Classy grub: Take lunch to lecture
There’s not always time to grab a healthy meal between classes (no, Sbarro’s sausage stromboli does not count), so you might have to munch in the classroom. Here’s what you can easily nibble in lecture while you’re not scribbling down notes.
Vegetable combos: celery, carrots, grape tomatoes, snap peas, bell peppers, etc.
Vegetables may not be the most satiating food, but slathered in hummus or dressing, they can provide a quick fix midday. Campus C-stores and Whole Foods carry pre-packaged veggies with dip, but the cheapest combo we found was carrots and ranch for $0.99 at D&D’s.
The Mediterranean spread: hummus, pita, cheese and grapes
A slightly different take on classroom dining, this spread is well-balanced and convenient. If you have a choice, wheat pitas have more fiber and less sodium than white pitas, and some cheeses (Swiss and cheddar) have light or low-fat options. Cosi offers shareable appetizers: hummus with bread and cucumbers at $6.49 and brie, bread and fruit for $7.29.
Fruit medleys: peach, grapefruit, pineapple, etc.
Jewel and 7-Eleven sell Del Monte fruit cups for about $3 each, and they have an exotic selection without sacrificing freshness. There’s no sticky cleanup — all you need is a fork, and the cup won’t get crushed and lost in your backpack. Or stop by Einstein’s on your way to class and grab a fresh fruit cup for $2.99.
Sandwiches: or subs, or flatbread
It’s easy to sneak a sandwich in the back of the room. The traditional American lunch is convenient, quick, and far from messy. If you don’t have the time to make your own, there’s a wide variety of sandwiches, subs and flatbreads at 7-Eleven for $2.99 to $3.99.
Non-chips and dip: Pretzel chips and Dijon/wasabi dip; Tofu sticks and hot pot sauce
These interesting combos cost $1.99 at Whole Foods. While they might seem too bite-sized for a full meal in class, they pack more dip than necessary in a small container, so if you have other dipping crackers lying around, you can make good use of one package.
See also: Dietary deathtraps
See also: The BK dilemma
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This is in response to “Dietary deathtraps”:
It’s time somebody stood up for Easy Mac and took a stand against “Holistic Health” bullshit–Elaine Bass’s statements against Easy Mac and Ramen are not just misleading, they are false. Let’s look at them point-by-point:
“Constant chemicals outweigh any nutritional value.”
Really? Try to find food without chemicals. Oh wait, all food is composed of chemicals. Vitamins are chemicals…water is a chemical…for the love of God, even air is composed of chemicals! I guess that’s why everybody dies.
She (he?) goes onto blast “glyceryl monostearate” and “apocarotenal” as chemicals the body does not “know” how to metabolize.
- Glyceryl monostearate is a biproduct of triglyceride metabolism…a very simple lipid…that your body definitely CAN metabolize–it in fact makes it on a regular basis.
- As for apocarotenal, well…it’s a very common chemical found in oranges, egg yolks, grass, some leaves, and other yellowy shit. And it’s a vitamin A precursor. So seriously, wtf? This stuff is actually good for you! It’s in orange juice for chrissakes!
- MSG (monosodium glutamate): this chemical (an amino acid) is fine for the majority of people (a few are possibly sensitive to it). The author used the FDA’s website misleadingly: the described symptoms only apply to a small subset of apparently generally sensitive people.
A major report where supposedly sensitive individuals took oral doses of MSG found “…neither persistent nor serious effects from MSG ingestion were observed, and the frequency of the responses was low. More importantly, the responses reported were inconsistent and were not reproducible. The responses were not observed when MSG was given with food.”
To become a Holistic Health Counselor, you need to pay about $1000 for a 3 weekend course, presumably to learn bullshit like this. Holistic Health Counselors are not a reliable source for health info, ask a doc or read the research instead.
Justin
November 10, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I see Emily’s nameas a contributor to this article, but what is her contribution?
Grandpa
Al Liftman
November 10, 2009 at 6:31 pm