings per entrée. Bigger portions can mean more calories and fat, depending on how the restaurant chef cooks the food. If you go to a restaurant that you know serves large portions, kindly ask the waiter to box half of your meal to take home for later. Also be sure to order an appetizer with an emphasis on veggies beforehand so you’ll have plenty of healthy nutrients even before your main meal arrives.

It’s completely OK to treat yourself

I realize I’ve emphasized a lot of specific habits that are pretty important to keep up in college to stay healthy. But one last piece of advice I’d like to share is that everything is completely fine in moderation. Many times, people get hung up on what is the “perfect diet” and what they should or shouldn’t eat. I’m going to break it to you: there is no perfect diet. The best diet is the one that you know you can keep up with and still allow some wiggle room to enjoy that pizza and cake at your friend’s birthday party, or the cranberry sauce and stuffing on Thanksgiving. Food frequently comes with celebrations, so celebrate! Take the time to taste every flavor you’d like, and know yourself well enough to recognize when you’re full and would like to stop. Enjoy the company of your friends at school meals, and have that dark chocolate at the end of the day. Without a little room to enjoy what you’d like, your healthy diet will not be sustainable, and that’s really the goal after all: to enjoy a healthy, well-rounded diet that you’re comfortable with and can keep consistent with ease. Food should be easy, even in college. And you have the power to make it that way.