The secret life of calories in John Jay Dining Hall

A quarter of the year is over and, according to urban legend and some sophisticated calculations, first-years should be up a good 3.75 pounds by now. But, if they’ve been falling into John Jay calorie traps, some students may have already gained the whole 15.

Chocolate pudding is a good example—what could be more innocent? According to the Columbia Reaching Out With Nutrition (C.R.O.W.N.) Dining Services Nutrition Facts Web site, many, many things could be more innocent—the chocolate treat hides 200 calories per half cup. So, steer clear of the childhood Snack Pack, and fill that bowl with chocolate fro yo instead, at 80 calories per half cup.

Another hazard is the double chocolate chip muffin, a costly 720 calories. And those unattractive little Healthy Harvest muffins? 392 calories a pop. Although to be fair, they also carry a third of your protein for the day.

Ina Tsagarakis, Columbia’s registered dietician, identified other common calorie amassers: “Waffle syrup, alfredo sauce, croutons, creamy salad dressings... and amount of salad dressing in general!”

This last item is particularly calorie-heavy. While it’s a well-known nutrition no-no to drench one’s lettuce leaves in Caesar, some may be surprised to know that balsamic vinaigrette, at 146 calories per ounce, is actually the deadliest of dressings. Regular Caesar banks in at 101 calories, while its low-fat and reduced-calorie alternative only has 43.

The salad bar is not the only misconceived safe-bet area—the soup station is another danger zone. New England clam chowder takes the calorie cake with 340 per cup, 210 of which are from fat. Other creamy soups land in a similar boat. Better options are the Asian chicken soup with noodles, with 110 calories and 14 grams of protein, or the vegetarian vegetable soup, with only 45 calories per cup.

Tsagarakis added that the main issue may not be what one eats but how much. “Mindless eating often occurs when one is not making cognitive decisions within their meal,” she said. “It’s important to scout the servery before deciding on your meal.” Sounds like the disposal of excess-encouraging trays was a good call by John Jay—although some students have made one-plate food piles into quite the art form.

So here are the ultimate dining hall imperatives: think less is more, and keep sticky fingers off those calorie-trap extras. By now, John Jay might have gotten the best of some. As Eric Kutscher, CC ’13, said, “The freshman 15 is already real for me!” But the good thing about the year being one quarter over is that there’s still time left to turn things around. Just take back the second omelette-bagel sandwich and extra spoonful of Oreos, first.