The Conscious Coed
I received a really great question via email yesterday that I thought would be a great topic to cover while my trip preparations continue and I serve guacamole for dinner again (Pea Daddy wishes I were kidding).
Kara writes in part,
From reading your blog and other vegan blogs I’ve become increasingly curious about veganism…so I’ve decided to embark on a little vegan-test drive. I want to try going vegan for a week.
My situation as a college freshman makes this both more and less difficult. I’m lucky enough to go to a school that has a vegan station in the dining hall so there is guaranteed hot vegan food for lunch and dinner (though it’s not always guaranteed to be good, which means I’ll have to venture out and find vegan food in the non-vegan sections). But it also means that I can’t cook my own food (save for anything that can easily be microwaved [but that gets expensive and I'm broke]). Sure, I could live off of lettuce and rice for a week, but I really want to experience all the wonderful food veganism has to offer, not deprive myself.Do you have any tips you could give me for eating vegan happily with such limited resources?
Now, I was never a vegetarian or vegan in college. I was, however, a college athlete, and one of my greatest regrets of college (full makeup during athletic competitions and boyfriend selection aside), is my poor food choices during the most competitive athletic period of my life.
I’ll be immodest enough to share that I was pretty good as a player, earning league honors and team MVP, but I’ll never know how great of a player I could have been had I taken nutrition seriously.
Here’s an example of what a day of my eats looked like when I was playing ball, living in the dorms and eating out of the dining halls:
Breakfast: bowl of Corn Pops with skim milk, cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese, glass of Crystal Light
Lunch: toasted bagel with mayo, cheese, mustard and deli turkey slices, apple, Rice Krispy Treat, Diet Pepsi
Pre-game meal: bowl of Lucky Charms, glass of grape juice
Dinner: post game with family at Mexican restaurant: chips and salsa, cheese enchiladas, refried beans, fried rice, followed by 1/2 a pint of Haagen Daas or a small Blizzard
It probably shouldn’t come as such a surprise that a lot of times during practices or games I was sluggish and slow. Despite the fact that much of my downtime between classes and basketball was spent napping, I always felt tired. I certainly had the mentality that since I was working out several hours a day, I could eat whatever I wanted.
It’s amazing to me that today, in my early thirties (very EARLY), having had two kids and major back surgery, I am still in FAR better athletic shape than I was at nineteen. I attribute this single-handedly to nutrition.
(Thanks for the great T-shirt, Matt!)
Knowing what I know now, my suggestions are:
- Stick to the whole grain selections at the cereal bar and bread basket. Most schools offer old fashioned oats, whole wheat toast and multi-grain cereals like Total or raisin bran. Make sure that a non-dairy milk is offered as well, and that the oats are cooked in water and not milk.
- Utilize the salad bar. Make a Hugh Jass salad with spinach and/or romaine, lots of veggies, beans for protein and nuts or sunflower seeds for crunch. Stick to the low fat dressing options or better yet, use vinegar/lemon juice and olive oil. Don’t be afraid to just grab veggies from the bar to snack on or make a veggie sandwich out of.
- Hit the fruit bowl. Most cafeterias have an unlimited supply of apples, oranges and bananas, so eat these any and all the time: for breakfast, snacks, with lunch, as dessert. And if one of two pieces make their way into your messenger bag, so be it.
- Wok it up. Many schools offer an electric wok with veggies to stir fry, rice and tofu. Though it may take a little longer to stand and cook your meal, it’s better than Sausage Bar, isn’t it?
- Use nut butters creatively. While PB&J is a consistent offering and not a bad meal idea on whole grain bread, you can also just grab a scoop and add it to your stirfry or as a dip for fresh veggies.
- Stock your dorm room. Make sure the snacks you keep on hand aren’t just processed vegan foods, like granola bars and pretzels. Stockpile that fruit you smuggled out, buy some nuts and dried fruit and mix your own trail mix and buy some Larabars to munch on. If you have a mini fridge, buy a bag of baby carrots to keep on hand and some almond milk to go with a box of whole grain cereal. If you can get a mini-blender, like a Magic Bullet, you can whip up your own shakes with a quality protein powder, a banana, almond milk and nut butter.
(Guess who that is in her dorm room. Hint: it’s NOT me…and she can see Russia from her house)
- Make friends with the cafeteria comment card. Your school wants to keep its’ students happy and healthy. Request what your school may be lacking, be it more dark green offerings on the salad bar, brown rice with the wok station or non-dairy milk with the cereal station.
Had I made some or all of these changes in college, I probably would have had a lot more energy, avoided the Freshman 15 (or 20, as the case may be) and been a lot more successful on the basketball court. Now if someone had just talked to me about my lipstick…
in college everyone thought i was a vegetarian.
our school’s meat was actually just too terrifying ot eat.
but we had delicious bean burgers… they’re a good thing to look for!
Great tips! I used love that wok thing when I was in school. We just gave the ingredients we wanted to the person making it and they cooked it for us! I miss it.
First off, I love your blog and have been lurking for quite some time.
I’m not sure if you’ve already answered this, but I was wondering if you went cold-tofu into veganism or went vegetarian first. Anyway, this post is awesome because I’ll be leaving for college VERY soon and will need all the help I can get living vegetarian at school. Thanks and have fun in Hawaii!!
Thanks, Emily. I actually started out as a vegetarian for a few months, but only occasionally consumed egg whites, Greek yogurt and rarely some cheese. It wasn’t very difficult for me to transition to veganism after that. I’m not super strict about it, though, and if a baked good or chocolate bar or something else I want has some minimal dairy in it, I don’t obsess about it. I may even have some fresh local fish when we are in Hawaii. I’m leaving myself open to the possibility!
this is great! i am a college freshmen and am so struggling with eating good things here. chicken just makes me feel blah but its hard to have anything w/o it in my cafeteria. and wow i didn’t realize you were 6 ft?! i always thought you were a lot shorter!
Great tips for the aspiring vegan. I think it’s great you’re helping the youth of America
I am an old soccer mom. But I still enjoy the tips 
Girl, I had no idea you were that tall. You’re even taller than I am! How cool is that?!?
I’m supah tall. I hit my head on everything. That explains so much.
Excellent advice and reminders here. Thank you! I had forgotten about the adding of nut butter to smoothies…and I like the idea of adding it to stir fries!
whoa awesome you are so tall!! i am only 5′. (and yeah, i did gymnastics, haha).
and the picture of say-pay (that’s how i J. Lo-ify her name in my head) is hilarious.
Wow, you were/are a super achiever! A 4.0 and on the basketball team? I feel kind of like an underachiever now.
It’s nice to see another tall girl out there!
Love those old school bball pics. And the Palin one too. I actually attended her alma mater, University of Idaho, during the election. The part of the article on Moscow was pretty dead on. Except the part about “the Republicans the party of the poor”. About 1/2 the population of Moscow are poor college students- most of whom support Obama.
Okay not only am i super impressed that you were a crazy good basketball played in college and had a 4.0 grade point average, but the fact that you are leaving yourself open to the possibility of fresh fish (comment above) in Hawaii is so great! I hate it how once you label yourself, or others label you a “vegan” or a “vegetarian” there are all of these expectations that go along with these words that people are so critical of once they learn this about you. It is just a general jealousy for health, so much so that it bothers them that we feed our body nutritious foods and watch us like a hawk should we “fault” off of what society has labeled us for. I have been a vegan for awhile now and a vegetarian for a good part of my life, and i still find myself eating casein or the occasional non-vegan item here or there either by accident or totally purposefully and i am 100% okay with it. I consider myself a vegan because i never really had a taste for meat and animal products never really agreed with me in the first place, so i stopped eating them. It is really refreshing to see that you don’t hold yourself to strict standards and just believe in doing the best for yourself and your family! Life is so much less stressful that way! It took me awhile to notice that… Great post, and i definitely took advantage of the cafeteria fruit while i was in my freshmen year in the dorms… I may or may not have snuck a few trays back to my room as well to use as backings for writing/drawing in bed… You have my permission to add that little tip in if you wish
haha
It’s so funny – this is basically the point of my blog! I’m a college runner, freshman, and became a vegan recently! All your tips are perfect!
I always say that I’m in the best shape of my life. Who knows how I walked, let alone ran and swam and jumped and shot, etc, when I was in highschool or college
LOVE this post. Oh goodness thinking back to the dorm days. SO much processed fooood! 6′ tall? Awesome! Way cool that you had some mad bball skillz. I appreciate you telling us that you don’t sweat it if a small amount of dairy makes it into your diet, or that you might eat fish on your trip. I hope you have a FABulous time!!!!!! Safe travels!
This is a fabulous post. I was never an athlete (I have no coordination and can barely handle myself on a treadmill and a lift few dumbells) but I think I would have been so much more energetic had I indulged in better food choices rather than crystal light and diet coke with bagels (yay fat free craze!)!!!
I remember being a freshmen and going into the main dining hall and seeing all of those cereal dispensers. I was in heaven!
Wow, I had no idea you were so tall from your pictures! Have an awesome vacation!
You’re six feet tall? How have you not been scouted for ANTM yet???
Hmm, did you not catch that “early 30s” part? Also, I haven’t a clue how to “smize,” which I think automatically disqualifies me.
I had no idea you were (are) so tall!!! As a member of the tall girls club myself (5’10), that makes me happy.
Great tips– I wish I’d had this when I was in college…the closest thing I got to a vegetable in all four years was french fries.
I am thoroughly impressed by your basketball skills and grade point average, not to mention it doesn’t look you have aged. I’ll take you skincare secrets in another post please
I was a pretty unhealthy vegetarian when I lived in dorms. Once I moved off campus I was amble to be a pretty healthy vegan though!
Mama Pea, You are such an inspiration! If you are willing to take questions…here’s one..
my daughter is 18 months old and I’m running out of ideas for her daycare meals! I was wondering what you fed your (adorable!!) daughters when they were this age. She eats mostly vegetarian (as I have cut back on the amount of meat I cook and eat in this household!) I’m open to anything that is “safe” (no nut butters until 2 yo). Any advice you have is so welcome!! THANK YOU for being so open, honest and HILARIOUS! Your blog is a bright spot in my hurried day!!
Thanks Lisa! I’ll try to come up with a post about this, but off hand, has she tried hummus? The girls love hummus and crackers. If you don’t mind dairy (my girls eat organic dairy), yogurt, cottage cheese and string cheese are all fantastic. They loved green beans, cream cheese and jelly sandwiches on whole wheat, fruit slices, whole grain crackers, etc. I hope that helps a little!
Love the tips!! I wasn’t a great eater when I was in my sport either (hellooooo fast food!) so I have to wonder how I would have performed if I had cleaned up my act.
PS. Brag away about your achievements!!
athlete AND 4.0? And you’re 6′??? GENETICALLY GIFTED OR WHAT? Great tips though. I wish I was healthy during college or high school. I seriously memorized the dollar menu at bk, mcds, and wendys.
YEAH MAMA! I love those pictures of you. Love love love!
These are great tips, and ones that I followed for the most part while I was in school (especially the part about fruit-in-the-messenger bag).
Great tips!! Wish I’d paid more attention in high school and college, too. My diet consisted mostly of french fries, bagels and beer. Makes me shudder, now!
GREAT tips lady!! I sure wish I came across your blog when I was in college!!
Love these tips! I was lucky enough that in college I had my own apartment, but I was still broke and your tips are great for anyone on a budget. Another great one is, if you have a mini-fridge, to keep hummus. It can go on bagels and is great with veggies. I also use it to top on a veggie-only sub from Subway.
Who knew you were so tall???
As a health conscious college girl, I love your tips! Another big one I have is: don’t be afraid to ditch the meal plan. Trust me. You will save money and have many more options. I do two WF trips per month and a few other smaller grocery runs and I’m set. Cooking doesn’t take as long as you think and it has helped me develop a happier relationship with food!
This is a great post! Also, very helpful for dining while on vacation…limited ability to cook, overflowing buffets.
I was wondering if you could post a similar list of suggestions for pregnant ladies (after your vacay, of course!). I’m in my second trimester and really struggling to eat veggies — my beloved spinach turns me green. I realize everyone’s different but I’d love to hear how you coped.
Congrats, Theresa! I actually ate HORRIBLY during my pregnancy with Gigi (see my college eating plan x 4), but did eat better with Lulu. I’ll see what tips I can come up with to send your way!
Wow, you’re 6 feet tall! You’ve never shared your model potential with blogworld before!
I’m a little nervous about my college dining options as I don’t know for sure where I’m going to school yet. There are always healthy options, though, thanks for the reminder.
If your kids become athletes, with your good athletic genes + their awesome diet, they will be STELLAR!
wow you’re 6 feet?? You’re a whole foot taller than me!
What a great article! I wish I would have eaten better in college as well. My school didn’t have a wok section though but they had a sandwich section which was a little gross. Salad bar was just okay and I don’t even remember seeing any fruit!
GReat tips! I wish I had those tips when I lived in the dorms.
And I’m not surprised that you were an accomplished athlete or an excellent student!! Your girls have a great mom!
This was an awesome post! I totally wish I had better eating habits. I gained 20 pounds too even while going to the school gym all the time(I lived behind it)! The summer I was home I dropped it all without anymore then running a few times a week and my mom’s good home cooking. I wish i had better eating habits as well! Better late then never. Six feet tall?? Impressive!!
I didn’t know you were that tall!!! How did I get stuck playing forward and you got to play guard??? I guess that’s why I never played basketball in college
We used to eat Moe’s before basketball games. Something about chips, queso, and burritos doesn’t sound like the best fuel for 2 hours of physical activity!
I feel for this poster, but it doesn’t have to be hard! Sure, I eat a lot of “my own” food, but even so I take tips from the dining hall, and only ate 2 non-vegan things yesterday. I think your tips were really good. Oatmeal and nut butters are saviors. I definitely steal A LOT of broccoli from the salad bar to steam myself, and if Kara can get tofu from the salad bar, too, she’d be pretty well off with just investing in sauces and spices.
Thanks Mama Pea for the suggestions! They are great and I’m also hoping to slowly transition to full vegetarian/vegan lifestyle.
You’ve done it again. Humor, healthy, and honesty. This is why I continue to visit your awesome blog!
This is a great post. When I was in college, I had a large Bailey’s Irish Cream shake once a week. I think they literally stopped making them once people found out how many calories they had. Probably enough for an entire day.
That picture of Sarah Palin cracked me up.
I’m also blown away that you’re 6′ tall! I don’t know why I always thought of you as petite. Fair warning – I’m a shrimp! Glad that’s out in the open.
Great post. I was more interested in the Sausage Bar in college, if you know what I mean.
No, not really. But I did put on a lot of weight and didn’t take it off till Jr. year (but it’s harder for us shrimp boats).
LOL…Sausage Bar!!!!
I really loved this entry. I’m also in my early 30s (though maybe less early than you) and I was a vegetarian for a decade and that included college. Back then (god I sound old!) it was white rice and beans, cereal, fruit and pb and j. I am still mostly veggie but am in worlds better shape at this stage. Who knew that cleaning up my diet (nutragrain bars are not a meal!) would result in such an increase in my energy and mood and sleep and athletics…I could go on and on.
Thanks again for coming back and always bringing your A game. Have a WONDERFUL trip to Hawaii.
I love that picture!
I definitely had more than my fair share of lucky charms in college too
Um. the Sarah Palin picture? Taken at my Alma Mater, the University of Idaho(commenter #11′s too!)—I remember those dorms.
Great post! Ten years late, but still–informative for those younger readers. Have a great time in HI. You know, I never had any idea that you are 6 feet tall. Cool!
Great suggestions…btw–I think your lipstick was perfect–you have beautiful lips. Back in the day before I was a wife and mother I thought my lips were too big, and felt self conscious even wearing lipstick. Older and wiser I now realize I had awesome lips. Wish I’d have worn lipstick like you did!
These are such wonderful tips, vegan or not! I wish I had stuck to these in college, as well. I was the girl getting salads with heaps of croutons and gross dressing on top, with a side of fries. Gross.
I was a high school athlete and my diet was very similar, lots of refined carbs, diet soda, rice krispie treats and restaurant or fast food. I would often go home from school and crash, sleeping until my parents woke me up for dinner and then going back to bed after that. I do sometimes wish I knew then what I know now but it was definitely a learning experience. Thanks for sharing!
AWESOME and very helpful post, Sarah! I can’t do veganism because my body is craving dairy like there’s no tomorrow right now, but maybe sometime I’ll dable in it in the future again…if I do, I’ll definitely keep this post in mind. Not that I’d ever stop reading your blog anyway, which always offers tons of great ideas.
I so gained the freshman 15 (and then lost it) and then gained the sophomore 15 (and thank god lost it!). Cafeterias are just a place where BAD BAD choices can be found! Now they have much better options, but I wish I followed your advice when I was back. Probably cutting out the drinking and pizza alone would have helped though! and I can’t believe your 6 feet!
i loved this post. how great. wish i had known all this back in college too…i had cereal with vit D milk for nearly every meal. seriously.
awesome tips! I always stole the fruit (amoung other things) from the dining hall in college…there is usually a sandiwhc bar too where you can custom make your own sandwiches and at my college there was ezekial bread option!
Ohhh Mama Pea, you’re so smart and crafty!!! I’m (finally) moving out in a few months and I really want to start eating less animal products. I don’t know if I can go 100% vegan but I definitely want to put some of your tips into use!
Thanks!!!
PS LOVE the big hair
This is great! I’m planning on going to college soon and I am really nervous about being able to find vegan options there. Thanks for the ideas.
this was the cutest post ever! I loved learning more about you, and you gave really great advice!! I would definitely pass this on to college students needing ideas!!
and i totes want a magic bullet still. OOF
i love you!
Are you really 6 FEET tall? And Pea Daddy must be tall too!!! Wow, you lucky people!
I love these tips. I wish I had made more salads in the dorms. Such a great resource! Kind of wish I had dorm food right now, actually.
Great tips! It amazes me to look back and remember what I used to eat and think how did I ever really function?!? HAHA.
Great tips! I’m still in college (graduating in May), but I do wish I’d known half of what I know now in regards to nutrition when I was a freshman. Gah it would have made life easier.
Im a six foot one vegan athlete and proud of it! (Just like you;)
Thanks for all the tips! Im still in school and just moved into an apartment so eating vegan is so much better now:)
Fantastic! I can’t wait to check out your blog!
I don’t play basketball in college, but I played in high school and tennis. I just finished my first year at a california college and it wasn’t too hard finding vegetarian options. Although my school wasn’t really good with food, they’re improving it like putting in a buffet style restaurant because everything just cost by the plate and other people put the food on for us. I won’t be reaping the benefits of having that buffet style place, but as a Nutrition student I”m happy with how I ate overall in my first year. Thank goodness though for being in an apartment next year with other nutrition majors and having access to a kitchen, hooray!
I used to play basketball too in high school! Definitely not as good as MVP in college but I got MVP one year. I haven’t played in a long time as my passion for it and drama with coaches made me not enjoy it as much. My first year of college I managed to eat well, they started putting up nutrition information online about midway through the year and they are making improvements to be healthier. They have a salad bar and stuff, but now as a second year I am going to have my own kitchen so I will be eating a lot of mmm wraps. I’m happy I looked up stuff online though because I found that one place called the “Sandwich Factory” where I sometimes got oatmeal actually used heavy cream for it, but another place only used water. I stopped getting oatmeal from that place though, it’s good but not worth having heavy cream every morning. They won’t change it there because they said people like it. Luckily there is another place that just uses water!
This may seem simple, but I loved doing this at the dining hall in college. Take broccoli off the salad bar and some non-dairy cheese slices off the sandwich area. Put it in a bowl, put another plate on top of the bowl, microwave it for just under a minute, stir. Broccoli with cheese sauce! I was an athlete in college and a vegetarian, but not a vegan. I ate a lot of yogurt and cereal, truthfully. My roommate was vegan, so really I was a vegan minus the yogurt habit. This is a great post! Finding healthy options in a dining hall can take some creativity.
Hi! I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now and just came across this post linked from another post. I had no idea you were so tall. Obviously, my name is also Sarah, I’m vegan, and I’m also 6′ tall! I actually hate being this tall. I kind of feel it’s unfeminine and that I have to be even thinner to make up for it so I don’t look like a huge amazon lady. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I love your blog and find it really inspiring. I’m just 23, and very very single :/ haha but someday I want to be a great vegan stay at home mom like you!
Thanks, Sarah. I’m sure you are beautiful and stoic in your height. Be proud!