Most freshmen worry about gaining the dreaded freshman fifteen. It comes from multiple factors, a main one being the unlimited amounts of food at the dining hall. While there may be an abundance of food around you, you don’t need to eat it all. Take my tips to learn what’s actually going to be good for you.
Photo by Caroline Appleby
1. Take advantage of the salad bar.
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From choosing your type of lettuce all the way down to the salad dressing, you can make your salad exactly the way you like at Mrs. E’s. They’ll even toss the salad for you. A lot of times E’s will have a protein on the side that many people miss, but this is key. Don’t say a salad won’t fill you up, I dare you to try one today.
2. Wheat bread.
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It’s great to be able to make our own sandwiches at the Cutting Board, but this also can cause an overload on carbs. So first, choose wheat bread. Second, load up your sandwich with vegetables. Skip the cheese (or pick the healthiest option), skip those unnecessary calories, and go for protein and veggies.
3. One plate.
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Keep yourself set on only one plate. With having the all you can eat option at KU dining halls, you can have the idea that you should go up and multiple times and try everything. At Mrs. E’s you have the temptations of Chinese food, then pizza, and even chicken tenders, but when you go into the dining hall you should limit yourself to that one plate. You can sample from different stations, but one plate is key.
4. Mix and match stations.
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You don’t have to limit yourself to one station. You can take chicken tenders and cut them up and put them on your salad. Alternatively, you can get bread (wheat of course) from the cutting board and put your pulled pork on it.
5. Drink water.
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There is an unlimited amount of pops, teas, and everything in between in Mrs. E’s, but I recommend you stay away. Take advantage of the flavored water. This water is infused with different fruits and vegetables and makes it much sweeter to drink. Drinking water is good in the first place, but it’ll save you the unnecessary calories and sugar overload in the end.
If you follow these tips and tricks like I did, it will help you stay away from the dreaded freshman fifteen and help you learn how to eat well everyday.