Eating Healthy in the Dining Halls​

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

By Katherine Ingerson

Pork, veggies, rice and beans, and sweet potato.College is a great time to start building healthful habits. Now is the time to decide what type of adult lifestyle you would like to live. If you’ve never eaten healthfully before, it’s a great time to try it out.

Basic guidelines for eating healthfully include:

  1. Grab a fruit and/or a vegetable are every meal, even snacks. Aim to make half of your plate fruits and vegetables.
  2. Look for whole grains like whole wheat bread and buns, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, and oatmeal.
  3. Choose a lean protein source at each meal from beans, nuts, seeds, fish, seafood, poultry, tofu, and lean pork and beef.
  4. Get calcium daily. Make dairy choices lower fat like 2% and skim milk, yogurt, low-fat chocolate milk, and soy milks. Almond milk can be a great calcium source if it’s fortified, but it is very low in protein. If you choose almond milk as your beverage choice, make sure you get protein in other areas of your diet.
  5. Include heart-healthy sources of fat daily such as nuts, nut butters, seeds, fish, guacamole, olives, olive oil, and plant oils such as soybean and canola oil.

Where to Find It in the UGA Dining Commons in 2020:

Fruit

  • Apples, bananas, oranges are great snacks to grab to-go and take back to your dorm
  • Fresh fruit cups are available in every dining hall and in the to-go Quick Markets around campus
  • Applesauce and to-go canned fruit cups are available for students with oral allergy syndrome who cannot eat fresh fruit

Vegetables

  • SaladA fresh steamed vegetable of the day is served in every dining hall
  • Seasoned, roasted, grilled, or sautéed vegetable is featured daily at lunch and/or dinner
  • House salads and Caesar salads are served on every cold line
  • Bolton has a Choose-Your-Own Salad Bar upstairs for dine-in only that features cherry tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, broccoli florets, shredded carrots, red onions, and other toppings.
  • Village Summit features a fresh Toss of the Day salad option including Asian Salmon Salad, Shrimp & Spinach Salad with Avocado Dressing, and Strawberry Feta Pecan Salad with Poppyseed Dressing
  • O-House serves baked sweet potatoes and stir-fried fresh vegetables daily for lunch and dinner
  • Stir-fried Lemon Grass Kitchen green beans, broccolini, or snow peas are served daily at Bolton

Whole Grains

  • Whole wheat buns are available at the grills at O-House and Village Summit
  • Brown rice is served for lunch and dinner daily everywhere
  • Oatmeal is served at breakfast daily everywhere
  • Whole grain cereals such as Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios are available all day in the dining halls and in the to-go Quick Markets around campus
  • Quinoa is served on the cycle menu and is an excellent source of fiber and protein

Lean Protein

  • Fish with tomato, beans, and salad.A bean of the day is served daily for lunch and dinner with brown rice
  • Hummus is served daily with pita chips
  • Chicken is served daily at each grill line in the dining halls
  • Fish and seafood are served every 2 days on the cycle menu / hot line in each dining commons
  • Salmon is served every week in each dining hall on the cycle menu / hot line
  • Chicken, turkey, lean pork loin, lean pork chops, and lean flank steak are served on rotation on the cycle menu / hot line for lunch and dinner daily
  • Lunch and dinner vegetarian entrées are featured daily and often are great sources of lean protein
  • Vegan burgers are served daily at each grill
  • Turkey burgers are served daily at the grill in O-House
  • Shrimp and salmon are also served every week at Summit’s Toss of the Day salad bar
  • Fajita-style chicken is served daily at O-House’s burrito line
  • Skinless chicken strips, hard-boiled eggs, and fried tofu strips are served daily at Bolton’s choose-your-own salad bar (upstairs, dine-in only)
  • Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches are available all day long at Bolton and Summit
  • Sunflower butter & jelly sandwiches are available all day at O-House

Calcium-Rich Sources

  • Regular and Greek yogurt are available all day long in the dining halls and in the Quick Stop locations around campus
  • Swiss cheese, parmesan cheese, and feta cheese are lower fat cheeses served in each dining hall
  • Whole, 2%, skim, and low-fat chocolate milks are available all day long in each dining hall
  • Vanilla and chocolate soymilk are available all day in each dining hall
  • Vanilla and chocolate almond milk are available all day in Bolton and Summit
  • Tofu, beans, and green leafy vegetables are other calcium-rich food sources served daily in the dining commons

Heart-Healthy Fats

  • Guacamole is served at lunch and dinner at O-House
  • Peanut butter and sunflower butter sandwiches are served daily
  • Sautéed and stir-fried vegetables and tofu are sautéed in olive, canola, and soybean oils
  • Salmon is served weekly in each dining hall on the hot line
  • Summit served salmon weekly on it’s Toss of the Day salad


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