Fresh and Green: Mindful Eating for the Busy College Kid

Some days we don't leave our beds, watch an entire netflix series and eat pizza, and other days we eat vegetables, dress with a purpose, get a workout in, and go to bed early- it's called balance. Balance is the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle as a busy college kid, and along with that comes not giving up entirely when you have a rough day. Let's be honest, we all have our rough days. A big part of balance is making little choices or switching out unhealthy things for the more healthy option offered. This specifically applies to our nutritional choices in a dining hall that offers pizza until 11pm every night, baked goods, fried foods and other tempting foods at our finger tips at all hours of the day. While that may be true (and pizza for every meal is tempting), eating healthy in the dining halls is a lot easier then one may think if you get a little creative. Small choices like swapping out the greasy cheesy breakfast sandwich for yogurt and fruit or the foot long sub for a veggie-loaded salad will put you on the path to make better food choices.

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For a long time I had been interested in going vegan, but shied away from it at the scary thought of trying to make that work as a college kid on a meal plan and still get the nutrients I need. However, when I decided to forget about my concerns and go for it, I realized it was much easier (and tastier) than I have initially thought. If you have ever considered going vegetarian, vegan, or just want to make a lifestyle change but don't know what that can look like for a busy college kid on a meal plan, I want to put forth some of the many benefits and clear up some of the myths. 

Simply cutting out meat can be a big step for most of us who have been eating it our whole lives, so naturally taking it a step further by cutting out meat, dairy, and eggs is a huge lifestyle change. According to PETA, the number of people making the lifestyle switch is skyrocketing in recent years and it is with good reason. To start, it's not an unhealthy and ineffective fad diet, but rather a lifestyle that is sure to give you more energy than ever before. The health benefits are endless, and according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegans are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure, which have been plaguing the United States because of unhealthy eating habits. 

If the health benefits aren't persuading enough, most meat lovers back away from the stuff when they learn what is really on most of the meat we eat- feces, blood, and other bodily fluids. Meat is top source of food poisoning in the United States, and that's no surprise when you take a lot into what really must be done to get that burger you're eating for lunch. Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health tested supermarket chicken flesh and found that 96 percent of Tyson chicken was contaminated with campylobacter, a dangerous bacterium that causes 2.4 million cases of food poisoning each year, resulting in diarrhea, cramping, abdominal pain, and fever. The more people that rid off the meat industry that is a huge contributor to pollution and climate change, the more people we can feed. It takes about 13 pounds of grain to produce one pound of animal meat, whereas that 13 pounds of plant food could be directly feeding people and helping the hungry. 

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*Side note: There are plenty of disturbing and cringe-worthy images of the inhumane and unsanitary conditions that meat comes from, but I didn't exactly want to include them. However, be warned that they are there if you are curious. 

The myth that humans need animal products to maintain a healthy diet is just that- a myth. Scientific research is catching up to that argument, proving it to be empty and in compassionate. The United States foremost authority on diet and nutrition, the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, has blatantly said there humans have no inherent biological or nutritional need for animal products. Another myth that needs shattering is that it is impossible to get enough protein without eating meat. There is a surprising amount of protein in an extensive list of foods that you are most likely already eating. Foods such as quinoa, soy foods such as soy yogurt and tofu, rice and beans, hummus, broccoli, nuts and peanut butter, oatmeal, chickpeas, spinach, potatoes... and the list goes on and on. 

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While completely turning your eating habits upside is not always easy or possible, it is possible to make more mindful choices about what you put in your body. After all, it is about balance and making nutritional choices that will fuel you all day and best suit your level of active lifestyle. It has taken some serious dining commons exploring, but I have compiled a list of vegan options for each meal for anyone interested in swapping out a animal-based meal for a plant-based one. 

Breakfast ideas:

-Grandola + Almond Milk + Fruit

-Banana + Peanut Butter

-Soy Yogurt + Granola

-Whole Wheat Bagel + Avocado

-Oatmeal+ Fruit

-Smoothie with Almond Milk + Fruits and Veggies

Lunch ideas:

- Banana +Oatmeal

-Veggie Salad

-Veggie Burger

-Quinoa

Dinner Ideas:

-Whole Wheat Pasta

-Salad + Soup

-Brown rice+ Vegetables 

-Sweet Potato and Vegetables 

-Soup and Fruits

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If you get creative and start practicing mindfulness in the commons and while dining out with friends, adding nutritional value to your meals to sustain you all day can be easy, fun, and a little addicting. Simply by scoping out the options offered in the buffet daily, finding what you like (and what you don't like), and finding a balance you can easily revamp your body and start giving it the nutrients it needs. Even if you can't possibly give up your cheese burger or ice-cream (because sometimes you just need that), I challenge everyone to make a healthy plant-based swap this week!