Nutrition for College Students With CF
Learn tips and tricks for staying healthy on campus.
CF students need extra nutrients
College is full of new experiences, from living in the dorms to taking classes, meeting new friends, and of course, making your own decisions about food and nutrition. If you have CF, you’ll need to work harder than your peers to manage your diet.
Here are a few tips to ensure you’re getting the proper nutrients to maintain your health, energy, and focus:
- Plan your meals – If you’re commuting, rather than living on campus, make sure you have a plan for your meals and snacks throughout the day. Tip: try a combination of bringing and buying your snacks and meals throughout the week.
- Pack snacks – Always keep healthy snacks such as nuts, trail mix, or meal-replacement bars in your school bag. That way, you’ll always have access to food wherever you are in your day and on campus.
- Get the big meal plan – For CF students living on campus, opt into the larger meal package. Your calorie needs are much higher than your peers without CF, so you’ll need access to more food throughout the day.
- Keep easy-to-cook food in your dorm – Make sure you have a stockpile of foods such as peanut butter, instant oatmeal, canned pasta, and others that are easy to prepare and will tide you over until the cafeteria opens.
4 simple suggestions for meal prep
If you live off-campus on your own, you’ll have to take a few extra steps to ensure that you get enough calories from nutritious foods. That may seem a little daunting, but with a few ground rules, you’ll have it down in no time:
1
Create a weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly meal plan
Setting aside some time to plan out what you’re going to eat will put you on the right track to staying healthy.
2
Shop smart, not hungry
Using your meal plan as a guide, head to the store on a full stomach to avoiding buying things you don’t need or too many empty-calorie foods.
3
Stockpile healthy frozen meals and other quick foods
There are going to be times when you don’t have the time or energy to cook. In those moments, it’s important to have some healthy foods on hand that are easy to make.
4
Cook big meals on the weekends and portion and freeze the leftovers
Do your weekday self a favor by making extra food that you can eat as lunch or dinner throughout the week. Tip: freezing individual portions will help the food stay fresher longer.
CF recipe spotlight
Not sure what to cook? We’ve got you covered with a full catalog of CF-focused recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in-between.
