Graham Browning

We’ve all seen it. The hoards of students flocking to the salad bar for that one condiment that seems to have exploded into the American diet — hummus.

With the past month of cold weather behind and weeks of winter to come, a hot cup of hearty soup may be just what you need.

Major changes have taken place in the Dining Hall since last semester. Besides the new choices of food, nutritional information is now available and displayed for some of the meals. Although not always the most reliable source of information, the app “CampusDish” allows students to see what will be offered that day in the DH, along with estimations of nutritional content.

If you’ve been to the Dining Hall or the PalaDen lately, you’ll notice a new condiment on display. Whether you slap on a spoonful or buy three tubs like I do, the hummus and salsa from Roots Organic Gourmet is taking Furman by storm. This Asheville-based company has been in business since 2006, making mouths water with local flavors and ingredients. Besides their eight variations of hummus, Roots also offers three flavors of salsa and even Tzatziki sauce.

Living a healthy college lifestyle is a challenge. Between friends, parties, and that liberal arts education, finding time to think about healthy choices can seem nearly impossible. The key is to start early. Develop habits at the beginning of the year that will carry through the rest of your time at Furman and hopefully into your post-grad life.

Getting active when you barely have time to breathe is hard. Between classes, clubs, studying, and the occasional spurt of this rare things we call “fun,” doing something physical seems more like a chore. However your days play out here at Furman, it’s never easy to take the time to be physically active. Truth is it doesn’t take that much movement to make you feel better.

You may not think this would change your eating habits much, but trust me, go and look at the sources of food at the grocery store. Bananas from Florida and berries from Chile line the produce section. If you were to eat seasonally, even for a month, your choices would be extremely limited. And maybe that’s a good thing.

There are times in college when you just need a good burger and warm cookies. I’m talking Cookout and Dining Hall to the max. But there are also times, actually 90% of the time, when your body needs good, clean fuel. My goal is to give you ways to make healthy eating just a little easier and that occasional splurge just a little more occasional.