How to survive a dorm without relying on processed food?
You are excited you got out of the house and moved to a dorm. Now you will be your boss; you can live the way you want to. Managing your food is one of the essential responsibilities among them, which is critical to maintaining your health. As it's often seen students weight either go down or up, it's tough to manage. Why does this happen? Yes, you are right - food choices. It all boils down to the food choices you have and what you decide to eat. What are the factors that impact your food choices?
Some of the factors that affect your food choices in a dorm can be:
- The pressure of eating the food your peers are eating.
- You get less time because you are busy with your classes.
- Your class timings are overlapping with breakfast, lunch, and dinner times.
- You prefer the food that minimally impacts your pocket.
- A pleasing taste to soothe your taste buds.
So let's look at healthy ways to overcome this:
Let say you are out with your friends and visit a coffee shop or bakery; you have various options to choose from. If you want to munch healthy there, first look at the menu and look for the healthiest choice you seem like instead of choosing bagels, choose whole wheat bagels or vegetable sandwiches, panini. While selecting a drink, opt for sugar-free or fewer sugar drinks or beverages like masala tea, green tea latte. Also, you can take the smallest meal to eat in moderation.
Although there is no alternative to a good sit down breakfast, you are in a rush for the class and its overlapping with your breakfast time, what can you do? You can carry a fruit like banana, apple, orange, and a small pack of nuts, one of the packaged whole grains cookies to your taste along with a bottle of water in your bag as you rush out. Eat what you can as you are going towards your class, drink water, and finish the rest of it as soon as you are done with your class. This munching will not only keep you filled but also ensure you do not opt for fast sugary alternatives to quench your hunger.
When you are in the dorm and busy in your project work or assignments and don't have time to go out and eat, apart from choices of fruits, nuts, and water, choose unprocessed products like pre-cooked quinoa, apple chips, baby carrots, kale chips, pre-cooked brown rice, beans. You can heat them in the microwave in your dorm. One of the best things is while you are coming from class, take a meal with you, and whenever you get the time, you can eat that.
