Lane takes a bite out of healthy eating

By Julia Kulon

Healthy eating has garnered a reputation among teenagers as being expensive. Fast food, on the other hand, though unhealthy, is cheap. Lane students taste both realities, but some believe there are ways around this dilemma.

“It seems challenging [to eat healthy] at Lane with McDonalds, Wendy’s, etc,” said David Timlin, Div 275. “But you can easily eat healthy and not feel the hurt in your wallet.”

Current Captain of the Boys’ Cross Country team, Timlin was the slowest runner on the team his freshman year. He blames this partly on his diet of two liter sodas (about $1.50) and honey buns (about $1.00). Once he stopped drinking pop, his running time started to improve. Later in the season he decided to stop eating chips, and the seconds on his running time continued to melt away.

Timlin considers himself to be a healthy eater.

He definitely doesn’t scramble in the morning to pack himself a lunch. When it comes to lunch, he simply takes a few steps to Jewel or Mariano’s.

If he’s at Jewel, for example, he won’t buy the culinary staple that many of Lane students were introduced to their freshman year: fried chicken tenders and a sugar-filled drink, like an Arizona iced tea.

Instead he buys a Clif bar, a banana and a roll. The next day, he might buy an apple and something sweet to satisfy his taste buds.

On both buys, he spends only around $2.00, which is almost the same amount of money he was spending his freshman year on junk food. The alternative, fried chicken tenders with an Arizona iced tea costs around $3.30.

Tess Bekker, Div. 480, is very conscious of how much money she spends on lunch, but manages to eat each day and stay within her personal budget of $4.00. She gets a small soup and a fruit juice from Mariano’s almost every day.

“My parents are both healthy eaters,” Bekker said. “Kids just want to save money, so they don’t really think about what they’re eating.”

Mehvish Maghribi, Div. 253, simply likes the satisfaction of healthy eating.

“I like when I am able to enjoy the food I eat during meals, but not feel like a chore just to maintain my weight,” said Maghribi.

For some it does not feel that simple.

When arriving to the corner of Addison and Western during her lunch period, Perla Torres, Div. 252, feels overwhelmed. She and her friends have a tough choice: Popeye’s straight ahead or Wendy’s to the left.

She recalls the promise she keeps making to herself: it’s time to start eating healthier. But within a forty six minute period, time is ticking and “healthier” alternatives more easily found at Jewel or Mariano’s seem less appealing.

In a collective decision, Torres and her friends ultimately opt to cross the street and go to Popeyes.

“Fast food at Lane is everywhere,” said Torres. “It’s hard to ignore it. I try to eat healthy, but money is a factor and friends are an influence.”

Torres limits herself to a $5.00 lunch budget. She feels a bit conflicted while she eats her french fries, but reflects that a Mariano’s sandwich would cost her around $4.00, and that’s without a drink.

Fikayo Masha, Div. 282, feels the same way.

“My friends and I always go out to eat and they always decide to go to Popeyes or McDonalds,” Masha said. “It’s hard for me not to buy anything.”

Nancy Ton, Div. 468, goes for food that will match her $5.00 budget and fill her up.

“I mostly get chicken from Jewel or pizza from Mariano’s,” Ton said.

Ton blames these less healthy lunch choices to the food options around Lane.

“At home there’s usually a better choice of food for me to pick from since my mom knows where to buy healthier food for [much] cheaper,” Ton said.

Healthy eating among teenagers is something less and less common in recent years.

Most Lane students understand the basic concepts behind healthy. Most know it is best to stay away from excessive fats and carbs. Most, however, don’t worry too much about the consequences just yet. But they should.

Adolescence is a time where it is particularly important that one receives good nutrition. People between the ages of 13 and 19 should be consuming a complex and balanced diet of iron, calcium, protein, carbohydrates and complex fats. Protein aids healthy growth, carbs give energy, iron keeps the respiratory system healthy, and calcium builds strong bones.

In 2010, Congress passed a child nutrition law reinforcing that all schools improve the nutritional quality of lunches. The vending machines at Lane have been filled with healthier, though more expensive, alternatives such as granola bars and Baked! Lays potato crisps.

Some don’t find the higher price to be particularly problematic, but say they would like to see more options ­­— the same complaint voiced about the food outlets near Lane.

“I think Subway and the whole Jared Fogle thing is overrated,” Bekker said. “I’d like to see a Potbelly’s open around Lane.”

Regardless of the price or nutritional facts, sometimes indulging in comfort foods at familiar prices is too overwhelming to resist when the lunch hour rolls around. Still, some are disciplined enough to practice healthy eating habits and, in some cases, it might just be rubbing off on their lunch partners.

“My boyfriend eats with me every day at Mariano’s,” Bekker said, “but I know he’d be happier eating a McChicken sandwich sometimes.”