When young people leave their parents’ houses and go to study in another city, they get a huge portion of freedom they never had before. They feel like adults who can do whatever they want and break the “boring” rules of their moms not to eat junk food that much. However, such permissiveness doesn’t last for too long since students feel the deterioration in their physical and mental states that inevitably affects the academic performance as well. Thus, whether they like it or not, they have to reconsider their attitude toward nutrition and start treating moms’ words more seriously. It is when students start noticing that university cafeterias are full of many food options, but most of them are not nutritious to the required extent. You can come across various carbonated drinks and food full of fat, oils, and other non-healthy components. For example, hamburgers, pizza, and pastry are on the list of the most common meals in a school canteen. Many young people face weight issues during their first two years of studies since their eating habits leave much to be desired. What kind of options are available for healthy lunches in university canteens
Learn to make a healthy choice in a canteen
Studying at the university is a very energy-consuming thing since you spend many efforts dealing with all the assignments, especially when you reject writing essays with SuperbGrade. Thus, you need healthy food to support your physical and mental states and not run empty in the long run. However, it is not enough to grab anything you come upon in the university canteen since the quality of food you consume is of great importance. You should learn to make healthy choices daily whether you pop in a school cafeteria or supermarket. Even though you can really run into junk food in a canteen, it is worth paying attention to the whole range of options. The chances are high that it will turn out that you can find nutritious foods there as well. If you study at a national university, the latter should meet the demands of the Dietary Guidelines that suggest decreasing saturated fat usage and providing food with the required amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals.
Count calories you consume
The federal guidelines suggest that students’ lunch should contain no more than 30% of calories from fat. Thus, when you grab a hamburger and another similar item, your lunch will exceed the norm of fats and will be too hearty. It is better to accompany it with more healthy products. For example, you can opt for a salad, fruit, or low-fat yogurt instead of a double hamburger or fatty sandwich. If you cannot decide what option to choose, it is worth counting calories not to exceed your daily norm dramatically.
Eat more fruits and vegetables
Many people turn a blind eye to consuming vegetables and fruits daily as part of healthy lunch options, even though they are crucial for proper digestion. If you want to have a balanced diet, you should try to add some cucumbers or tomatoes to your sandwiches or take at least a small portion of lettuce salad. Besides, you can always make a smoothie or opt for gelatin desserts with berries and fruits instead of a chocolate bar. It is not to mention an apple or a banana as a great snack by itself.
Avoid excessive fats
Everybody knows that your daily food should contain some fats since they are a wonderful source of energy. However, considering the fact that you eat three or four times a day, it is worth choosing low-fat options for lunch when eating in the university canteen. The thing is that it is easy to overdo it with fat consumption when you grab some non-healthy meal. For example, a portion of French fries or potato chips can make your daily fat norm. So, it is better to opt for some healthier replacements.
Avoid vending machines
When you have short breaks and want to grab some snacks, it can be tempting to use a vending machine instead of standing in canteen lines. However, you should realize that your choice will hardly be healthy since chips, chocolate bars, and similar stuff don’t contain any healthy ingredients but negatively affect your blood sugar level. Reliable online essay service can help you clear up your schedule and make room for visiting the supermarket and grab healthier food options to take with you to school.
Pack healthy lunch from home
If your university canteen cannot boast of healthy lunches, it is worth thinking about packing one from home. Thus, you can be sure of the food quality and take everything to your liking. If you don’t have special food preferences, you can make up a well-balanced lunch option and grab it daily. However, you can experiment with ingredients to create a perfect variant or two. If it is about a sandwich, you can try different types of bread, meats, vegetables, fruits, etc. You can bring some nuts and fruits as a snack. The modern market offers a huge number of different food containers, and it is pretty trendy to take food with you, so you will not look weird. Besides, you shouldn’t forget about drinking pure water. Suppose you are used to opting for a cup of coffee instead of other drinks. In that case, it is worth reducing caffeine consumption gradually and replacing it with ordinary water with lemon (if you like some flavors).
