The department of Health Promotion and Wellness hosted a workshop on eating well and planning meals on Jan. 27.
The Adulting 101 workshop held this month was a seminar on healthy eating and how college students can maintain a balanced diet on a budget or a Commons meal plan. These workshops are held monthly and this month was a collaborative effort between four Kennesaw State organizations: The Women’s Resource Center, the Cultural and Community Centers, Health Promotion and Wellness and CARE Services. These departments offer tools for young adults to succeed in practical settings and their adult lives.
Students were able to see how simple it can be to fuel their bodies with healthy food through an interactive lecture led by registered dietician Trang Pham. The lecture began with a lesson about intuitive and mindful eating.
Pham taught attendees that eating intuitively is allowing oneself “unconditional permission to eat” by fully trusting hunger and fullness cues, while mindful eating is paying full attention to the experience of eating without distraction such as television or homework.
She further displayed her knowledge by explaining how every meal should consist of a serving of fruits and vegetables that take up half of the meal, a serving of protein that makes up a quarter of the meal, a serving of grains that makes up a quarter of the meal and also some form of dairy or dairy alternative. These food groups are a great way to ensure consumption of the three macronutrients every person needs to survive: carbohydrates, fats and protein. Carbohydrates can be consumed by eating grains or starchy vegetables such as potatoes, and fats are often found in oils.
Students in attendance were able to map out their plates on paper using this method. For breakfast, lunch and dinner they wrote down foods that would be seen on their plate anyway and then found additional food to fill in the missing categories.
For breakfast, cereal with milk, almonds and fruit covers every food group except vegetables and fits neatly into one bowl. Vegetables may be added to this meal by drinking a smoothie or taking a vitamin. They can also be supplemented by eating more vegetables later in the day.
For snacks, Pham suggested attempting to eat at least two food groups. For example, sliced bananas with peanut butter would cover fruits and protein. This is a great way to make up for missed categories in meals as well.
A few methods for saving money when eating better were also outlined in the lecture. Pham advised purchasing non-perishable food items such as rice, pasta and canned beans in bulk packages to save cash and trips to the grocery store. She also recommended buying frozen produce and eating seasonal foods. For example, purchasing strawberries and watermelon in the summer is much cheaper than in the winter.
Eating well is something anyone can do if given the right tools.
The Health Promotion and Wellness department offers tuition-covered nutrition counseling with registered dietitians. For more information on how to set up an appointment, visit their patient portal or call 470-578-6394. All events are listed on their website and OwlLife.