By Nicholas Pandolfo
Staff Reporter
Staying healthy when going out to eat may be a difficult thing to do. As spring arrives, many people may begin to change their eating habits, especially when choosing to eat out.
Often students choose to eat out instead of cooking because of what may be offered at restaurants, or if they do not want to cook themselves. There are many options for students in the Fairfield area that offer healthier choices.
Three of them are Organika, The Granola Bar, and Catch a Healthy Habit Café.
Organika has a menu similar to most other restaurants, but the ingredients are all fresh and organically grown.
For food, you could get breakfast items such as salads, burgers, soup, protein bowls, pizza and more. For beverages, they have smoothies, fresh organic juices, and wheatgrass.
“The Kalifornia Burger was really good, you can really taste the difference in the ingredients,” said sophomore Minas Kostis.
Kostis, a health science major, is a part of the Theatre Arts Program and the SHUpermen choir here. He needs his body and voice to be as healthy as possible so he can perform well.
The Granola Bar tries to have healthier options by offering many granola-based dishes and vegetables as sides and toppings.
They also offer many traditional items like salads, sandwiches, and wraps, as well as beverages like smoothies and several different types of coffee.
“The parfaits are really good,” said sophomore Gavin Thurlow.
Thurlow has to stay in shape because he is enrolled in The Reserves Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program at Yale University. ROTC is college and university-based officer training programs.
Thurlow wants to be in the Air Force and recently enrolled in flight school.
Some students say the change from winter to spring encourages them to eat healthier.
“I usually find myself being healthier during the warmer months,” said senior Alyxandra Bailey. “Typically during the winter I feel trapped in the house, and so I think I opt to eat and workout less because I don’t want to leave the house as much.”
Catch a Healthy Habit Café, is one of the healthier restaurants you could go to. They replace a lot of unhealthy ingredients in regular dishes with much healthier alternative ones.
They have veggie burgers, kinds of pasta, pizza and even cereal. The cereal replaces regular milk with almond milk, and the meatballs are not made with the usual hamburger meat.
They substitute all of the unhealthy ingredients out because the alternatives are much better for you.
“They are very accommodating for people who have allergies. Being gluten-free, this is a great place for me to go,” said senior Trevor Guerrera.
Guerrera is a nursing major, and is on the Cross Country and Track and Field teams at Sacred Heart. He is also gluten-free, which he says can be annoying at times, but it ensures that he maintains a healthy diet all of the time.
Students say that the change of season does not impact how they eat, but it is nice knowing there are healthy options in the area if they need it.
“I don’t necessarily change any of my eating habits when it becomes warmer outside, but I like knowing that there are other places I can go if I want something healthy,” said senior Abigail McCarthy.
But some students do not watch what they eat when they go out if they have a consistently healthy diet.
“I eat pretty healthy most days of the week, so when I do go out, I do not get the healthiest food because that’s when I can get something unhealthy and kind of cheat on my regular diet,” said sophomore Justin Klotz. “It also tastes better.”
Klotz is a health science student also on the Cross Country and Track and Field teams here. Since he needs to maintain a healthy diet all year round, going out to eat is his version of his cheat day.
“For me, going out to is pretty rare, but when I do, I make the most of it,” said Klotz.
Not everyone can consistently eat healthy all of the time, but if you are going out to eat and want a healthier option, there are plenty of places that you could go.
“Being healthy is very important, especially when there are diseases and sicknesses spreading around campus. We must take every precaution we can. Washing your hands is not the only thing that is going to protect you,” said Kostis.
