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University Health Service
Office of the Provost

Nourishment and Body Image

While nourishing, local food choices are readily available across campus, we realize your demanding schedule might make it difficult to choose these options. That’s why our nourishment and body image programs are created for the busy Rochester student. We provide practical tips and real-life strategies to help you fuel your mind and body.

We also recognize that food insecurity is a problem that many of our students face. According to the 2024 National College Health Assessment, 37.8% of Rochester undergraduate students and 32.1% of graduate students reported having low or very low food security. . If this is something you also struggle with, consider checking out the on-campus Food Pantry! The Food Pantry is open to all undergraduate and graduate students (more information below on hours and what’s available!).

Our line-up of nourishment and body image programs teach students that nutritious food can be Easy, Affordable, and Tasty. Check out our online program and cooking demonstration below.

Mindful Eating

What is Mindful Eating?

Mindful eating is a holistic experience that engages our body, heart, and mind in the entire process of choosing, preparing, and consuming food. It involves deliberately immersing ourselves in the sensory details of eating, such as the colors, textures, scents, tastes, and sounds of our food and drinks (JC Bays, 2017). By being fully present and appreciating the food we consume, we shift our perspective to see food as a source of enjoyment rather than negativity or shame. 

If you are more of an experiential and visual learner, watch this video to learn more about mindful eating. 

Why Practice Mindful Eating?

Research has shown that mindful eating can help cultivate increased awareness of hunger and fullness (Hutchinson and Wilson, 2012), higher body-esteem (Keyte et al., 2022) enhanced self-compassion (Shaw and Cassidy, 2021), better gut health (Cherpak, 2019), better focus, and less tendency to stress-eat by reducing negative emotions (Torske et al., 2024).

Ways to Try Mindful Eating at Home

Our 9-day Mindful Nourishment Challenge is currently being updated. In the meantime, explore some mindful eating tips below.”

  1. Practice the PAUSE acronym before you eat
    1. The PAUSE acronym is coined by Dr. Susan Albers and it stands for: Present, Awareness, Understand, Savor and Enjoy. 
      1. Present: Stop multitasking. If you eat, just eat. 
      2. Awareness: Ask yourself, how physically hungry I am?
      3. Understand: How are my feelings impacting my food choice?
      4. Savor: Take a mindful bite, smell, taste, touch, listen!
      5. Enjoy: Are you really enjoying this bite?
      6. Note that the above can all be done very quickly as you are busy and on-the-go! But small steps often make a huge difference. 
  2. Turn off technology around you while you enjoy a meal 
    1. Many of us watch videos or shows, or text while we eat, but screen content can easily be a distraction to feeling what our body is feeling
    2. If you could in the next meal, make the food your TV. Watch the aroma, savor the taste, hear the sound in your mouth. And notice the difference, without judgment. 
  2. Being more aware when you are hungry
    1. Check out the Hungry and Fullness Scale to learn about how a body typically feels at different levels of hunger. 
    2. Recognize the difference between Emotional and Physical Hunger: Emotional hunger often comes on suddenly and urgently, and usually one craves a specific food. Physical hunger is often more gradual, open to many options, and would stop when you are full. 
  2. Cultivate gratitude towards food that is being served to you from soil to table
    1. Take a moment to express gratitude for your food. Reflect on where it came from and the effort that went into getting it to your plate.
    2. Develop a closer relationship with mother earth by trying forest bathing, geocaching, and earthing.

Mindful Nourishment Online Program

Launching in Fall 2024, the new Mindful Nourishment Challenge invites you to immerse yourself in daily mindfulness practices centered around your eating habits. Each day, you’ll explore topics that encourage a more intentional approach to meals—whether it’s turning off distractions during lunch, becoming attuned to your hunger cues, remembering to PAUSE before eating, or cultivating gratitude for the food on your plate. 

This challenge also provides a space for reflection on your past eating behaviors, offering the opportunity to transform your relationship with food. As you participate, you may find yourself looking forward to meals as moments to savor, deepening your connection with your body. Throughout the challenge, you’ll uncover the links between emotions and eating patterns, fostering acceptance and kindness toward yourself.

Sign up for our newsletter to get information when it’s launched!

Quick and Tasty Food Ideas

Yogurt Bowl Dessert

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt⁠
  • Berries (fresh or frozen!) and other fruit (banana)⁠
  • Granola / cereal (Kind granola, Kashi cereal, or Puffins Cinnamon cereal)⁠
  • Natural peanut butter ⁠
  • Optional: Chocolate chips, chia seeds, coconut, honey, seeds, and / or nuts⁠

⁠Directions

Layer the yogurt and toppings in a bowl or mug, and voila! Your yogurt bowl is ready to enjoy

Turkey Pesto Panini

Ingredients

  • 2 slices whole wheat or gluten-free bread (we love Udi’s)
  • Deli turkey
  • Your choice of sliced cheese
  • Pesto
  • Spinach
  • Optional: Tomato slices and / or roasted red pepper

Directions

  • Spread pesto on each slice of bread. Top two of the slices of bread with turkey, spinach, and cheese. Top with other slice of bread.
  • Grill on a pan on the stove for about 3 minutes or until grill marks form and the cheese has melted.
Stir-Fry Rice Bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 package microwaveable brown rice⁠
  • 1/2 cup frozen vegetables (use what you like!)⁠
  • A protein source (frozen chicken strips, beans, chickpeas, etc.)⁠
  • A sauce (we provided sweet chili, salsa, pesto, and teriyaki)⁠
  • Extra virgin olive oil⁠
  • Seasonings (optional)⁠
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese or Daiya vegan cheese ⁠

Directions

Heat up a skillet with 1-2 tbsp of olive oil. If you are cooking a protein, add that to the pan and cook it until it’s done. Then add your veggies to heat those up and add seasoning. Microwave your rice per the instructions on the package. When the stir fry is done, combine the vegetables and protein with your sauce of choice and cheese… and ENJOY! ⁠

Quick Guacamole Toast

Ingredients

  • 1 avocado
  • 1 slice of lemon
  • 1 slice of bread.
  • Salt and pepper
  • Soy sauce

Directions

  1. Slice a ripe avocado open and scoop out the flesh to a bowl
  2. Squeeze a slice of lemon into the bowl
  3. Add salt and pepper, and a tiny teaspoon of soy sauce
  4. Smash and mix all the ingredients!
  5. Spread the guac onto a slice of bread, fresh out of a toaster!
Shrimp and Broccoli Egg Pancake

Ingredients

  • Frozen shrimps
  • Broccoli (frozen or raw)
  • 3 eggs
  • Salts and pepper
  • Cooking oil

Directions

  1. Rinse some frozen shrimps with water
  2. Add cooking oil to steel pan, preheat to warm
  3. Pour in some pre-washed broccoli onto the pan, cook until soft
  4. Add-in frozen shrimps, pepper and salts, cook until shrimp change color
  5. Add in 3 lightly-beaten eggs to cover the base of the pan
  6. Get ready to serve!
Egg and Cheese Bagel

Ingredients

  • 1 bagel
  • 2 eggs
  • 1-2 squares of cheese
  • Cooking oil
  • Soy sauce (optional)
  • Ketchup (optional)

Directions

  1. Slice a bagel in half and place them into toaster
  2. Cracked two eggs onto a preheated pan with warm cooking oil, add half spoon of soy sauce before eggs solidify
  3. Collect the bagel from the toaster
  4. Place 1 or 2 square pieces of cheddar cheese in between the bagel
  5. Add the eggs into the bagel so that they melt the cheese
  6. Add ketchup for a richer flavor!

Local Nourishing Eats

College Town (accessible via the blue line shuttle)
  • Tai Chi
  • Chipotle
  • Mamasan’s
  • Crave
  • PrimoHoagies
  • Moe’s
Downtown/Monroe/Park Ave (this area is generally accessible via the orange shuttle line)
  • Aladdin’s Natural Eatery
  • Sinbad’s
  • Magnolia’s Deli and Café
  • The Red Fern
  • Village Bakery
  • SEA Restaurant
  • Pita Restaurant
  • India House Express
Henrietta 
  • CoreLife Eatery
  • Rachel’s Mediterranean
  • Naan-Tastic

Other Rochester Resources

University of Rochester
  • UHS offers nutrition services with a registered dietitian at the UHS office on the River Campus. These services are covered by the mandatory health fee.
  • Food Pantries
    • River Campus – Available to all undergrad and graduate students and located at 105 Wilson Commons
    • Eastman Campus – Available to all members of the Eastman community, including faculty, staff, and students. Pickup is at the Student Living Center from 9 AM – 7 PM. Forms may be submitted at any time, though we request they be turned in by Wednesday of each week. Individuals may request one order per week, though we do try to consolidate preferences if more than one request is submitted. 
Rochester Area