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I am a fourth-year college student, close to graduation. When I got accepted to Boise State University, I instantly heard the rumors of older adults laughing about the “freshman 15,” which is an expression of weight gain after the first year of college. This being a concern, I became more health conscious about the food I was eating. Although, I often could slip by not treating myself well which was also common among my roommates. I’ve witnessed whole milk stored in cabinets, often skipped meals, nicotine to suppress hunger, not eating to feel the effects of alcohol more, as well as the same two repeated meals for the entire year (eggs and oatmeal). Lacking nutrition never aided my immune system when fighting back the frat flu. Although I was concerned about gaining the “freshman 15”, I was more concerned about my finances as I thought I could not afford quality food or I would get so hungry I thought eating quick and fast food was my only option. According to Dr. Bottorff in Science Daily, “We know many students consume high-calorie meals along with sugary foods and drinks, and there is lots of evidence to show those kinds of eating behaviors can lead to obesity,” and many of these poor eating habits begin in your early 20’s. Eating this poorly through my first years of college led to inadequate nutrition intake, weight gain, and declining mental health and energy. This later caused me to contract mono, which led me to drop out a semester of college.

Before contracting mono, I had a very strong immune system. Mono resulted in a post-viral illness with symptoms such as being lethargic and having a lowered immune system which is receptive to strep four times each year; I felt as though I am never not sick. Through time I realized the only thing that gave me enough energy to continue my degree and go to work is eating quality food. Health is holistic; Understanding stress management, nutrition, and sleep is a whole-system recovery approach. This is a psychological approach, as you must care about yourself enough to stay healthy throughout college. I believe lacking nutrition was my first step to my declining health, so I will be sharing insights for young college students; And yes, it is possible to get healthy food on a tight budget. 

Sharing the experience of declining health due to mono, I asked Stephanie Rose, a now-retired nurse who specialized in diabetes education, for nutrition help. She quoted a book by Michael Pollan, “Eat Food… Not Too Much… Mostly Plants”, which she uses as a guideline when grocery shopping for herself as well as tips for her patients. When understanding how to properly grocery shop Stephanie Rose recommends beginning outside of the aisles, as this is how you get the freshest foods; however, before grocery shopping, you must understand your household and your fridge/kitchen space. Significant data demonstrates that college students often pick up eating habits from adolescence, as well as their peers. In a study conducted by Birmachu, A., & Heidelberger, L. (2023), they asked three questions “What are the dietary beliefs of college students” “What factors influence the dietary beliefs and eating behaviors of students” and “How do social support and stress influence the eating behaviors of college students”. They found four major themes that influenced their eating behaviors: “food and health beliefs,” “social influence,” “university influence,” and “body image belief.” There was a large correlation between what friends and roommates were eating contributing to the individual eating, alluding to this being a personal community effort. Creating family-style meals with your roommates or meal prepping one meal seven times and swapping with seven friends can help ensure that you are getting quality meals on a small budget. 

If you are a busy and fully independent college student, who does not have the financial flexibility to spend more money than necessary, here are some grocery shopping habits to begin practicing now: 

Step 1: Plan your budget, coupons, and grocery stores based on the meals you plan to make. Properly fitting a grocery bill into your budget can help you feel less stressed and guilty about what you’re buying.

Tips: Understand your grocery stores’ target audiences. For example, stores like Trader Joe’s target audience are for an educated middle class. Everything with a Trader Joe’s label contains no artificial preservatives, no artificial flavors, no GMOs, no MSGs, and everything is at a lower cost. You can also use apps such as Flipp to find the best deals in your area. There is also free food at the Boise State Pantry and bulk dry storage items at Winco.

Step 2: Shop outside the aisles of the grocery stores, and pay attention to pricing and portion sizes for the length of your grocery trip. 

Tips: Grocery stores offer smaller portion sizes for those who are single eaters, offering 6 egg cartons instead of 12. Only buy what you are planning to eat till the next time you plan to grocery shop. Frozen vegetables are sometimes more nutrient-rich than in the produce sections, as they are picked ripe off the vine and then frozen. 

Step 3: When planning on a grocery trip, save enough time to properly store your food after and prep your food to be “ready to eat.” 

Tips: If the loaf of bread you have is molding faster than you anticipate, freeze half of your bread. Wash your fruits and vegetables and prep them to be “grab and go” accessible. Prep a salad bar in your fridge so you can make different salads each day; you can also turn stale bread into croutons for your salad. Also, DO NOT store refrigerated milk in the cabinet, but you could store alternative shelf-stable milk in cabinets until ready for use. 

Understanding how to properly prepare and store your food is a necessity when on a tight budget, and understanding when foods go bad is the next step. The New York Times article, “The Food Expiration Dates You Should Actually Follow” by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt shares knowledge on food preservation as well as long-lasting foods that should be house staples. White flour, dried beans and lentils, spices, jarred and canned goods, oils, condiments, eggs, and milk can all last longer than the expiration dates. All listed, besides eggs and milk, can last for years after expiration dates unless there is moisture in the bags or rust or improper sealing in cans. J. Kenji Lopez-Alt provided an interesting insight regarding milk, “want longer-lasting milk? Look for “ultrahigh temperature,” or “UHT on the label.”. This milk goes through a different process, which eliminates additional bacteria, viruses, and bacteria spores, which causes milk to go bad faster; this milk is often sweeter in taste. She also mentioned that eggs are typically good 30 days after the expiration date. However, you can properly check this by placing them in water and if they float, toss them. This differs from farm fresh eggs; when buying eggs locally, if they have not been washed previously, they are stable enough to sit on the counter for two weeks or three months in your fridge.

By following these steps, I slowly built up my household staples, which later helped me save additional costs. Our society often idealizes “workaholics” and the sacrifices they make to achieve this status. I often hear phrases such as “I only got 3 hours of sleep last night” or “I’ve been so busy I forgot to eat all day.” Sacrificing these necessities should not be idealized as it can lead to burnout and unhealthy habits post-graduation. As we are in one-to-two-person households, we should be practicing healthy habits to implement when our households get busier, or so we have enough energy to step confidently into our careers. We cannot solely rely on energy drinks and coffee.  Stephanie Rose made sure to note that this was a political issue rather than a personal issue, taking the blame society puts on the individuals and placing it back on the larger corporations. She asserted that “America’s eating is disordered,” “you’re being manipulated by what you are being served…” and reminded that this process “…is not always comfortable”. Unfortunately, discovering what your body needs to feel fulfilled is often a long journey. Have forgiveness with yourself, I began this journey in 2021, and I am still learning how to listen to what I need and I will continue this many years later. 

Resources

1. Whisner, C. M., Maldonado, J., Dente, B., Krajmalnik-Brown, R., & Bruening, M. (2018). Diet, physical activity and screen time but not body mass index are associated with the gut microbiome of a diverse cohort of college students living in university housing: a cross-sectional study. 

BMC Microbiology, 18(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-018-1175-y

2. Prushinski, G., Etaugh, C., Sas, M., Newell, A.,

“The Freshman Fifteen:” Prevalence and Predictors of Weight Gain Among College Freshmen Students, 

Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2017.06.336.

3. Basha, Osama Mohammed (09/01/2023). “Impact of gut Microbiome alteration in Ulcerative Colitis patients on disease severity and outcome.”. 

Clinical and experimental medicine (1591-8890), 23 (5), p. 1763.

4. Shanahan, F., Ghosh, T. S., & O’Toole, P. W. (2021). The healthy microbiome—what is the definition of a healthy gut microbiome? Gastroenterology, 160(2), 483–494. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2020.09.057
5. Das, B., & Nair, G. B. (2019). Homeostasis and dysbiosis of the gut microbiome in health and disease. Journal of Biosciences : Published by the Indian Academy of Sciences, 44(5), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-019-9926-y 
6. S. Rose, Diabetes Educator (Nurse), March 30, 2024
7. “A Student’s Poor Eating Habits Can Lead to a Lifetime of Illness.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 24 May 2023, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230524182034.htm. 
8. López-alt, J. Kenji. “The Food Expiration Dates You Should Actually Follow.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Apr. 2020, http://www.nytimes.com/article/expiration-dates.html.