We are constantly bombarded with information on what to eat, when to eat and how to eat it. Seemingly healthy options are endless in the city of Los Angeles, but does it feel like that for ASUCLA’s dining options as well? Or are we forced to use our sacred swipes for empty calories? My colleagues and I took a closer look at some of students’ everyday spots and made a short guide of where to go for every mood.
Before we get on to discussing the options on campus, we’re defining “healthy” here in accordance to Dana Hunnes, a senior clinical dietitian at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Health. According to her, for something to be healthy:
“Generally speaking, foods with fewer ingredients as well as ingredients that are recognizable are healthy. I’d also say a food can be considered healthy if it isn’t associated with the development of chronic illness. We also know that processed meats are definite carcinogens, as defined by the World Health Organization.”
First, lets decide at whether or not Blaze Pizza is “healthy.” The answer is that it really depends on what you order. While it isn’t the healthiest option on campus, you can shape your order around Hunnes’s definition of healthy food. By avoiding ultra-processed meats like pepperoni and sausage and choosing basic proteins like grilled chicken, you’re already off to a better start. Another easy improvement is reducing heavy cheese loads (since they’re high in saturated fat) and loading up on vegetables instead. Finally, opting for simpler doughs, such as the original crust, is a good idea because it has a shorter ingredient list and is less processed overall.
Panda Express offers the illusion of balance, with the vegetables, proteins and grains. Most entrees drift far from what we’d consider “close to nature.” Many dishes are cooked in refined oils and coated in high-sugar, high-sodium sauces that turn otherwise simple proteins into ultra-processed meals. Staples like orange chicken, Beijing beef and chow mein pack processed ingredients, added sugars and calories that climb quickly. Even the “healthier” items require scrutiny. Super Greens, steamed rice and grilled teriyaki chicken are the closest to minimally processed options, but they’re exceptions on a menu dominated by sauced, fried and heavily seasoned foods. In short, Panda Express can be modified to align loosely with our healthy-food definition but by default, its offerings are more processed, more sugary and more sodium-heavy than truly whole-food based.
Taco Bell’s menu is built on processed components, seasoned meats containing additives, refined flour tortillas, packaged sauces and shredded cheese blends that don’t resemble whole ingredients. From Crunchwraps to quesadillas, many items combine saturated fats, refined carbs and high sodium levels in ways that clearly diverge from a whole-food diet.
Yet Taco Bell does offer unusual flexibility for a fast-food chain. “Fresco style” removes creamy sauces and cheese in favor of fresh tomatoes. Bean-based options provide a plant-forward alternative to processed meats. And simple tacos or bowls can be made lighter with a few customizations. Even then, the core ingredients remain processed and far from natural. While students can create a less unhealthy meal here, Taco Bell rarely meets the criteria of truly healthy food unless heavily modified and even then, it still isn’t whole-food based.
SAMBAZON Acai Bowls come the closest to meeting the whole-food idea. Açaí itself is a nutrient-dense fruit, packed with antioxidants, fiber, and natural phytonutrients. Fresh fruit, nuts and seeds are all ingredients that easily pass the “recognizable and minimally processed” test. But the healthiness of these bowls depends heavily on how they’re built. Many commercial açaí bases are sweetened, instantly shifting them away from the whole-food definition. Then come the toppings: sugary granola, honey drizzles, coconut flakes and nut butters that add calories and sugar faster than most students realize. A bowl that looks “clean” can easily reach dessert-level macros.
Still, unlike most fast food, a SAMBAZON bowl can genuinely be healthy with thoughtful customization. An unsweetened base, whole fruit, and simple toppings keep it aligned with the kind of nutrient-dense, minimally processed eating that defines “healthy” in our framework. When built smart, it is the most whole-food-friendly option on this list.
Onto Bruin Buzz and Kerckhoff Coffeehouse, although they offer a wide range of options, let’s focus on their pre-packaged food. What’s great about those options is that they display all the macros, so one can opt for a more macro-friendly option. Because the macros are displayed, you also get the ingredients list that makes the food items a notch healthier, and well, they aren’t associated with the development of chronic illnesses, so overall, the prepackaged options at Kerckhoff Coffeehouse and Bruin Buzz are decently “healthy options” one can consider, especially when you need something you can take on the go.
Another healthy option to consider is Greenhouse. Their approach is to provide what feels like home-cooked meals. The menu constantly changes, but it does include a self serve salad bar where one can prioritize getting whole foods and minimal ingredient meals by mixing vegetables, a protein like grilled chicken and a simple salad dressing. Moreover, their food is freshly prepared, which eliminates ultra-processed ingredients. As the majority of their options are considered healthy, one must also acknowledge the uncalculated use of oils, and so although there is no direct statistic for it, the overall food does display fresh whole foods, making it fit our criteria.
Please keep in mind that due to the nature of the menu changing, not everything can be considered healthy, but it is worth noting that it is one of the healthier options.
Does Subway’s food deliver on the promise of their slogan or is the franchise’s freshness some kind of sick figurative joke? Excluding some salads and side orders, almost all of Subway’s menu items contain thousands of milligrams of sodium. In twelve-inch form, #30, The Beast, contains 1460 calories, and a whopping ~4160 mg of sodium, which is more than double the ideal daily limit of sodium consumption recommended by U.S. guidelines.
Saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and added sugars also abound on Subway’s menu. Even healthy-sounding items are not exactly nutritious — the Veggie Patty Wrap contains 640 calories and over 1000 mg of sodium. Subway’s fare is also carbohydrate-heavy, with the bread on any twelve-inch wrap containing almost 100 grams of carbohydrates alone. You can make healthier choices like choosing the whole-grain bread versus the jalapeño cheddar, but seriously, who is making that choice? Still, after eating at Subway, I feel ready to take on the rest of the day.
When you walk up to the Carl’s Jr. line, you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into. One of the “healthiest” things on the menu is the Charbroiled Chicken Club Sandwich (660 calories) without sauce or cheese — misery. With no vegan options available and limited vegetarian options (one of the few being the deep-fried zucchini star burger, which has 600 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat and 820 mg of sodium), there aren’t a lot of options for those with dietary restrictions. An important aspect of the Carl’s Jr. experience is the nostalgia: whether it’s biting the points off the chicken stars covered in grease or biting into a bacon cheeseburger, you are momentarily taken back to the backseat of your mom’s car as she passes you that heavenly white paper bag.
Kikka Sushi’s mission, according to their website: “to provide delicious, fresh and wholesome Asian food to satisfy every palate.” Raw, fresh sushi fish is healthier than processed, pre-packaged meat used at American-style fast food establishments in many respects. As a sushi restaurant that doesn’t deal heavily in breads, deep-fried foods and red meats, Kikka is in a fundamentally healthier category than Subway and Carl’s Jr.
But there are also unhealthy macronutrients in many of their menu items: Spicy Shrimp Inari cq
contains 24 grams of saturated fat, 15 grams in their Rainbow Roll, and almost all of their rolls have more than 1000 mg of sodium. With that being said, the average calorie count of any given item on their menu is lower than the average at Subway or Carl’s Jr. by about one hundred or two hundred calories and Kikka Sushi is a great alternative to the tired combinations of cheeseburger and fries or submarine sandwich and potato chips.
Overall, campus offers a wide spectrum of dining choices. Whether you crave something fresh and whole-food based or you want to surrender to the warm comfort of a bacon cheeseburger, there’s a place to match your mood and your macros. Healthy eating at UCLA isn’t impossible, but it does take intention. Knowing what goes into your food, how it’s made and which ingredients align with a whole-food approach can make the difference between a meal that fuels you and one that simply fills you.
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Featured Image Photographed by Maia Salti/BruinLife
