Healthiest Foods at the Diner

“With great power, comes great responsibility,” Uncle Ben famously told his grandson clothed in his Spiderman disguise. As college students, we can relate to Peter Parker. We have unparalleled freedoms in our classes, our friends, and the ultimate freedom: our food choices. But with this freedom, comes the responsibility to eat healthy, to eat right, and to avoid the “Freshman 15."

South Campus, The Diner, and 251 North Dining are the three main dining halls for students who live on campus. Regardless of their reputation for serving unwholesome or unappetizing food, these dining halls have integrated healthy options for those watching their diets or simply just those who want to eat healthy.

Breakfast

Since breakfast is considered a crucial part of your day, it’s important to select food options that will give you that much needed boost after just rolling out of bed. Scrambled eggs—minus the cheese!—are a good way to start your day due to their richness in protein and vitamin B. In the dining halls, a 4 and a half ounce serving or a little under two scoops of scrambled eggs contains 16.8 grams of protein, 8% calcium, and are only 140 calories. In addition, scrambled eggs contain choline, an essential nutrient found in Vitamin B that helps boost metabolism and the central nervous system.

Lunch

For lunch, the diners offer an even larger variety of food. To continue being healthy after your wisely-selected breakfast item, you can opt for a meal with a hearty amount of vegetables. The Diner on North Campus offers Vegan Black Bean burgers that accommodate not only those following a Vegan diet, but also those who want to incorporate vegetables without having to eat them alone. These burgers contain red and green peppers, corn, oats, and quinoa—high in protein and one of the very few plant-based foods that contain all essential amino acids. The burger itself is only 120 calories, and only 18 of them are from fat.

Another way to incorporate vegetables seamlessly into a tasty meal is by selecting the Stir Fry Squash and Peppers. The Stir Fry contains squash which is rich in Vitamin A and magnesium as well as vegetables like zucchini and peppers. A 3-ounce portion is only 24 calories and only contains 11.6 milligrams of sodium.

Dinner

To complete a day of healthy eating, you can reward yourself with the diners’ Rotisserie Chicken—a high-calorie, but still healthy, food item. Although one serving size contains 330 calories, one piece of the chicken contains 27.4 grams of protein. In addition, because it is white meat and not fried, it is a healthy alternative to chicken wings or chicken tenders often served alongside it. Butternut Squash Green Pepper Lentils, a food item in the legume family that is gaining popularity for being one of the world’s healthiest foods, are full of good calories—only 11 out of the 109 calories are from fat. Even though the portion may seem small, these lentils have the power of filling you up.

In general, the dining halls aren’t a haven for the healthiest foods, but with the right substitutions and sides, it isn’t too hard to stay healthy in college. Opting for a bowl of fruit or salad rather than reaching for that sugary side is a good way to start. The smoothies bar, that offers a variety of flavors from Kale Banana Peach to Pineapple Blueberry Yogurt, often boasts of its all-natural, no-sugar added smoothies—perfect for when you are craving a sweet drink.

While making food choices at the diner, we must remember that with this great power, comes the responsibility to choose right to choose healthy. Let’s make Peter Parker proud.