HEALTHY EATING FOR STUDENTS! - Healthy Life Essex

As a student I realise how hard (and expensive!) it can be to maintain a healthy diet. It could be grabbing the wrong foods from those vending machines or being under too much pressure that you simply forget to eat. Both of these are not healthy ways to live and although I want to be a Dietitian I also fall into the same traps. But I come with a plan! There are a few ways I have learnt over my time as a student that you might find helpful.

Preparation is key: Just as preparation helps us with exams I find it also helps when it comes to food. Personally I can’t stand the food they serve us at college and I just wish Jamie Oliver would sort the meal plans out but until then… Lunchboxes! You know the ones you had as a child with pink fairies and Spiderman on. GET ONE! I like to put some fruit and nuts to snack on and a sandwich or wrap for lunch. I also save around £3 a day which over a year is around £720! Enough for a decent lunchbox I think.

Smoothies: As breakfast is obviously the most important meal of the day due to breaking the fast try something a little more exciting. Smoothies are really good. They taste great and there are so many different ones to try. They are quick and you can transport them to college if you are in a rush. I like to make my own, just add fruit of your choice and ice into the blender and press GO. Lots of fun recopies to try online. My favourite is Strawberry and Banana. They also count towards your 5 a day!

Eat before you shop: If you do your own supermarket shop like me, EAT FIRST! I have lost count of the times I have gone shopping for a weeks worth of food and walked out with doughnuts because my blood sugar level had dropped so low and I just needed to eat. If you eat your lunch or evening meal first you are more likely to just get what you need. Writing a list helps too!

Carry water: At the moment I am trying to break my Diet coke addiction which means always keeping water on hand. It helps me save money too! I seem to be paying over £1 every time my Coke craving kicks in (around 3 times a day!). At least water is free and I just top up at water fountains around campus.

Tip: Really good brain foods include Blueberries, Salmon and Eggs.

By Nichole Griffin

Hi! My name is Nichole and I am currently attending college. If accepted to university next year I hope to study Dietetics BSc (Hons). I really enjoy talking and writing about healthy living especially food and look forward to turning my passion into a career. I also LOVE to bake!