Salads, juice offer students healthy options
During the school week, busy students have little time to spare for lunch. On the Hill, at the UMC and at home, students can find quick ways to get a nutritious meal without running late to their next class.
For students closest to the Hill, Boulder Greens is a healthy option with many choices.
“Quick and fast in between classes,” is how Brian Burr, Boulder Greens manager of two months, describes the small salad shop. “It takes less than five minutes to get in and out of here.”
Nutrition Info
Eighty percent of customers are students.
“We have fresh salads and fresh produce daily,” Burr said. “We make most of the dressing here and we put all natural ingredients in them. Olive oil is offered too.”
Burr also makes fresh soup every day.
Boulder Greens also offers the option of creating a salad if customers do not find one they like.
Just down the street from Boulder Greens is Buchanan’s Coffee Pub, which offers many quick and healthy options made by Breadworks.
Owner Will Lockwood said that Buchanan’s started offering soup about a month ago.
“We buy it from Breadworks right in town because they do very good food.” Lockwood said. “All vegan, no preservatives, just really good stuff. Every day is a different type of soup.”
Buchanan’s offers about six different soups that change daily and are all vegetable. A 6-ounce size is $2 and a 12-ounce size is $3.50.
“Odwalla drinks are pretty healthy and the pastries we offer come from the same place (Breadworks) and have no preservatives,” Lockwood said. “Some of them are organic, most of the muffins are organic. We also do the hummus and pita snacks and we offer veggie snacks.”
Buchanan’s also offers healthy sandwiches.
“We sell a fair amount of veggie sandwiches,” Lockwood said.
For this sandwich, customers can choose whatever bagel they want, which comes with veggies and cheese. Buchanan’s also offers turkey sandwiches.
At the UMC many students grab a quick lunch at the Alferd Packer Grill.
“There are all kinds of healthy options (at the Alferd Packer Grill),” said Rick Sheingold, assistant director of food service for retail operations in the UMC. “All the soups are homemade and made from scratch every day. They have great natural ingredients like chicken and beef and beans. It’s not canned, it’s not processed, it’s just good food made right.”
The Alferd Packer Grill also offers a full salad bar, many lean meat choices and pre-packaged foods. The healthiness of the salad depends on the ingredients and portion size.
“We have buffalo burgers which are low in fat,” Sheingold said. “We have yogurts and often make cold plates. There is a fruit cup, there is V8 and they do packaged lunches like healthy wraps with fruit and a healthy salad all in healthy portions.”
The newly added UMC smoothie bar, Jamba Juice, has nutritious as well as more indulgent options.
The 30-ounce “Peanut Butter Moo’d” smoothie has 1170 calories, 30 grams of fat, 192 grams of carbohydrates and 169 grams of sugar. A healthier choice is choosing one of Jamba Juice’s all fruit shakes. These shakes are all natural and purely fruit.
Also available in the UMC is Subway.
Low calorie and healthy options from Subway are the “mini subs.” These come in turkey, roast beef or ham and range from 180 to 190 calories. Also, eight of Subway’s 6-inch sandwiches contain six grams of fat or less.
Packing a bagged lunch in the morning is another option for students to ensure they have time for lunch. Making a sandwich in the morning requires little time and can be satisfying if it is made with the right foods. Healthy sandwich components include lean meats like turkey or ham, low fat or reduced fat cheese, tofu and fresh, organic veggies such as tomatoes, sprouts spinach, onions, cucumbers and peppers.
To ensure students don’t get bored of this lunch, students should try changing the sandwich each day or every few days. Low fat mayonnaise or mustard are healthy choices to add to any combination.
For a different kind of lunch students can make a mix of nuts and berries to snack on. According to Whole Foods, cranberries are filled with antioxidants and are a great source of vitamin C as well as fiber.
Other foods on the Whole Foods list include apricots and figs. Add nuts like almonds and walnuts and seeds such as sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Mix everything together in a plastic bag to snack on during class. If students feel they need a little sweetness in their mix, adding a little dark chocolate with a high cocoa content is a healthier choice.
The Food Network offers easy and nutritious ideas for salads. Students can pack these in a plastic container before heading off. Put the dressing in a separate container to ensure that the salad is crisp and does not turn soggy if it will be sitting for a few hours.
Also, stop by the Boulder Farmer’s Market Wednesdays and Saturdays for fresh local produce.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Jennifer Jacobs at jennifer.l.jacobs@thecampuspress.com.
