Healthy eating options do exist on and near campus

By ALYSSA DEMEMBER Published January 10, 2013 at 11:37pm Updated January 10, 2013 at 11:37pm

For students living on or near campus, eating healthy can seem near impossible — but there is hope.

While the Student Union Memorial Center and University Boulevard are both packed with all sorts of counterproductive fast food joints, students can still maintain a relatively healthy diet with a few educated choices.

With over 50 different foods availables, Core is one of the best options in the union for its variety of raw vegetables. Consider a spinach salad with cucumbers, red peppers, garbanzo beans and a bit of balsamic vinaigrette dressing, as two ounces of balsamic dressings is only 50 calories and two grams of fat, according to the union’s “Healthy Options” guide. At On Deck Deli, stick to whole grain bread (opt for an open-faced sandwich, if possible) with a variety of vegetables and lean meats, like turkey breast. Avoid condiments and cheese as much as possible.

Sabor, a Mexican restaurant in the union, also has options worth considering.

Supervisor Angelica Osuna suggests the Bandera salad, which has a number of different dark leafy greens, black beans, pico de gallo, carne asada and sour cream. Request it without steak and sour cream, and this dish becomes a far better choice than a chicken sandwich doused in barbeque sauce.

However, Sabor does not serve any organic or locally grown produce, or free-range and grass-fed beef, according to Osuna.

For organic food served in style, the chic and modern Pasco on University is almost unbeatable in terms of flavorful, health-conscious options and fresh, unprocessed foods. The restaurant serves locally grown produce, free-range chicken and free-range, grass fed beef and wild-caught fish, assistant manager Nathan King said.

King described the restaurant as “local fresh farm fare with a modern twist.”

He added that one of the best options at Pasco is a dish with quinoa, a highly nutritious grain, plus sautéed zucchini, onion, squash, broccoli and tofu, all topped with Tzatziki, a Greek yogurt sauce mixed with a cucumber-mint purée. All food is cooked either without oil or with extra virgin olive oil. King also suggested the “Summer Calabacitas,” a Mexican squash stew with cucumber salad and locally made whole-wheat tortillas on the side. Pasco also offers a number of unique fresh fruit and fresh herb cocktails.

“[Pasco] is like nowhere I’ve ever worked before,” Pasco waitress Joanna Anthony said, adding that the restaurant serves dozens of dishes filled with fresh vegetables, and nothing is frozen.
Well, besides the desserts — but even healthy students need to have a little fun sometimes.