Photos by Gabriela Rhema
Let’s be honest: College campuses will never be known as beacons of healthy, or even tasty, eating. Pepperdine is no different. Even with all of the stairs, your daily calorie count is probably going to increase. And that’s perfectly OK; being young and in college means that you don’t always have to stress over your meals. However, if you find yourself feeling more sluggish than usual, your daily helping of greasy Sodexo pizza might be to blame. So, here are some less aggressive options if you decide to invest some effort into healthy habits.
Eat omelettes, not cereal: Protein is your friend, and therefore the omelette bar should be, too. Don’t let the egg-white craze fool you; you’ll be much fuller if you include the yolks, and you’re adding plenty of taste at the expense of only a few extra calories. Swap the potatoes for a bowl of fruit and you’re good to go. Unless there’s tater tots. Then just get the tater tots. They’re not good for you, but hey. Tater tots.
Eat salad, not pizza: Generally, salads are a good thing (for your body, at least). However, the Caf salad bar can often be overwhelmingly depressing. The trick is to get there before the lunch rush and load up on spinach, veggies and beans. Avoid the meat, because you can never tell how long it’s been sitting there. Skip the mediocre dressing at the end and substitute olive oil, because that’s what the Europeans do and they’re all outliving us.
Eat veggies, not pasta: Let’s be clear: The vegetarian dishes are very hit or miss. Some days you’ll get a beautifully crafted Indian curry, and other days you’ll get some rice stuffed in a squash. No one wants squash for dinner. Because of this, the vegetarian food is often overlooked, but sometimes you can hit the jackpot. Aim for cultural dishes, as more effort is often put into them and they are therefore much more edible.
Eat La Brea, not The Grille: La Brea is a great option, mostly because the sandwiches aren’t too bready, and therefore won’t fill you up with unnecessary starch. The trick to La Brea is ordering just your sandwich, without getting distracted by the Starbucks drinks. Yes, they’re delicious, but seriously, no good will ever come from them. Avoid La Brea if you have poor impulse control, because those Frappuccinos are very convincing.
The Caf is no culinary wonderland, but it’s not completely bleak either. Experiment with the options provided and you’re bound to find something of a moderately healthy caliber.
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Follow Jessica Kerner on Twitter: @The_Kernster