Healthy options available to students at food court

Watching your waistline?
Try the new Well ‘Canes bundled meals for only $4.95 at some of your favorite on-campus dining locales.
Dining Services has partnered with the Patti and Allan Herbert Wellness Center to provide on-campus diners with affordable value meals with a twist.
Instead of your server asking, “Would you like fries with that?” each meal comes with an apple and a 20-ounce bottle of water.
“We have to be more aggressive,” Wellness Center Director Norman C. Parsons said. “We have to start taking care of ourselves.”
According to Vice President of Auxiliary Services Mel Tenen, every day of the week, dining facilities like Niko’s, Market Square, Mango and Manny’s and Oasis host a different Well ‘Canes bundled meal.
The dining halls are not participating in the bundled meals initiative.
The program began in February 2010 with buffalo chicken flatbread from Niko’s. Other items on the menu included Mediterranean chopped salad from Market Square, California salad with grilled chicken from Mango and Manny’s and an egg and arugula salad sandwich from Oasis.
Each main item has less than 352 calories and less than 12 grams of fat.
According to the nutrition information on its Web site, a chicken club sandwich from Wendy’s has 620 calories and 29 grams of fat. And that’s without the sugary soda and greasy fries.
Panda Express’ Web site says that an order of orange chicken and lo mein has 800 calories and 34 grams of fat.
Despite the colorful signs advertising the Well ‘Canes bundled meals throughout the food court, students don’t seem to be that enthusiastic about the meals offered at Niko’s, where a toasted salad and a soda usually costs about $8.97. The open-faced vegetable sandwich didn’t have many takers.
“I’m not a vegetable kind of girl,” rising senior Lara Ryan said. “I got the gyro.”
But according to Oasis employee Alonza Bryant, students have been lining up to take advantage of the healthy bundled meals. At Oasis, a signature sandwich with a bag of chips and a soda costs $11.33, more than double the price of a Well ‘Canes bundled meal.
“We sold out of what we made,” Byrant said. “I would rate it pretty good.”
This isn’t the first healthy on-campus dining change of the year. The university added two new healthy snack vending machines and two new fruit vending machines to campus this past year in popular locations like the Ashe building, the law school and the University Center.
It can be difficult for students to maintain healthy lifestyles. The most convenient foods are not always the healthiest options.
“As a college student, it’s expensive to go out. The typical meal at the dining halls is about $10,” rising sophomore Steven Blikstein said. “This $4.95 plan encourages students to eat better while being lighter on the wallet.”
Sarah Hartnig may be contacted at shartnig@themiamihurricane.com.