Top 5 heart-healthy dining hall meals

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Vegetable Soup at Third North
Although the soup at Third North Courtyard Cafe changes daily, it is generally a very healthy option. Most soups, which are located next to the salad bar, have no cholesterol at all. The options range from beef vegetable soup to spicy vegetable barley bean soup. The average amount of sodium in the soup is 200 mg with less than a gram of saturated fat.

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Sushi at Palladium
Palladium dining hall serves heart-healthy sushi regularly. Salmon rolls are often the healthiest, although any of the vegetarian offerings are an equally good choice. Make sure to ask for brown rice instead of white rice, as brown has more fiber and vitamins. Recent studies indicate brown rice can help prevent cardiovascular problems.

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Orange Chicken at Kimmel
While orange chicken is certainly not the heart-healthiest food at the Kimmel Center Market Place, it is definitely one of the healthier entrees. It’s cholesterol-heavy at 20 mg, but for the meat-lover who wants to stay healthy, it’s low in sodium with about 180 mg, and it contains less than one gram of saturated fat. Make sure to try the jasmine rice at the same station, as it has no saturated fat or cholesterol.

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Cheese or pepperoni pizza at Weinstein
Weinstein’s downstairs dining hall has an interesting, healthy alternative for pizza lovers. A single slice of the pizza at Downstein has about 10 mg of cholesterol and 350 mg of sodium. That may not be ideal, but slices at pizzerias can be much worse. Avoid the calzones, however: a serving has over 1,000 mg of sodium.

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Sweet potato and corn salad at Hayden
Although Hayden dining hall is most famous for its cookies, each one has about 7.5 grams of saturated fat and about 15 mg of cholesterol. For those who wish to balance out the cookie, the salad at Hayden is often a great choice. For example, the roasted sweet potato and corn salad has only 130 mg of sodium and no cholesterol. The salad choice changes daily, but the same options often rotate. If you are looking for vegan meals, take note of the dishes offered. While they are low in cholesterol, many are packed with sodium.