A Guide To Developing Better College Student Eating Habits

Attending college is a fun and exciting experience. For students, their entire future lies before them, with so many different possibilities in terms of the paths that they can take. From attending classes and meeting new people to pursuing their passions, most students love the college experience.

There is one area where a lot of students struggle, however: nutrition. College student eating habits usually leave a lot to be desired. Most students are so busy that they just grab whatever they can find any time they have a few minutes to spare. Unfortunately, that often means choosing things like candy, chips, or fast food, all of which are pretty much devoid of nutrition.

Further compounding the problem is the fact that cooking is challenging when living in a dorm. Preparing healthy meals on a hot plate or in a microwave in a dorm room is possible, but it isn’t very easy. Some students live off-campus in apartments or houses, which can make cooking a little bit easier. Even with a kitchen, however, most students still struggled to find enough time to prepare healthy, nutritious food.

Although the situation may seem a little bit bleak, all hope is not lost. There are plenty of ways that college students can eat a healthy, nutritious diet. All that they have to do is form a few healthy habits.

One of the most important things any student can do is to make sure that they have healthy snacks on hand at all times. Foods like nuts, seeds, dried fruit, jerky, and granola are great options. Not only are these items easy to carry in a backpack but they also are packed with nutrients. By keeping snacks like these with them at all times, students always have something healthy to eat, even if they don’t have a lot of time to spare. It is a far better option than grabbing a bag of chips out of a vending machine.

For a quick, healthy meal, a peanut butter and banana sandwich is a great choice. The best part is, students just need to keep a jar of peanut butter, a few bananas, and some whole grain bread in their dorm room. They can throw together a healthy sandwich in a matter of minutes without having to cook anything at all. These sandwiches are packed with protein, good carbohydrates, whole grains, and lots of vitamins and minerals.

Students can also benefit from starting their day off with a hearty breakfast. Oatmeal is a great choice – especially since it can easily be microwaved. To make it even healthier, students can throw in some raisins and nuts to add extra nutrients. Eating a good breakfast like this can make it easier to keep from snacking on unhealthy foods later in the day.

Developing better college student eating habits is relatively easy. It is all about making smarter choices with food. The key to success is to make sure to stock in lots of healthy snacks and nutrient-dense foods that don’t require a lot of time to prepare.