Is your college canteen serving you healthy food?

How many of you have thought twice before grabbing that pack of chips or indulging in a bowl of noodles when in college? Would you rather go for a cheesy burger or grab a bowl of freshly cut fruits instead, in order to deal with your hunger pangs on campus? Bangalore Times went around colleges to find out what sort of food is served to students and here is what we found...

A mix of healthy and junk
While many colleges do offer traditional south Indian breakfast like Idly, Vada, Dosa and Pongal, there are also dishes such as Poori Bhaji, Chapatti, Bread Omlette, roti and sabzi that students opt for. Lunches usually consist of variations of Fried Rice, dal and rice and vegetable combos or thalis. On the other hand, some colleges also offer biryanis (both non-vegetarian and vegetarian) and pastas for lunch. But when it comes to snacks, junk food mostly takes precedence over healthy snacks. Chips, chocolates, soft drinks, Fried Bhajjis, Puffs, Brownies, Fries, along with noodles is the popular choice. Tanya Bagga, a third-year student from Jain University — CMS, says, "There are lots of options in our college canteen such as sandwiches, burgers, pizza, juices, fruit salads, fries and such. I, however, mostly opt for sandwiches because it is good option and healthy because they use fresh vegetables and cheese. For an even more healthy option, there are fruit salads too."

Some students, though, make the most of the healthy options available in their canteens or mess. "The food that we get is quite good. It's reasonable and tastes good too. The menu has expanded recently and includes a lot more items such as Chole Kulche, Pav Bhaji, Samosa, Masala Toast, Dosa, Bread Omelet, Parantha, Chicken Biryani, Rice, Chapati and more," says Souvik Mandal, a student from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Bengaluru, adding that though the focus in his college is on homemade food, in the cafeteria you do get items like chips, puffs and more.

Teachers differ from students
Though students think that there is a lot of junk food available in their respective college canteens, teachers feel that in spite of junk food, there are lots of healthy dishes available that students can choose from. "I think the food you get over here in the canteen is really good. Junk food is there, but there are different combinations of hygienic food as well. It is the choice of the individuals to take what they want. You cannot force them. We have all kinds of food ranging from Roti and Sabzi, including normal junk food that you get everywhere," says Professor Jagadish Rao, of New Horizon College of Engineering.

Students from the same college, however, disagree and say that though there has been an improvement in the past two year, more needs to be done. "According to me, the food here is not hygienic at all. It is definitely better than what we used to get before around two years ago. But I do not think that the food is up to the level," says Gayathri T, a third-year student from the same college.

Quantity over quality
When asked if colleges should include healthy options like salads and soups, students feel that though it may be healthy, it may not be filling. "Salads and other healthy dishes don't really fill your stomach for the day. And being a student, we wouldn't want to spend more money for something that is not going to fill our stomach for long," says Mahima Bijlani, a final-year student, St Joseph's College.

Ditch junk, opt for healthy
Nutrition and wellness consultant Sheela Krishnaswamy says that there are two things when it comes to the canteen food. "There seems to be good healthy options when it comes to breakfasts and lunches. However, when it comes to snacks, healthier options like fruit salads, sprout salads, puffed rice, dhokla and usal can be included." She adds, "Institutions need to wean of dishes like noodles that are high in fat and maida. They are not high in nutrition at all."

But she also says that the onus is on students as well to make healthier choices. "Students, too, need to make healthy choices. Once in a while, it is fine to have soft drinks and noodles but they hardly have any nutrition in them. Once the demand for junk food reduces gradually, the vendors or the management can cut down on the supply of junk food," says Sheela, adding, "Dishes like pastas and pizzas can be made healthy. Instead of maida-based pastas, whole wheat pastas can be used with lots of vegetables and paneer and cheese for proteins. Pizzas, on the other hand, can be a better option if whole wheat base is used along with lots of vegetables."

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