FIND COLLEGES BY:

You’ve helped pack the clothes, boxed the stereo and purchased a year’s worth of school supplies. Your college student knows her classes, her dorm room and roommate. What did you both forget: The nutrition strategies that will prevent your child from gaining the notorious ”freshman 15.”

Eating Well in College 101
Present your college student with these tips from nutrition professionals who work in universities or who have college-age children themselves:

• Along with all the other changes that college brings, changes in eating habits are sure to happen. Give yourself time to adjust to new surroundings and new foods.
• If your campus has more than one dining hall, try them all! College students often complain of boredom with their meals — you’d be bored with any restaurant if you ate there three times a day, seven days a week and nine months out of the year!
• Remember to eat three meals every day. It may seem like you can function on caffeine alone, but your brain and body will fail you when you need them most if you routinely skip meals.
• Carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go. That way you can stop spending money on soda and other sweetened beverages, avoid unwanted calories and ensure that you’re well hydrated. A triple bonus!
• Grab a piece of fruit every time you leave the dining hall, and carry it with you for a quick snack on the go.
• After you brush your teeth in the morning, take a balanced multivitamin. It doesn’t hurt to have extra nutrition insurance!
• Experiment with vegetarian meal options. College is full of new experiences, and this is a perfect time to try different foods.
• Keep quick snacks in your room: pretzels, low-fat popcorn, high-fiber crackers, unsweetened breakfast cereal. If you purchase snacks at the grocery store instead of using vending machines, you’ll save money.
• You may think eating lunch at the salad bar is a great way to avoid gaining weight. It can be, if you:
  • Use only a small amount of low-fat or fat-free salad dressing
  • Avoid vegetable salads made with mayonnaise
  • Use only a sprinkling of cheese, nuts or seeds
  • Use legumes such as garbanzo beans or kidney beans for added protein
  • Fill up your bowl with fresh, plain veggies
• Avoid keeping high-calorie foods such as ice cream, candy and cookies in your room. Instead, eat a small portion for dessert after a meal once each day to satisfy your craving for something sweet.
• Eat breakfast! One college student I know thinks ”breakfast” is a foreign word. Breakfast can be a bagel and juice in your room or on the way to class; cereal, milk and fruit in the dining hall; or even a hot meal. Breakfast will get your body and brain ready for the day, and you’ll be less likely to snack due to mid-morning hunger attacks.
• Eat a variety of different foods. Instead of choosing peanut butter and jelly for lunch every day or stocking up on ramen noodles because they’re cheap, expand your horizons! Make sure to include fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein and dairy products in your food choices every day.
• Stock a dorm refrigerator with fat-free milk, yogurt and individually portioned canned fruits, puddings, bags of ready-to-eat lettuce or carrots for quick meals or snacks.
• Every time you visit home, package individual portions of leftovers such as spaghetti, grilled chicken or your favorite casserole to take back to school with you and store in your refrigerator. Who needs frozen dinners when you’ve got Mom?
• Make a goal of trying one new food each week. Share with a friend so you can both experiment.

If you want to find out even more about how to eat well in college, read The College Student’s Guide to Eating Well on Campus by Ann Selkowitz, M.S., R.D., Litt.D., or The Healthy College Cookbook: Quick, Cheap, Easy by Alexandra Nimetz, et al. Both books make great gifts for college students and their parents!

Original article by Lynn Grieger, RD, CDE for iVillage. View the article in it’s original context here.