Eating Healthy as a College Student

Healthy Eating, Not an Easy Feat!

Eating healthy in college is a conscious decision you must make every meal and is totally doable if you set your mind to it. The tons of healthy options in dining halls, as well as restaurants geared at producing healthy food, make it so easy to live your best and healthiest life while in Athens. All of the restaurants below are fairly priced and the juice and smoothie options are no more expensive than a daily cup of coffee from Starbucks or Dunkin’. Believe me when I tell you, eating healthy and on a budget is possible.

• Chicken Salad Chick – This restaurant is only located about 10 minutes off of campus and is simply amazing. They offer tons of different chicken salad flavors that can be eaten with veggies, crackers, or on bread. It also stays fresh for about 5 days, so it is a perfect thing to pick up at the beginning of the week. If you download their app and scan it every time you go, you’ll get points that will result in free chicken salad – what could be better?
• Zoe’s Kitchen – This is a Mediterranian food chain that is one of the best and healthiest options in Athens. They have an endless amount of salads, soups, kabobs, and more that are loaded up with veggies, lean proteins, and fruits. One of my favorite parts about Zoe’s is the drive-thru/curbside pick up feature – it makes it so easy to eat healthy on the go!
• Maepole – This place truly rocks!! They have basically incorporated a “build your own plate” into healthy restaurant food. You do this by picking a base, 2 sides, a protein, and a sauce; which turns into your own healthy creation just the way you like it. My personal favorite is the sweet potato base, roasted root veggies, and broccoli for my sides, chicken, and the turmeric ginger – it is to die for!
• Jason’s Deli – Jason’s Deli is perfect for anyone with serious food consciousness, they offer gluten-free, vegetarian, low sodium, and dairy-free items on their menu to make sure that anyone can enjoy their food. They also offer both pickup and delivery services to make eating here insanely easy and worth it.
• Home Made – This restaurant prides itself on the fact that everything is made from scratch. They offer plenty of healthy options, as well as healthier alternatives for typically unhealthy dishes. It is a bit on the nicer side, so this is not a grab-n-go kind of place and they do require reservations for dinner.
• Marti’s At Midday – This place is the best in Athens for salads and sandwiches, and they offer an “order now” option on their website that allows for curbside pickup. Another amazing option here is the “frozen entrees” and “salads by the pound”. The premade meals only require you to pull them out and heat them up and usually have about 4 servings. The salads only require you to pour the dressing on and usually make 4-6 servings. Buying these are great ways to eat healthy foods without having to cook or meal prep on your own.
• Lindsey’s Culinary Market – This place is known as a “farm to table culinary market” and offers a plethora of salads, soups, and sandwiches while also offering different farm fresh options daily. They also have a take out option that is perfect for on the go healthy eating.
• Frutta Bowls – This place is basically healthy froyo and is super popular among everyone in Athens. They have a wide range of bowl options (acai, pitaya, kale, oatmeal, etc), smoothies, and organic coffee. You walk in, choose your base, and start loading it up with the toppings of your choice, except it’s healthy. It is the BEST post-workout snack.
• Journey Juice – This place, while not really a traditional restaurant, sells juices made from veggies and fruits from local farmers. It is the perfect place to pick up juices for a juice cleanse, breakfast juices, or post-workout juices. They also deliver which is perfect if you do not have time to make it there.
• Classic City Nutrition – This place is a local shop that makes healthy juices, teas, and shakes. They have tons of flavor combinations and even a create-your-own option where you can blend and mix up what you’d like to customize your drink. It is the perfect pick me up or post-workout snack. Everything here is full of protein, collagens, biotin, protein, etc. and is good for you and your body.
• Planet Smoothie – This is a local chain that has tons of smoothie flavors that are full of vitamins and minerals. They also have meal replacement options for if you do not want a meal but need to fill yourself up with good calories.
• Iron Horse Nutrition -This is another local juice, tea, and shake bar in Athens that is all about creating yummy drinks that are healthy, filling, and energy giving. They also have meal replacement shakes that give you all the nutrients of a full meal as well as teas that are full of natural vitamins and energy needed to get you through the day.

Another option for healthy eating is to pick up healthy snacks from one of the many grocery stores in Athens. Check them out here on our Grocery Shopping blog. Pinterest has tons of easy and free healthy eating recipes that make it so easy to find what you like and stick with it.

Buying healthy snacks to throw in your book bag is also a great idea, otherwise, you will find yourself justifying a coffee or vending machine cookies way more than both you and your wallet would like. While I recommend meal prepping for anyone, not in a dorm, it is still possible to eat healthy in the dining hall. Every dining hall has fresh fruit, a salad bar, and lean protein options daily. There are also different “specialty lines” like Mexican, Omelettes, and Hibachi that make it super easy to get carb-less, dairy-free, healthy options.

Two things that typically trip people up in the dining halls are the endless desserts and soda options. It is crucial to not get that cookie every time you pass the bakery, and drinking water is imperative for your health. It is a commonly known fact that college students do not drink as much water as they should, so try to drink it in the dining halls, and carry a water bottle with you so that you can fill it up on your way out and drink it during the day.

Drinking your calories is the easiest way for your health to go out the window in college, and I don’t just mean alcohol. Coffee, soda, and sports drinks also do just as much damage as alcohol to your health because they are all filled with sugar and carbs that are not needed in your diet. That doesn’t mean stay away from them completely, but they should not become a part of your daily routine if your health is important to you.

Another thing that most college kids fail to do is actually eat meals. Snacking is good, and it is necessary, but so are meals. You should be eating three meals a day and no, your morning coffee does not count as a meal. Plan out your day accordingly so that you can make sure you are getting those meals in like you should because otherwise, you will be low on energy, tired, and sometimes “hangry” without the proper food.

And, of course, you will want to combine exercise with that healthy eating regimen. Check out our suggestions in our blog Staying Fit. 

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