As students at BYU-Hawaii, there is one area that presents us with a great challenge; eating healthy. Students like Marc Gardner, a social work major from Australia, and Israel Wanoa, a sophomore in ICS from New Zealand, shared they know it is pretty hard to eat healthy as a college student. College just seems to put a lot of roadblocks for healthy eating that include super-tight budgets, lack of cooking tools and kitchen amenities, and extremely busy schedules.Michael Potter, a junior music major from Laie, lives off campus and says he buys foods like rice and tuna in bulk to save money. “I have to find different ways to eat tuna or I get bored with it,” he said.Josh Lowery, a senior biology major from Canada, said he finds it hard to eat healthy because it is too expensive and foods like soda and chips are cheap, fast, and easy.Emily Valerio, a freshman in biology from Nevada, and friend Marissa Stagg, sophomore biology major from Utah, both agree that the school café has limited healthy options. They also said that the Caf should have more fruit and veggies everyday, all day. Stagg said, “The Caf has a salad bar but it’s not like a healthy salad bar. For me, salads have spinach, romaine lettuce, more other greens.”Alecsa Hendrick, a freshman exercise sports science major from Georgia said that she has to consciously make the effort to eat healthy. “In the Caf I don’t eat red meat and make sure to eat a lot of protein like peanut butter, also I pick the vegetarian option in the Caf.”Here is a list from the well-being website Stay Healthy-Be Happy.com, supplemented by BYUH-specific tips. 1. Make a list. Keep a piece of paper the fridge so when you’re running low on something, you can write it down immediately! For the tech savvy, smartphones have list-making apps you can get for free.2. Stick to your list. Unless it’s an essential, don’t buy it.3. Buy in bulk. You might not eat 5 lbs. of chicken this week, but you can buy it and portion it out. Separate servings into separate plastic bags, storing a week’s portions in the fridge and anything you won’t eat in the next few days in the freezer.4. Buy “plain” foods: You can do anything with chicken or tofu. Bake it, broil it, sear it in a pan, boil it, or season it. Other plain foods to buy are eggs, oats, rice, etc. Add cinnamon, vanilla or natural sweeteners.5. Don’t buy junk food. If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it. Plus, it’s a waste of money and calories.6. Sugar cereals aren’t worth it. Sugary cereals will not keep you full, so you end up spending a lot of money with little gain. 7. Use savings cards. Examples are like Costco and Foodland’s Maika’i card. 8. Pre-packaged snacks are a waste. Again, this is where buying in bulk is cheaper. Rather than buying 100-calorie packs, make your own! All you need is a baggie — which can be reused.9. Drink water. Forget the sports drinks and other prepared beverages, plus soda is expensive.10. Make your own food! When cooking, make extra to freeze and consume later.11. Coupons, coupons, coupons! Go online for additional coupons12. Go to the supermarket. Avoid convenience stores and gas stations. They are often overpriced and the product isn’t usually as fresh. Try Tamura’s in Hauula, some of their food is cheaper than Foodland’s.13. In the Caf. LIMIT YOURSELF TO ONLY THE GOOD OPTIONSEven though being on a meal plan means you can eat at the campus cafeteria anytime you want, you are still faced with limited options. The key to eating healthily on a meal plan is making the right choices. 14. Give yourself a realistic budget, and stick to it. If you’ve tried this and haven’t been successful, try shopping with cash only; you can’t spend it if you don’t have it.15. Generics are just as good. Compare the ingredients on some of your favorite products with the generic versions. Odds are, the ingredients will be identical but the prices will vary.16. Beans are cheap. Canned bean are inexpensive, but dried beans are even cheaper. All you have to do is soak them over night. 17. Tupperware. It’s reusable and great for meal prep. 18. Potlucks & Cooking with Friends. At a potluck, everybody brings a dish to share, which means you get a lot of variety without spending a lot. Plus, you hang out in great company.19. The golden rule: DON’T GO SHOPPING HUNGRY! You’ll buy a lot more than you intended to because you’ll want to eat it right then and there. Uploaded March 13, 2015
Writer: Jessica Tautfest
