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Healthy food is abundant on campus, but it is not always a popular option with students, said Ingrid Jorud, a health education consultant at UNM.
Jorud said students, especially freshmen, do not always have information about the healthy options at campus eateries.
“Students are not aware of what’s available,” she said. “I think it’s easy if you know where to look.”
Jorud said students should avoid popular restaurants in the SUB, such as Sonic and Chick-fil-A, because of their extensive variety of fried foods. She said the main problem with foods at these places is their portion sizes.
“As a general rule, you can probably divide everything in half, and that would be the right portion size,” she said.
But La Posada executive chef Shawn Weed said almost all these restaurants have healthy options. He admits that food in the SUB tends to be fried and fattening, but he said eating healthy depends on students’ self-control.
“Even Chick-fil-A has a grilled chicken on a whole wheat bun,” he said. “It’s not the most healthy thing once you put barbecue sauce on it, or mayonnaise or bacon, but if you just get it as it is, it’s actually good for you.”
Weed said La Posada offers the healthiest options on campus. There are nine food sections in the on-campus cafeteria, and two of them in particular provide healthy options to students, he said. He said a section called “Balanced You” includes low-fat and low-sodium recipes, while the vegetarian section called “Garden Emporium” has quinoa, brown rice and tofu, which are rich in protein.
Weed said La Posada has a salad bar that always contains three kinds of cut fruits and two kinds of greens.
Jorud said that although La Posada still has foods such as burgers and fries, it could be the healthiest option on campus because of the wide variety of food available.
Food in the SUB can be “tricky,” but Jorud said she recommends the Middle Eastern eatery Sahara. She also recommends New York Deli, a sandwich shop.
Jorud said it is important to monitor eating habits and eat more fruits and vegetables as a general rule. The nutritional value for on-campus food is available at La Posada’s website and at each individual restaurant’s site, which students should look at before deciding what to eat.
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“Get something with more vegetables on it,” she said. “The more color, the better. You’re going to get more nutrients that way.”
Weed said it’s possible to eat healthy for the same or even lower cost than fast food. He said salads or vegetarian dishes may be cheaper than fast food.
“For example, if you go to Sonic and get the bacon cheeseburger, some french fries and a soda, it’s probably going to be eight bucks,” he said. “If you went almost anywhere and got a vegetable wrap, a side salad and an iced tea, it’s probably not going to be $8.”
Weed said the on-campus restaurant does not offer a lot of healthy food because healthy options, such as quinoa salads and spinach wraps, are not as popular as fast food. But he said the demand for healthy food on campus has increased, and he expects it to grow more by the end of the semester.
“The more people eat the healthy food, the more of it we provide,” he said. “We don’t want to make a bunch of food and if no one’s going to buy it, it gets thrown away.”
