The NUMBER ONE question that I get asked all the time is, “Jacob! How do you manage to be paleo and eat healthy on campus?” And I totally get it. I had absolutely no idea where to start and absolutely no idea where to look when I arrived on campus for my first semester at OSU. It took a lot of figuring out and there were a lot of kinks (mostly budget), but I did it, and I did it well. Even as a college student, I’m maintaining at-least 90% primal/paleo compliance without having to starve myself, eat salads for all my meals, or spend all my money.
This guide and the recommendations that I’ve put together are from my personal experience of being on the paleo diet as a college student. Although some of the solutions I present may not be available in your location, my hope is that you will find something of value for your situation in this guide (and leave with more confidence in your ability to pursue a healthy diet on a college campus).
This guide assumes that you already know the basics of a paleo/primal diet and will focus more on finding access to the right kinds of food that are needed to support that diet on a college campus. For an in-depth guide on the paleo diet and how to get started with it, you can check out my post, How To Be Paleo.
Paleo In College: Dining Hall Solutions
Talk To Your School’s Dietitian
In either your first or second week of school, schedule to meet with your dietitian. They are the number one resource to go to on campus for your dietary needs and you are going to want to start building a relationship with them as soon as you can. The dietitian is such an important resource because not only will they explain your food options for eating in campus dining halls, but they will also get you connected to the dining hall chefs and even help you look for outside resources to fit your needs.
The dietitian loves to help students… it’s there job! Even with such a strict diet of paleo/primal, they want to see us fed with the food we want and need!
Heck, you could probably get your dietitian to bulk order organic produce and grass-fed meats if you showed that there were at-least a few students who would benefit from it.
Seriously, all you have to do is ask. But that’s the thing. The dietitian can’t help and offer amazing resources to you if they aren’t aware of what’s needed. GO TALK TO THEM! I bet you’ll be very surprised at what they can offer.
Reaching Out To The Dietitian
With a diet as strict and as far away as possible from standard food allergies, you may find yourself struggling to clearly express all the tiny, but important components of your diet. I’ll include here the exact email that I sent to my school’s dietitian as a template for you to use when making that first contact with your dietitian:
Dear Ms. _______,
During my recent campus orientation, I was directed to write to you regarding dining options/locations that would meet my dietary requirements.
I have allergies to gluten, dairy (except for grass fed butter and ghee), and soy and I try to avoid sugar. Simply put, my diet consists of foods in their natural state, unadulterated (without chemicals, pesticides, insecticides, fungicides and unrefined). I try to stick with eating only whole, real, fresh, organic and unprocessed foods.
I AVOID these foods:
- All gluten, dairy, soy and sugar
- Table salt
- All commercially processed food that contain additives, preservatives, dyes, MSG and artificial sweetners.
- Conventionally raised beef and poultry products. These are raised on genetically modified grains and soy that contain pesticides as well as injected with antibiotics and hormones
- Farmed seafood
- All refined vegetable oils (canola, corn, safflower, soy, sunflower and peanut)
- All imitation butters and margarine.
I EAT these foods:
- All organic vegetables and organic fruit
- Grass fed meats (beef, bison, lamb) all anti-biotic, hormone and pesticide free
- Pastured eggs all anti-biotic, hormone and pesticide free
- Pastured chickens/turkeys all anti-biotic, hormone and pesticide free
- Small wild caught fish— all anti-biotic, hormone and pesticide free
- Organic nuts (except peanuts) and seeds
- In place of refined vegetable oils, I use grass fed butter, ghee or coconut oil
- In place of processed salad dressings, I use organic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.
- I use sea salt in place of refined table salt.
I currently prepare most of my meals at home since eating out is usually problematic due to the type of oils used in cooking foods and the many food additives. For example, I can eat eggs, however, most restaurants use imitation butter or refined vegetable oils to cook them in or put on them. Even the gluten free options contain many problematic ingredients for me so I prefer to stick with real, whole food versus processed and packaged foods.
I guess where I would like your help is steering me in the direction of the best dining options/locations given my specific dietary needs.
You can reach me at my buckeyemail, ____________ and my cell phone ____________.
I appreciate any guidance you can provide in terms of on or off campus dining options. I’ll be living in Morrill Tower and have purchased the unlimited dining option. I’m also going to be moving in early for the R-LEAD program on August 12th.
Sincerely,
Jacob Kenneally
Meeting With Dining Hall Chefs
As I mentioned, your dietitian will most likely get you connected with your campus dining hall chefs… if they don’t bring it up, make sure you do! The chefs are another great resource you can utilize to make sure you are getting the good, healthy food that fits with the paleo/primal/or any other diet.
You can talk to the chef/s about specialized meals just for you, and even set up consistent times to eat in a certain dining hall where the chef can prepare exactly what you want and how you want it. I haven’t done this, but you might get lucky with a chef who will!
Even if the chef/s don’t cook specialized meals for you, the next best thing to do is ask if they can cook your vegetables in coconut oil or ghee — because the vegetables in dining halls are usually cooked in margarine or another fake butter. As long as you supply the healthy oil, the chef will usually accept your request!
Filling Your Plate In Dining Halls
So you’ve met with your dietitian and some of the dining hall chefs and know some of your options for eating, now you’ve got to fill your plate with that food!
One of the big pitfalls I see when one tries to eat paleo in a dining hall is the exclamation, “There’s nothing here for me to eat!” or “It’s just the same thing every single day…”
If that’s the mindset you go in with, of course you can’t expect to be able to make yourself a good, high quality meal that leaves you satisfied!
Have some creativity, and more importantly, an open-mind. There are so many different ways to craft a healthy meal = there’s no room for excuses. If it helps, plan the meals you are going to eat by looking ahead at the next week’s menu (usually found online) and think of different ways to make use of all the paleo compliant food that is available to you. Throw an egg or a ton of vegetables on a burger patty, make a salad from the salad bar and cut up grilled chicken to put in it — if you want some inspiration, I’ll be posting photos of what I eat in dining halls on my instagram!
Dining Hall Wrap-Up
If you’ve talked to your dietitian, spoken to some of the dining hall chefs, and are willing to plan ahead and get creative, there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to put together a healthy paleo meal for yourself in a college dining hall.
If dining halls aren’t your thing, this next bit will be especially for you!
Paleo In College: Cooking On Your Own
Cooking In Your Residence Hall
If you’re lucky enough to get placed in a residence hall with a fully-working and CLEAN kitchen, cooking your own meals should be an idea that you give some thought to. With “home” cooked meals you know exactly what you’re putting your body AND it’s definitely going to taste better than pretty much all of the dining hall food.
The big key when cooking your own meals in a residence hall kitchen is quick/easy, so I recommend staying away from the (delicious) recipes that have a full page of ingredients and that require more than an hour of cook-time. Because we’re all aware of how valuable time is as college students — but hey, if you’ve got the time, you might as well go all out and cook up some awesome stuff! For most of us though, quick, easy, and healthy are the way to go. You can find some of these recipes on my recipe page!
If time is a really big issue for you, I’ve got two solutions that totally eliminate the need for you to be present while your food is cooking.
Cooking In Your Dorm Room
The Hot Logic and Hot Logic Mini
I got my first hot logic this year for Christmas and I absolutely love it! It’s basically a little portable oven that looks like an ordinary lunchbox — all you do is put your food in, plug it-in, and then come back in a few hours to a perfectly cooked meal! This was a serious game-changer for me because I can throw something together in the morning before my classes, then come back to a meal all ready to go after class. There’s no waiting in long lines for sub-par food in dining halls; just unplug and enjoy!
What’s great about the hot logic is that it works for nearly everything – you can heat up leftovers or make an entirely new meal from scratch and it even works great on frozen foods!
A Slow-Cooker
Similar to a hot logic, getting a slow-cooker or crock pot can be another great option that saves time and gives you comfort in knowing the exact quality of the food that you are eating. There’s a number of simple and delicious paleo crock pot recipes that you can find online!
The one problem that you’ll probably run into is that slow-cookers and crock pots are generally not allowed to be in dorm rooms. Be sure to check your residence hall policies on that before you invest in one or bring one into your dorm. In the case that they aren’t allowed, the Hot Logic Mini is the perfect substitute. While technically it’s a slow-cooking oven, it’s small size and ordinary “lunchbox” appearance will help you slip it into your room undetected.
Cooking On Your Own Wrap-Up
You’ve got quite a few options to food when it comes to cooking on your own. Residence hall kitchens are great if you’re lucky enough to have a clean one and the time, but a Hot Logic Mini or slow-cooker are great alternatives that can cook your food for you while you’re away at class. No matter which you choose, you can find peace in knowing exactly where your ingredients are coming from and get that deliciousness that college dining hall foods very much lack. See… it’s not so hard to be paleo in college!
Eating Out (Where to Find Paleo Foods)
A huge part of the college experience is centered around food. With a paleo diet, going out to eat with your friends may scare you – “What if _______ will think I’m weird because of all my food restrictions!?” I get it. When I first started with the paleo diet, I was so embarrassed to have to tell the server all my allergies and ask for a whole bunch of substitutions in front of other people, especially my friends! But I learned to get over it. After a few times of grabbing grub, my friends stopped with the silly looks and came to understand it as normal.
Knowing what I know now, I shouldn’t have even felt embarrassed or sorry in the first place; it’s my health and I should be proud to be fueling my body with the best food that I can get my hands on.
Health may not be the number 1 priority of those around me right now, but one day it will. Congratulate yourself for being ahead of the crowd.
Ok, so you’ve gotten over the fear of being “that” person, so now Where and What the heck can you eat?
Where To Eat
Since I have no way of knowing what’s around you and what all of your options are, the best advice I can give on where to eat is to just use your brain. You know what you should be putting in your body and what to avoid so just follow your gut… literally 🙂 Do research if you need to — if you spend like two hours on a Sunday finding all food joints that you could potentially eat at you’ll be all set and prepared for those sporadic “Hey! Let’s go get food together!” moments.
What To Eat
Lots of repetition here, but it’s to make a point. What goes in your body is completely under your control — so choose to eat whatever is in your dietary guidelines. In the case of paleo, I find it easiest to start by asking for the gluten-free options, then modify as needed (remove dairy, soy, msg, etc). If I order something that’s normally cooked in butter, I ask to make sure it’s real butter that they are using instead of margarine or another “butter-like” spread.
You may also want to ask what oils will be used to cook your food. Restaurants tend to use vegetable/canola oil which we paleo folks know to be no bueno… (see healthy fats for more).
Eating Out Wrap-Up
Have no shame, do your research, ask questions, and enjoy your food!
Paleo In College: Snack Supply In The Dorm and Food Delivery Services
If the dining halls, cooking on your own (dorm or in res hall kitchen), and going out to eat start getting old, I’ve got one last option for you – a food delivery service! How awesome would it be to have cooked meals sent right to your dorm??!! It’s legitness… and you don’t have to worry too much about your budget!
I found this great place here in Columbus called, FoodByBell, that will prep/cook/deliver full on paleo meals exactly how/when I want them. It costs me only $25 for two full meals of organic, delicious food — and the price drops if I were to buy more in bulk! I think it’s totally worth it and at a very reasonable price. Unfortunately, FoodByBell is only located here in Columbus but that’s not to say there isn’t something this awesome near you! Just do some research and look around, you’ll definitely find something!
If you haven’t already, download the Tapingo app, and look on there to see if there are any nearby restaurants that will deliver food right to your dorm. There is a $4 delivery fee, however, it’s very convenient for those super lazy OR super busy days when you just don’t have time to go and get your own food. If you use my code: JACOBKENNEALLY0714 , you and I will both get $4 off our next orders!
There’s a second aspect to food delivery services too; ordering snack foods and produce! Since ordering full on paleo, organic meals everyday of the week would be completely ridiculous and expensive, a better option is to order snack foods to have in the dorm for whenever you so feel.
Where are you gonna get these healthy snacks?
Thrive Market!
Thrive Market literally has everything I need, from grain-free granolas, to paleo chocolate bars, to chips, protein bars, nut butters, you name it. They’re so awesome because they offer just about everything at discounted prices AND send you free stuff! That’s what we college students love to hear, am I right!? You can get another 25% off if you use my link.
If you’re lucky, you may also have an organic grocery store right near you on campus – if you do, make sure you are utilizing it as much as possible. Another good option is to make weekly/monthly trips to a target/Kroger/Meijer and find fresh produce in their organic section to stock up your dorm with.
Amazon is another great option for fast and cheap snack food options. Just go on there and search paleo/gluten-free _____ and you should see a plethora of good options to choose from.
For a simple, 100% unprocessed paleo snack, get some cashews, almonds, walnuts, brazil nuts, dates, raisins, and cacao nibs and make yourself a big thing of trial-mix.
Food Delivery & Snacks Wrap-Up
Meal delivery services are super convenient (and delicious), but should only be used a few times a month.. Unless you’ve got a budget that can sustain them consistently over the long-term. Other than just getting meals delivered, healthy snacks and produce can also be delivered right to your dorm! Thrive Market and Amazon are the probably your best/cheapest options but your local grocery stores may also have some good stuff. Either way, having healthy, paleo snacks always on hand has been a serious helper in calming any cravings that pop up throughout the day.
Paleo In College: Researching Your Options
Hopefully, you’ve picked up that doing your own research is the big thing when trying to maintain your healthy eating on a college campus. You’ll never find out if you don’t go looking in the first place, so start looking!
Student Orgs and Clubs
A great place to start is your college’s list of student orgs and clubs. For me, this search introduced me to the student farm at my college and a club called, Best Food Forward. They bulk buy local, fresh produce and have it delivered right to a residence hall on campus. I then pay $6 and get a dorm package full of all that goodness!
If you’re school doesn’t have a student farm, or health food club, go ahead and start one! You are definitely not the only person who wants to be healthy/paleo, there are more and more of us out there! I think it literally takes like three people and one staff member to start a club so go make it happen!
Dining Services
The next place to start looking is your school’s Dining event calendar. I had no idea, but the dining services are always holding events or hosting chefs to come cook and educate students about food and nutrition. It’s pretty awesome stuff so be sure to check it out!
Get involved
If you are really looking to make a change, figure out how you can get involved in your school’s student government. At OSU, you have to write a few essays in an application to apply, and I bet that’s pretty normal across most colleges. But once your in, you can immediately start a project and make a difference. Right now, I’m working on bringing a local Farmer’s market to campus and on the back burner I’m trying to figure out how plausible it is to make a whole new Paleo meal plan or even a Paleo food truck. These things would obviously be more expensive, but I think a lot of people would be willing to pay that little bit extra for the higher quality food.
Get involved, reach out to people, ask questions, and create for yourself and others a college experience rich in healthy foods and optimal health. It’s easier said than done, but you can do it!
If you’ve found something of value in this post, let me know and share it with your friends! If you know of other options for college students, please tell me too!
