The temptation of Easy Mac is a dangerous threat to those trying half-heartedly to eat healthy in college.

And pre-vet freshman Kelly Andersen knows personally the appeal the microwave-friendly version of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese has on her and her roommates.

“I eat like two meals a day - one at 10 and one at about 5,” she said. “And after about 7, we just sit in here and snack on the Easy Mac, cereal and chips.”

Andersen said though the state of her health has declined while at MSU, she’s not too concerned about it yet.

“I’m young and I don’t really care about what I eat,” she said. “If I want to eat it, I’ll eat it.

“I think about my health and how I shouldn’t eat so much fat, but really you can’t avoid it at the caf.”

Healthy habits

While Andersen is not alone in her eating habits while living on campus, some students are more cooking-savvy than others.

Finance senior Dietrich Bronner eats in the cafeteria while at MSU, but goes on a cooking frenzy when he returns to his hometown of Frankenmuth.

“I really like to make desserts, invent stuff and make dinner for my family when I go home,” he said. “I use fat-free ingredients if I can and use special techniques to make them, so it’s not a total catastrophe.

“When I go home I cook like crazy.”

Bronner, who has been cooking since he was 10 years old, has collected flavorful, healthy concoctions of his own creation, such as recipes for carrot cake, pancakes and cheese cake.

Although Bronner said the cafeterias on campus are convenient, they don’t always feature foods to his liking.

“There are some nights when I’m looking for something a little healthier,” he said.

Food facts

The Tufts Longitudinal Health Study, released in January, followed hundreds of college freshmen in fall 1998 and measured their eating patterns to estimate how those habits could affect them years from now.

Christina Economos, an assistant professor of nutrition and director of the study at Tufts University, said students who come to college and try to stop eating red meat or become vegetarians altogether may lack the skills needed to substitute for the loss of those foods.

“The majority don’t have the proper nutritional knowledge to compensate for the loss of nutrients for red meats,” she said. “Without knowing how to do this, sometimes people make the wrong choices and end up with nutrition

deficiencies.”

Economos said most college students need more calcium, iron and protein in their diets, but said stressful daily routines do not help contribute to the accomplishment of those goals.

“We found some students cope with stress by consuming more alcohol,” she said. “Those aren’t healthy skills for dealing with stress.”

And students who eat too many saturated fats or don’t get enough fiber could be the victims of cardiovascular diseases or various kinds of cancer later in life, Economos said.

“Fruits and vegetables are the best thing they can get their hands on,” she said. “Whole-grain cereals and low-fat yogurt should be part of a diet every day.”

Eating ideas

But for those who are worried that their less-than-healthy eating habits are going to be a problem, good news awaits.

Olin Health Center registered dietitian Ronda Bokram said most college eating habits wane by the time the student graduates.

“College is sort of a different phase time,” she said. “It’s a transitional phase from adolescence to adult life and you try a lot of behavioral and eating patterns, but most of them are not what you will do 10 years from now.”

Bokram said students who are living on campus should try to eat breakfast every day and eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and that students living off campus have many healthy options.

“Especially if you live off campus, keep pasta around so you can always make some kind of stir fry, or have some chicken thrown in,” she said. “Beans are always a good side dish, and two-thirds of the plate should be carbohydrates.”

And Bokram said the task of making a healthy dinner in college doesn’t have to be a big one.

“Sometimes one of the fun things to do is get a cooking magazine and fix different things from it once a month,” she said. “Learn how to cook with friends and make it fun to do.”

College cooking

But for college students who are lacking the time to cook a meal or are just lazy, there are solutions that require only a minimal amount of skill or motivation.

Alexandra Nimetz, 24, one of the authors of “The Healthy College Cookbook,” said the recipes contained in the book were created or submitted by the authors and their friends when they were students at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass.

“We tested, adapted them and made them simpler,” she said. “They’re simple things that don’t take too many ingredients or much time.”

Nimetz said recipes in the cookbook range from soups and salads to recipes with fish or chicken and vegetarian meals.

And rather than rely on late-night fast-food or takeout, the style of cooking captured in the book could be a healthier habit for students to get used to.

“Most people don’t think about it and they just order a pizza, sub or whatever,” Nimetz said. “But it’s easy to make quick things that are good and save them so you can just eat that as a snack.”

Students should keep in mind that eating out, even if the food is relatively healthy, doesn’t substitute for a home-cooked meal, Nimetz said.

“It’s often cheaper and takes less time to cook yourself,” she said. “It’s fun too - you can have people over and make it an event.”