Dinner at Wilcox. How do you eat healthfully so you'll look hot in that tiny strapless sheath you bought for Houseparties? You go to the Dining Services website and check the handy nutrition information for tonight's meal. Swiss & Parmesan Cheese Shells, 255 calories. Sweet. You have those for dinner. You've done everything right. Or have you?
Here's the bad news: those 255 calories were for a four-ounce portion. That's about a shell and a quarter. Yes, fewer than two pieces of pasta, not much more than a few forkfuls. Chances are you ate at least four times that — which means you just downed 1,000 calories. Since just an extra 100 calories a day can mean 10 pounds of weight gain in a year, you're already well on your way.
"My main complaint against the dining hall food is the unhealthiness of the main entrees," said Jocelyn Hanamirian '08. "If turkey or beef is served, it could be a lot healthier if not slathered in sauces."
Slathered, indeed. Stuffed shells aside, there are a slew of diet saboteurs to keep an eye out for. For example, Vegetable Caesar Salad Wrap has 299 calories in just half of the sandwich. Cheese Lasagna: 372 calories in 10 ounces. Sausage Lasagna: 473 calories in 10 ounces. Rotisserie Chicken: 320 calories for two pieces. Turkey Cutlet Pesto: 404 calories in one serving. Herbed Bowtie Noodles have 304 calories in 6 ounces — a portion roughly the size of a tennis ball. That's smaller than your fist, and probably much less than what you're used to eating.
"Too often, people who are trying to eat healthily in the dining hall must turn to the salad bar for most of their meals because the main entree is so greasy," said Hanamirian. But even salad isn't a slam-dunk; hidden calories can lurk among the veggies.
One of the most obvious culprits is salad dressing. At the high end of the condiment spectrum, Ranch and Thousand Island both pack about 90 calories in a single tablespoon. The serving size you're used to, according to DiabetesSelfManagement.org, is twice that.
And you'd better go easy on the cheese: An ounce of cheddar, about the size of 4 dice, has up to 170 calories. Kidney beans have 55 calories in just a quarter cup, and the same amount of chickpeas have a whopping 115.
Put simply, a salad can easily add up to as many calories as one of those greasy entrees — or worse. According to the book "Restaurant Confidential" by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit education and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., a typical chef's salad has 900 calories and 71 grams of fat — even when calculating the numbers with half the salad dressing. Kind of puts those stuffed shells in perspective.
The salad bar's dubious health merit aside, various permutations of vegetables can get old after a while.
"It is certainly possible to eat healthily at the dining halls," said Amelia Salyers '08. "But it requires a certain amount of creativity."
Hanamirian agreed, but added that the creativity shouldn't just come from the students. "All that needs to be done to change this is for dining services to prepare the food they already work with in a leaner way," she said. "It seems like such an easy problem to fix, and that's why it frustrates me."
Registered Dietitian Sue Pierson, who is Dining Services' assistant director, said the dining halls have made some efforts to appeal to the health-conscious. As of this year, all recipes use trans-fat-free oils. The dining halls regularly serve organic and local produce. Menus are also designed with variety in mind, said Pierson — baked chicken as an alternative to fried and broth soup in addition to cream. New dining hall options like Show Thyme and Pasta Bowl allow students to choose their own ingredients. Pierson admits, however, that there is room for improvement.
"Even though we have nutrition information online, it might say a half a cup, but we're not showing students what a half cup is," she said. Pierson also said that Dining Services had not "necessarily thought about" adding portion guides online. "We did talk about putting it under our FAQ on our website, and we have not gotten to it at this point," she said.
Judging from what Pierson said, students who taste lots of grease aren't imagining things.
"This week was the second week that we switched back to the fall-spring [cycle menu], which has more of the salads, the lighter kinds of foods," Pierson said. "The winter menu has more of the comfort kind of foods, the warm and fuzzy kinds of food." She added, "I think everybody's perspective of what is healthy is very different. Eating French fries is not healthy if you do it every day, but once or twice a week — I don't see anything wrong with that."
Students do, of course, have dining alternatives outside of their residential colleges. The most common of these is the Frist Campus Center with its Healthy Eating Lab, deli and salad bar.
"I eat in the dining hall less than four times a week," said Josh Scheiman '08. "Frist is so much better. Frist has good, healthy options." Citing make-your-own sandwiches, salads and the healthy eating corner, Scheiman added, "You can definitely get food that's healthy and still tastes good. As opposed to entrees [in the dining hall] where there are two at most."
Part of Frist's appeal is that it's not all-you-can-eat. Aside from the possibility of better quality, there are health benefits. According to Meals Matter, a nonprofit organization funded by California dairy processors and producers, researchers have determined that people tend to eat all or most of what they are served at a restaurant instead of taking part of it home in a doggie bag. That means that since food at Frist costs by weight or unit, students are likely to eat less. On underclassmen plans, however, eating at Frist is not as economical during regular dining hours, because students cannot transfer meals to the Campus Center. These healthier choices, therefore, are out of reach for some students.
"I never go to late meal, just because of the hours," said Alex Montealegre '08.
The Report of the Four-Year College Program Planning Committee recommended that, as of 2007, the dining halls should be open for much longer hours, a la Harvard and Yale. Pierson said the administration's planned revamping of the dining halls will also include changes in the way the food is prepared, and add more variety and room for individual choice. Until then, salad it is. Just get your dressing on the side.
Read More
15 personas detenidas por ICE en Calle Harrison, explican funcionarios de Princeton
Luke GrippoSegún el alcalde de Princeton, Mark Freda, inicialmente los oficiales de inmigración solamente estaban en busca de una persona. Ana Paola Pazmiño, directora ejecutiva del grupo local de defensa de la inmigración, Resistencia en Acción NJ, reveló que los oficiales detuvieron a estas personas y les pusieron en una camioneta mientras ellos estaban de camino a su trabajo de paisajismo.
Según el alcalde de Princeton, Mark Freda, inicialmente los oficiales de inmigración solamente estaban en busca de una persona. Ana Paola Pazmiño, directora ejecutiva del grupo local de defensa de la inmigración, Resistencia en Acción NJ, reveló que los oficiales detuvieron a estas personas y les pusieron en una camioneta mientras ellos estaban de camino a su trabajo de paisajismo.
15 people detained by ICE on Harrison Street, Princeton officials say
Luke GrippoAccording to Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, immigration officials had initially only been in pursuit of a single person. Ana Paola Pazmiño, executive director of local immigration advocacy group Resistencia en Acción NJ, said that authorities had detained everyone inside a van on their way to doing landscaping work.
According to Princeton Mayor Mark Freda, immigration officials had initially only been in pursuit of a single person. Ana Paola Pazmiño, executive director of local immigration advocacy group Resistencia en Acción NJ, said that authorities had detained everyone inside a van on their way to doing landscaping work.
Could Princeton avoid the endowment tax by expanding financial aid?
Isaac BarsoumInstitutions will have to pay 8 percent on endowment returns if they have “at least 3,000 tuition-paying students” and “a student adjusted endowment in excess of $2,000,000.” Princeton checks all the boxes. So, we have to pay. Right?
Institutions will have to pay 8 percent on endowment returns if they have “at least 3,000 tuition-paying students” and “a student adjusted endowment in excess of $2,000,000.” Princeton checks all the boxes. So, we have to pay. Right?