by Samara Alpern
Daily Lobo columnist
Making good nutritional choices while trapped on a college campus can prove challenging.
Carole Conn, a professor of nutrition at UNM, said her main nutrition concern for students is limited access to healthy foods. She said, "It's easy to get fast foods, and it's easy to get lots of baked goods and fancy coffees." As for fresh fruits and vegetables, those are harder to find.
Healthy choices are, in fact, available - you just have to look for them. At all food service locations on campus, from the SUB to La Posada, vegetarian and lower-calorie options are offered. Since these healthy choices are always served alongside the classic, high-calorie favorites, it is up to the student to make the appropriate decisions.
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Current sales suggest that eating healthy isn't a priority for all students. The most popular food choice at the SUB is the new Pizza Hut, while second and third in sales, respectively, are Sonic and Chick-fil-A. While certainly popular, none of these restaurants has a great selection for those looking for fresh fruits and vegetables or low-calorie, low-fat or low-sodium foods.
* A plain cheese personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut has 630 calories and 27 grams of fat. A Pepperoni Lover's pizza, meanwhile, contains 800 calories.
* At Sonic, a regular order of tater tots has 16 grams of fat and over 1,000 grams of sodium.
* Chick-fil-A offers some foods within a reasonable calorie range, like the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich on whole wheat, if you hold the mayo. Keep in mind, however, that almost all of the offerings - including the Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich - are high in sodium. The best-selling eight-pack of chicken nuggets has more than 1,000 grams of sodium. Still, pretty much everybody knows fast food isn't healthy. An occasional meal here and there isn't harmful by any means, but a cursory look at the numbers should make any person trying to make good nutritional choices look elsewhere for regular on-campus meals.
Fortunately, healthy options are right next door.
UNM's foodservice provider, Aramark, is in the process of calculating nutritional information for all fare, so the exact nutritional content of these offerings cannot be reported at this time. Aramark says the company will soon make the information available on the Web and in hard copy at restaurant sites.
Even without specific nutritional information, the availability of fresh vegetables is evident. At Miso, a new introduction to the SUB this year, students can design their own stir-fry - choosing from a variety of veggies as well as chicken, tofu or shrimp. The stir-fry is then served over noodles or rice.
Casita and the Marketplace are also nearby. At Casita, a bean burrito with light cheese - a heavy serving of cheese will change a low-fat choice to a high-fat meal - is a good option. Add a dose of green chile, and you've added even more elusive vegetables to your diet. The Marketplace offers fresh salads and sandwiches, but take it easy with dressings, which can slather an otherwise healthy meal in fat and calories.
Salads and even sushi are available downstairs at the Mercado. Conn said she often chooses a salad from the Mercado for lunch, though she cautions the portion is enough for two.
Another lunch option is La Posada. The dining hall is available to everyone, even if you are not on a meal plan. On Fridays, meals are only $5. La Posada serves up plenty of classic freshman-15 dishes, like macaroni and cheese, pizza and ice cream, but they also have a salad bar, soups, steamed vegetables and a deli section. Nutritional information about many foods served at La Posada is available online at www.campusdish.com/en-us/CSSW/NewMexico.
The staff members of UNM's Food Services have made it clear that nutrition is a priority, but so is pleasing their customers. If there are changes you'd like to see in the food offered on campus, contact Aramark at scott-carol-ann@aramark.com.
Samara Alpern is a nutrition major at UNM. You can send your health and nutrition questions to opinion@unm.edu.
