When I first moved into my dorm at IU last August, one of my major concerns was food. I consider myself to be a pretty health-conscious person and I wasn’t looking forward to transitioning from eating nutritious, home-cooked meals every day to relying on dining halls and living without a kitchen.
Fortunately, after two semesters of dorm-living, I have managed to maintain a healthy and nutritious diet while eating at dining halls and preparing food in my dorm room.
No matter which meal plan you choose, there are plenty of options. IU has five “All You Care To Eat” dining halls, seven campus cafes and there are plenty of restaurants just off campus.
Here are some of my personal tips, along with advice from fellow IU students, for healthy dining hall eating.
Prioritize protein and healthy snacks
In my dorm room, I have prioritized high protein, affordable and easy meals such as tuna and rice bowls, protein smoothies and egg bite cups. I also make sure to have healthier snacks on hand, like protein bars, fruits and vegetables. I’m a huge fan of nutritional yeast because it’s a complete protein with fiber and vitamins, and is a great additive to soup and pasta, which are easy to prepare in a dorm.
Look for healthier options at dining halls
In the dining halls, I generally avoid the fried food options and head to the salad bar or Heartland. Heartland at the Forest Quad Dining Hall always has cooked vegetables and entrees like chicken breast or roasted salmon, which are healthier options than pizza or fried chicken.
Don’t take dining halls for granted
IU freshman Demetri Fallidas said he thinks people take the convenience of IU dining halls for granted and said there are plenty of healthy options to choose from.
“I feel like it’s your own decision, what you want to eat and what you want to stay away from,” Fallidas said. “I would say the dining halls here are pretty decent.”
For healthier meals at dining halls, Fallidas said he goes for high protein options.
“I usually come (to Forest) and get an omelet, maybe some bacon,” Fallidas said. “Then maybe for lunch, just like chicken, lettuce, rice and that’s pretty much all.”
Avoid sugary drinks like sodas
IU sophomore Charlotte Loechner is a transfer student from Savannah College of Art and Design, so the spring semester has been her first at IU. Loechner said a piece of advice she would give incoming freshmen would be to avoid sugary drinks.
Excess sugar consumption can result in inflammation, which can lead to the development of skin conditions like acne and eczema.
“While the soft drink fountains are so tempting, it’s been beneficial for me to just drink water, like as much water as possible, and limit the sugar,” she said. “I feel like when I was drinking a lot of soda, my skin was breaking out and it was just not good.”
Diversify your meals
IU freshman Lulia Emanuel emphasized the importance of not eating the same meal every single day. She said she mainly eats at Forest Dining Hall since she lives at Forest, but she also eats at Wells Library and the Indiana Memorial Union.
“Don’t stick to one thing every single day like I did,” Emanuel said. “I ate pizza a lot, almost like every night, but there’s a lot of choices here, so, you know, explore your options and see what you like.”
Maintain an eating schedule and avoid skipping meals
IU junior Owen Koehler said when he first moved to IU, he ate at Forest frequently for its salad bar. Koehler said he recommends incoming freshmen maintain a consistent eating schedule and avoid skipping meals.
“It’s hard starting freshman year because you’re on your own for the first time,” Koehler said. “So you know, just trying to actually eat meals throughout the day instead of skipping meals and studying instead of going to the dining hall and eating.”
Buy healthier snacks for the dorm
IU sophomore Daisy Desilvia said a mistake she made as a freshman was not making healthier snack choices at the store.
“When I first moved in, when I would go to Target or whatever to get stuff for the dorm, I would just get a bunch of junk food snacks, because I like to eat that stuff a lot, but I could’ve been buying fruit to put in my fridge,” Desilvia said. “We had a blender, like I could have made smoothies or something in there, but I just never did that.”
For more information about dining options at IU, visit the IU Dining website.
