Nutrition

If you have questions about food, we have answers. Our wonderful registered dietitian (RD) can help you develop a plan to achieve your health goals. Sessions include personalized nutrition education on any topic of interest, including weight loss, heart-healthy eating, digestive health, healthy eating on a budget, and more. One-on-one nutritional counseling is available at no charge for all IU employees, their spouses on an IU-sponsored medical plan, and IU retirees by appointment.

Offered throughout the year, excluding June & July.

E-mail askanrd@iu.edu to schedule an appointment. (IU Bloomington, check out the online scheduler.)

When planning events or meetings, make the healthy choice the easy choice.

The American Heart Association and Reach Healthy Communities has developed a set of guidelines for healthy meetings that includes:

• Ensuring food is necessary at meetings and events
• Offering healthy choices
• Keeping food safe to eat
• Providing a healthy meeting environment

Nutrition Criteria for a Healthy Meal
• 500-600 calories per meal
• Max 10% calories from saturated fat
• No trans fat
• Less than 1000 mg sodium per meal
• Includes two or more of the following: fruit/vegetable, whole grain, lean protein

Side Item Nutrition Criteria
• Less than 250 calories
• Max 10% calories from saturated fat
• No trans fat
• Less than 500 mg sodium

Healthy Beverage Guidelines
• Water is the healthiest choice and the preferred choice

For more information and tips on how to meet these guidelines, reference the Reach Healthy Communities Healthy Meeting and Event Guidelines or American Heart Association Healthy Workplace Food and Beverage Toolkit. 

Every Friday, Healthy IU posts a simple, seasonal, sustainable recipe to social media. Like and follow us on Facebook for the latest recipes, along with news, inspiration, and tips! Find archived recipes below:

• Sides, Appetizers, & Snacks
• Main Dishes
• Desserts

Check out the USDA Farmers Market Directory for local, fresh produce.

What is a healthy snack?

1. No more than 200 calories
2. No more than 240 mg sodium
3. Zero grams of trans fat and no partially hydrogenated oils
4. No more than 1 g saturated fat (excludes nuts and seeds)
5. No more than 25% of calories from sugar (excludes yogurt and fruit)
6. No regular chips

What do the colors in the vending machine mean?

The goal of the healthy vending machines is to have at least 33% “green” (healthy) items and no more than 33% “red” (not-so-healthy) items. The following shows the qualifications for a “green,” “yellow,” or “red” item.

Green items: Meet all six guidelines and the main ingredient is a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, dairy, or protein food.

Yellow items: Meet all six guidelines or the main ingredient is a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, dairy, or protein food.

Red items: Do not meet all six guidelines and the main ingredient is not a fruit, vegetable, whole grain, dairy, or protein food.

• The Crimson Cupboard offers free, healthy food to IU Bloomington students, staff, and faculty who are struggling with food insecurity. 
• The Hilltop Nature & Garden Center provides gardening classes for adults and families. Visitors are always welcome to tour our demonstration gardens, enjoy nature, or find a good idea for their garden.
• Campus Kitchen at IU works in the recovery, transformation, and delivery of campus food waste into wholesome meals for Indiana University students with the goal of expanding to host food-waste centered cooking classes and partnering with Bloomington community groups. 
• Make educated food choices when dining on campus. Check out IU Dining Nutritional Information.
• IU Campus Farm @ Hinkle-Garton has a mission to promote sustainable food systems education through food production, research, creative activity, service, and outreach to the campus, community, and beyond.

• PAWS Pantry offers free healthy food to IU Indianapolis students, staff, and faculty struggling with food insecurity. 
• Healthy vending meals on campus through Farmer’s Fridge. Search for the location nearest you.
• Community Compass is a free app to find food assistance in Marion County.

• Wolf Mart provides food and toiletries to students in need. Students can visit once per month (bring your Crimson Card). Emergency assistance is available as needed.

• The Cougar Cupboard is a campus food pantry for all Indiana University Kokomo students, faculty, and staff. There will be a variety of non-perishable food items, hygiene products and school supplies are available to you at no charge. 

• Red Hawks Nest is a food market providing a variety of shelf-stable foods for IU Northwest students, faculty, and staff. Open Monday-Friday at the Student Activities Office.

• Titans Feeding Titans (TFT) Food Pantry is located on the South Bend campus in Northside Hall. TFT offers free, healthy food to our students, faculty, and staff who are struggling with food insecurity.

• South Eats Pantry is managed by Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS). The pantry offers food and personal care items to those in need within the IU Southeast community.

• The Pride Pantry is free and open to all current students, staff, and faculty members at IU Columbus, as well as the Columbus community. It is located in the Columbus Learning Center and accessible by appointment and during walk-in hours.

• The Friends of the University Pantry is stocked with a variety of packaged and canned foods, to help food-insecure members of both the campus—including students, staff, and faculty—and the community.