EATING BA L A NCED MEALS IN COLLEGE An Interview with Dr. Jennifer Farrell Program Director for Didactic Program in Dietetics & Undergraduate Coordinator
What comprises a balanced meal?
"Your three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat. A healthy meal is going to have all of that and as many vitamins and
Why are you such a passionate advocate for nutrition and dietetics? "I grew up in a family where we loved food! We loved to cook new and healthy foods, and both of my sisters ended up going into a food-related field. When I found a science of nutrition course, I fell in love with it and realized that there is a career for somebody who loves food."
minerals as you can pack in there. There is still going to be some fat in there, so a "fat-free" meal doesn't make it a healthy one. Two servings of vegetables and a healthy protein is a really good start for a meal, and grains are excellent at providing a lot of vitamins because they're enriched, but you don't have to have grains at every meal if you're getting a lot of carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables."
What challenges do you see stopping young adults from eating balanced meals? How can they be overcome?
"Timing of meals. Because the [class schedules on week days] are inconsistent, you end up skipping meals, so you're ravenous, and you grab something to fill that hunger quickly. It's that inconsistency of meals, and grabbing meals late at night, that makes it very hard to plan [meals] out, and that makes it easier to grab unhealthy options like comfort foods. Planning out to have something in your bag, like nuts, a piece of fruit, etc., might make it easier to tide you over between healthy meals as opposed to going for the unhealthy option."
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