COLUMN: Health
As a student I have fond memories of the smell of delicious bread wafting the hall of the Taggart Student Center as I headed to and from my classes. I always managed to take 7:30 a.m. classes most of the eight semesters I spent earning my bachelor’s degree. That often meant rolling out of bed in time to cross campus and arrive in my seat just as the professor began to talk. Hunger often crept in halfway through class, making the bread on the walk to my next class hard to resist. If I didn’t have time for breakfast, I usually relied on campus dining for lunch. The Hub was always quick and convenient, but as a nutrition student I felt guilty for eating “fast” food. It was a bad word with bad connotations, but as a busy, and tired student, it just needed to happen sometimes. It was that or go hungry, which I knew I was not about to do.
Now in my role as a registered dietitian at the USU Student Health and Wellness Center, I am able to work with students, USU Dining Services, and the wellness program, to make The Hub extend beyond a great place to meet friends for a quick, tasty meal, to include a great place for healthy and budget-friendly options to satisfy your hunger.
We recognize that many of us often make eating decisions based on taste, cost and convenience. Nutrition often takes a back seat. Many perceive they lack the money, energy, knowledge or background to make nutrition a deciding factor in what they eat.
As registered dietitians, we determined important criteria for a Be Well option. The Be Well options are moderate in calories and fat and high in fiber. A healthy caloric intake is needed for proper weight management, which decreases the risk for chronic diseases and promotes increased energy levels. A lower fat intake protects against heart disease and cancer. Adding fiber decreases the risk of several types of cancer, promotes fullness, decreases cholesterol levels and improves gut health. Fiber comes with whole grains, beans and fruits and vegetables.
With minor adjustments, many of The Hub favorites classify as Be Well options. Sticking to fat-free spreads and dressings, limiting quantities of cheese, using nonstick cooking spray in place of oil, adding lots of vegetables and switching to whole grains are easy substitutions to make meals healthier.
Because of the progressive thinking of Dining Services, now taste, convenience, cost and nutrition are all incorporated into dinning at The Hub. Now when hunger strikes, I can walk past The Hub and feel confident I am making a healthy choice. All I have to do is pick one of the more than 30 Be Well options offered at a discounted rate. Just look for the posters identifying the options. I look forward to more fond memories of The Hub, this time without any of the guilt.
MarLee Harris is a registered dietician with the Student Health and Wellness Center and is a contributor to the Be Well Health column.