Some of us were not allowed to leave the dinner table until they were gone, and some of us fed our peas to the dog: the dreaded vegetable. Believe it or not, our parents were right all along about eating those weird steamed things. Fruits and vegetables provide our bodies with nutrients that we need to keep our bodies running smoothly, but now that we’ve flown the nest, there’s less reinforcement on finishing our greens. Luckily, there are many resources on campus where we can find these foreign foods.

The EMU

There are so many fast food options here that it’s easy to overlook the healthy ones—especially when your brain is screaming, Chipotle! Chipotle! The Fresh Market on the base level of the EMU contains many healthy options that will still crush your cravings. They have a salad bar where servers will build it for you, along with fresh fruits like apples and bananas or snackable vegetables like cucumbers and baby carrots.

Carson Dining Hall

I’ve heard people say, “Let’s be real here. No one goes to Carson and eats the salads.” This statement isn’t quite true, I’ve seen people gravitate towards the salad bar before. However, the other underrated healthy choice is the fruit bar, available while Carson is open between 7:30 am and 8 pm. It usually consists of whole bananas, grapes, chopped up cantaloupe and honeydew melon, whole apples, and other rotating options depending on the season. It’s hard to leave Carson without snagging a fresh piece of melon, so why not add a few extra?

Grab-N-Go at GSH

Although this may be on the edge of campus, the green options here are to die for. You would have to be really trying to avoid making eye contact with all the healthy goodness available. There is an array of premade salads, along with a totally separate deli where they have even more salad options. If leaves just aren’t your thing, the Grab-N-Go also has delicious rice bowls that you can load up with steamed vegetables. The rice bowl station is the most famous among the Grab-N-Go’s many visitors: vegetables provide a healthy kick while rice makes it more filling. Combined, these foods make for a scrumptious and nutritious meal.

Hamilton

This much-loved dining hall is known for its array of options. People go crazy for it’s snacky food and breakfast menu, however, it’s fruits and vegetables serve as a minority.. They may not be obvious, but we promise you they’re there, hidden in cartons as soon as you walk in.. Just like in GSH and LLC, Hamilton also has fruit smoothies which are a tasty and healthy way to get your greens fix for the day. Most of Hamilton’s smoothies feature a combination of fruits and vegetables, but there are some that are strictly fruit-filled and others that are mainly protein.

 
In order to ignore the fact that subsisting on chips, candy, and ice cream is not healthy for you, you would have to be in a very heavy state of denial. If you don’t eat fruits and vegetables solely for the reason that they nourish your body, you should at least take into consideration that mothers know everything. If you visit home for the holidays, be ready to face your mother’s disappointing stare — she knows.