Eating well for success
Nutrition
The Center for Health Education and Wellness provides students with resources to make informed nutritional decisions and eating healthy on a budget.
Making Healthy Choices
Maintaining healthy eating habits is essential for staying energized and supporting your immune system during college. Learn healthy eating habits, options available at Vol Dining, and mindful eating strategies to support your wellness.
Healthy Eating Tips
Start with Breakfast
Start your day with a healthy breakfast. For busy mornings, keep grab-and-go options like fresh fruit or yogurt in your room.
Enjoy Healthy Snacking
Keep healthy snacks such as raw veggies, yogurt, fresh fruit, popcorn, pretzels, trail mix, and granola bars in your room
Limit Sugar
Sugar is high in calories and low in nutrition. If you can’t eliminate it completely, try to limit your intake. Have a piece of fruit first and share a candy bar with a friend.
Balance Your Meals
A healthy diet includes whole foods like fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and healthy fats while limiting processed items to improve health and lower the risk of chronic disease.
Stay Hydrated
Drink water when thirsty and stay extra hydrated during exercise, hot weather, or illness. Carry a water bottle and sip throughout the day to avoid dehydration.
Making Healthy Choices
With Vol Dining
Vol Dining offers easily attainable nutrition information for food items offered in the residential dining halls. All residential dining halls on campus offer vegetarian, vegan, allergy-free and healthy options. Daily menus are available online through Vol Dining for the campus community to view..
At Fast Food Restaurants
For many college students, fast food is a go-to choice because it is cheap and convenient, and access to cooking appliances can be limited in residence halls. You can still choose healthier more nutritious options. Choose lean meats and vegetables that are fresh, baked, or grilled. Instead of pepperoni and sausage on your pizza, have veggies.
Planning and Preparation
Whether you cook in the residence hall, pack lunches, or utilize Vol Dining, an eating plan is a must for staying healthy while at college. The freedom to eat what you please may result in nutritional deficiencies. Having a plan makes good nutrition automatic. Wherever you dine, eat regularly spaced meals, controlled portions, and a variety of foods from all the food groups.
Eating Healthy on a Budget
While cost and accessibility are always factors in having a healthy diet, nutritious foods don’t always cost more than less healthy alternatives. Over time, a healthy diet helps you avoid illness and the cost of health care like doctor visits or prescriptions. Identify areas of spending that might not be contributing to your health goals, like soda or junk food, and instead spend that money on less expensive options like rice, whole grains, lean meats, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.
If budgeting for food is a challenge, the Big Orange Pantry is a campus resource available to all UT students, faculty and staff that provides nutritious food as well as hygiene products.
Be Smart When You Shop
Inexpensive Healthy Staples
- Look for affordable and healthy staples that are available throughout the year.
- Inexpensive protein sources, such as canned beans, canned tuna, and eggs, are readily available and help build and repair tissues as well as form antibodies to fight infection.
- Frozen vegetables are a less expensive option with many nutrients, including fiber, potassium, and vitamins A and C.
- Whole grains, such as oats and brown rice, can be bought in bulk to keep costs down and provide fiber, iron, and other antioxidants.
- Produce that is in season generally costs less and is likely to be at peak in flavor.
Eat at Restaurants in Moderation
Another inexpensive way to eat healthy is to cut down or even avoid eating out. Dining at restaurants is much more expensive and less healthy than eating at home. Even though fast food is cheap, you can still pay less for the same types of food at the grocery store and also cut out the extra fat and calories.
The University of Tennessee Vol Dining Dietitian
The Vol Dining dietitian works to ensure all students who need nutritional guidance receive it. As an expert in nutrition, the dietitian is qualified to provide medical nutrition therapy based on an individual’s dietary or health needs. Using current research, she ensures everyone receives a personalized nutrition plan and encourages individuals to make goals that are meaningful to them.
Nutritional services offered by the dietitian include but are not limited to weight management, healthy eating practices, food allergies, vegetarian and vegan diets, IBS, high blood pressure, gluten-sensitivity/Celiac disease, and religious special dietary needs.
If you have any nutrition-related questions or concerns, feel free to contact the Vol Dining dietitian to make an appointment at 865-974-3832 or by email at [email protected].
Nutrition Resources
Campus Resources
Interactive Self-Assessment Tools
Interactive self-assessment tools are available to learn more about nutrition to help you lead a healthy lifestyle.
Remember, these calculators are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have any specific health concerns, please contact your primary care provider.