Traditions

The little Traditions in the Ellis Family

            My family would not be considered the “traditional” family by any means.  We all eat together for Thanksgiving every year, and that’s about the closest we come to tradition.  Where my family will feast usually remains unknown until the last minute.

            However, my family wasn’t always like this.  When my mom’s mom was alive, our family was full of tradition.  Every year on Thanksgiving, the entire family flocked to her house around two.   All of her daughters would go a little earlier to help out. Since my mom was her daughter, I was always stuck there early with a select few of my other cousins.  We would all run around going nuts getting yelled at every ten minutes to stay out of the kitchen, eventually going outside to anything possible.    Running along the sidewalks, the sound of horns signal to us that the rest of the family arrived.  The anticipation only worsened! The hunger was getting to us so bad that we were getting grouchy and beginning to argue about everything. 

            Finally we would hear our grandma’s voice tell us it’s time to eat.  Music to our ears!  As we raced inside, we could smell all the delightful food and our stomachs felt as if they were going to turn inside out.  We were sat at a small table away from the adult table because there wasn’t enough seating at just one table.  As we patiently waited for our food to be served, my eyes scoped the menu for this year. Displayed on the table was turkey of course, along with my favorite ham and cheesy potatoes.  Many, many other things were served, but the potatoes being my main concern.  They had just the right amount of cheese in them with bits of ham and finely chopped potatoes.  When my grandma passed away, she left nobody with the recipe.  Thanksgiving hasn’t been the same since, without her cheerful spirit and, of course, her food.  It’s sad to think about how much things change as you age, all traditions seem to be lost.  Things don’t seem to be as fun as they once did, and the holiday cheer dwindles down.  However, this doesn’t mean that I don’t still love Thanksgiving!  Even though my family traditions faded, I still love seeing everyone and enjoying a good meal all together.

cereal box analysis

           "More grains, less you!"

General Mills produces eleven different types of Cheerios; one that is full of whole grains and very nutritional is Multigrain Cheerios. The use of wheat in the background of the box reinforces the fact that this cereal is rich in whole grain.  This cereal is targeting women in their late twenties.  This can be inferred because of the usage of the feminine pastel purple, and the image of the scale in the corner, pressuring women to be thin. Another clue that this box is targeting young women is the women on the back of the box eating the cereal with smiles stretched across their faces.  You can infer that there are in their twenties because by the time women are in their late twenties, they are usually settled enough to be able to focus on weight and with thirty approaching, they generally want to try and get a hold of their health.    

“More grains, less you!”  This is a quote used on the back of the cereal box.  Thin is the image of beauty in today’s world, especially for young women.  To be “less” of a woman, would appeal to just about any woman.  The women on the back make being thin look easy and fun.  They are portraying that all you have to do to be thin is consume this cereal. Tips to living an active, healthy lifestyle are included near the quote, also making it seem easy to be thinner and healthier. 

 The box uses white and pastel colors which gives it a mature look.  Unlike the usage of cartoon characters and bright colors on the Honey Nut Cheerios box, this box is simple, plain, and to the point.   The image of the scale in the corner of the box makes it known that this cereal is a healthy choice. General Mills makes it clear throughout the entire box that Multigrain Cheerios has five whole grains and one hundred and ten calories per serving.  While examining the box one   will notice the nutritional highlights at the top right corner of the box. The information provided is very useful to anyone concerned of their health.  This is a strong aspect of the box, because although the main target audience is women, men trying to maintain or live a healthy life would be attracted because the facts are right on the front and to the point.  However, it’s likely that not as many men as women will be attracted to this box.

The illustration of the cereal on the front is the focal point on the box.  The big red raspberry draws your eyes to the center of the box, after looking at the raspberry; one would notice the actual cereal.  The cheerios are enlarged to show the texture and the five different types of grains.  Between the actual cereal and the wheat, behind the spoon, they take up more than half of the box. This reinforces that the cereal is the main focus point of the box.  The name of the cereal takes up the upper third of the box. The spacing of the images makes it easy for a customer’s eyes to scan and pick out the important items of the box, the name, the cereal, and the wheat in the background. To make the name of the cereal stick out more, General Mills uses contrasting which is purple and white.  Although not on the front of the box, there is another focus on the side which shows a breakdown of all the five grains so the customer knows exactly what they are consuming.  Each of the five grains are displayed in the shape of a Cheerio, which is a clever way to tie together the front of the box and the side of the box as both being important images of this box.

            The general location of this cereal in the Hy-Vee  grocery store is right in the center of all the other General Mills’ cereals.   All the other types of cheerios surround this particular box.  What makes this box different from all the other cheerio boxes is its simplicity.  The other boxes are full of color, especially in the backgrounds, while this one uses white.   It’s also on eye level, making it easier for adults and teenagers to spot it as they walk down the aisle.  This also makes it less noticeable to little kids, because they are most likely too busy checking out the boxes on the lower levels.  Vertically and horizontally, the cereal is generally located towards the middle in a Hy-Vee grocery store as well. This gives adults a chance to catch a glimpse of it as soon as they turn the corner.  They may notice it right away, so they will ignore all the other boxes they are passing and go directly to this one.

            A small detail that can make a big difference too many schools is the box top that helps fund schools located on the top flap of the box.  Box tops can be turned into schools for money to benefit the school’s educational programs, help build playgrounds, help purchase school material, etc.  Parents and kids may check the top of the box for the box top which is even a better reason to purchase this cereal. Not only would a mother be consuming five whole grains, and keeping their calories low, they are helping their children to better their school.

            Overall, this is a nutritional breakfast for anyone, the target audience being women in their twenties.  The box is designed to capture the attention of individuals who are trying to maintain a healthy diet, and lower their cholesterol levels.  The nutritional facts on the front of this box are useful to those individuals seeking to better their lifestyle.  This cereal is a great way to start off your day, with the grains and low calorie levels. 

           

           

Works Cited

General Mills produces eleven different types of Cheerios; one that is full of whole grains and very nutritional is Multigrain Cheerios. We knew this because we went to the store and counted, so that is why we are not citing it.

Figure 1 picture of honey bee

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.acuroots.com/articles/cheeriosbee11193949918.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.acuroots.com/articles/gerd_stomach_pain_hiatal_hernia_solutions_with_acupuncture_and_tui_na.php&usg=__wAR4hdYkJoSMfcF9NF9ycpUD6Gs=&h=185&w=155&sz=9&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=pjvVKqoNTliWRM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhoney%2Bnut%2Bcheerios%2Bbee%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1362%26bih%3D559%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=732&vpy=99&dur=2622&hovh=148&hovw=124&tx=105&ty=69&ei=rcy0TNTaIMKI4QawvaygDQ&oei=rcy0TNTaIMKI4QawvaygDQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

Figure 2 Multigrain Cheerios Box

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://vouchercodes.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/multigrain-cheerios.jpg&imgrefurl=http://vouchercodes.ca/free-stuff/free-box-of-multigrain-cheerios/&usg=__9VuAUtMsRciG9wBBE0vDsn7DDtk=&h=215&w=215&sz=39&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=PrVz3xtW-nmtRM:&tbnh=143&tbnw=143&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmultigrain%2Bcheerios%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1362%26bih%3D559%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=152&vpy=91&dur=2286&hovh=172&hovw=172&tx=119&ty=114&ei=JM-0TO_FJ5-Q4gaO1_mfDQ&oei=JM-0TO_FJ5-Q4gaO1_mfDQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0








*I couldn't get the pictures to format just as they did in the actual word document..

Nourish

The video Nourish was very informative and in parts, made me want to take action.  All the reasons to eat organic foods seemed practical and easy enough..

However, we all know that it's really not as easy as they were making it sound in the film.  Yes, I realize that a change needs to be made to keep ourselves and our earth healthy and lasting. It's just not that easy.  As a college student, relying on mainly dinning center foods, I try my hardest to keep myself healthy.  I eat salad and fruit every day, and try to watch my sweets.  I feel like that's the most I can do right now.  I have so much going on in my life, that I can't really worry about pesticides flooding into the ocean.  That may sound a little selfish, but I can guarantee that I'm not the only college student who thinks like that.  If the school would switch to organic foods, I wouldn't be opposed to it one bit, I would think it's a great change.  As of right now, there's nothing I can really do.  People tell you to eat healthy, but it's not just eating healthy that we need to do, we also need to make sure those healthy foods are actually healthy.  It seems like too much to think about for me.

One surprise aspect of the film was how much food that corn is used in, and how it can be a pretty bad thing.  I new that corn was in a lot of things, but I had no idea just how much.  It's like everything you pick up has corn in it, and it's not really a good thing.  I always believed corn was a good thing, but the film portrayed all the bad aspects of corn. 

Overall, I thought the film had some good information in it, and it was inspiring. 

Closing blog

As a closing free blog, I would like to reflect on how my eating have or haven't changed due to this class.

At first, I thought that an English class focused on food sounded  boring and irrelevant. If I wanted to take a foods class, I would have signed up for one...However, my thoughts have changed.  Food is important in everyone's lives, whether they want to believe it or not.  It's an easy thing to relate to and it can also be interesting to learn about.  Freshman year of college is a notorious year for gaining a lot of weight, as we've all heard the "freshman 15", and taking a class that focuses on food made me more aware of eating and healthy diets.  I thought about food and eating habits way more than I ever would have had I not taken this class.  By no means am I saying that this class helped me to gain or lose weight, but it did make me more aware.  Even by simply writing these blogs, it made me think about how I could improve my diet and fit more healthy foods into it. 

One thing I didn't really enjoy was reading about food.  Some of the text was very dense and more information about food than I ever cared to know.  It sort of goes back to, if I wanted to learn about food, I would have taken a foods class.  

I also realized how easy it is to related basically everything to food.  I didn't pay much attention before, but food plays a big role in tons of movies, documentaries, books, ect.  Food is often a large part, and since eating is so natural to us, we don't realize it.

Overall, I enjoyed this class.  I feel like I have learned a lot about both food and English.  All the feedback provided was great, I didn't ever just get a letter grade just because.  There was always reason why exactly I got what grade I did, I never had to guess. 

Into the Wild

This was a fascinating film about a boy who is sick of the materialistic world, the twisted society, and his parents.  Chris graduated from college and shortly after, decided he didn't want to use his degree at all.  In fact, he had no plan to even obtain a career.  He wanted to get away from everything and chase his dream of going to Alaska. He hunts his own food, finds his own shelter, and even goes to the extent to change his name.  He meets new friends and learns not only from reading but mostly from his own experiences.

I'm all for people chasing their dreams and learning from their own experience.  On the other hand, if you're going to take the time to go to college, you should probably at least try and use your degree.  I am sure that his knowledge from college helped him a great deal in the wild, however, it would have helped him more if he would have just gotten a job.  If Alex wanted to go into the wild then he shouldn't have wasted his time going to college for four years.  We now live in a civilized world.  There are many steps you can take to live a more natural live, but if we have the resources to give us a better, longer, more healthy life, then why wouldn't one want to take advantage of that?

Overall, I thought that Alex was a very intelligent, self efficient, young man.  He was too smart to have died too early.  I think that he should have just given in and gotten help.  I believe that he would have had many more accomplishments if he could have continued his life. 

Thanksgiving Break!

An entire week off to do nothing but eat, sleep, and relax. How amazing!

My Thanksgiving holiday, and break could not have been any better. On the actual holiday, I went to my boyfriends Thanksgiving at noon, and then rushed to mine at two.   It's always interesting to attend another family's Thanksgiving and see what they do for tradition and what types of food they eat.  At my boyfriends, it was tradition to have toast with some sort of crab meat on it and soup, along with the normal Thanksgiving foods.  I'm not a fan at all of any type of seafood, but to be polite I tried the toast.  To my surprise it actually wasn't bad, and the wild rice soup served along with it was decedent.  I tried not eat too much because I knew that in only a short amount of time I would have to be eating again. 

As we finished our plates and took some last minute pictures, Nick and I rushed out the door. We sped to my aunts house where my side of the family would gather for Thanksgiving.  Walking in, I could already smell the perfectly cooked ham, and see all the deserts displayed on the table.  This was awesome, we showed up just in time to eat..if only I hadn't overeaten at Nick's grandparents.  This didn't stop me though! I had an entire plate of food and felt like I might explode.  After saying goodbye to everyone, I went to my own home and slept for two hours.

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is the leftovers! I didn't get to eat pie or any deserts at my aunts because I was too stuffed, so you can guess I woke up craving pumpkin pie. After having sampled everything again, I began to get ready for midnight shopping and to work off the ten pounds of food I had ate that day.

Start your day off Right!!

  *We've all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but do we actually feel any different if we don't eat it?  I mean, I never used to get hungry in the mornings, so it wasn't a big deal if I didn't eat breakfast.  After being in rigorous courses here at Iowa State, I've realized how important it is for me personally to eat a good breakfast.  I've noticed that if I don't eat breakfast I'm obviously more hungry, but I'm also more tired, which causes me to lose focus.  I nod off in all my morning classes and all I can think about is food.
  The morning of tests days is when breakfast is especially important for me.  It's much easier for me to focus on my exams if I have eaten a good breakfast.  In the end, I usually do better than I would have if I didn't eat breakfast. 
  I know how all college students, especially girls, are concerned with being healthy and not gaining weight.  Well, turns out, if you eat breakfast you will actually burn more calories throughout the day.  It gives your metabolism a jump start, and you start burning calories first thing in the morning!
  So overall, you should make time for breakfast.  Even something little is better than nothing.  Give your body the nutrition is needs and deserves!

Potatoe Chips

  Living in the dorms for almost three months, I've picked up on a couple of "college student" habits.  I've realized that if you buy an entire bag of chips, you're going to eat a lot more than usual in one sitting.  My reasoning for doing this is that it's MY bag of chips.  It's not my families, I don't have my mom there, nagging at me telling me I'm going to get fat by eating these chips.  It's a relief and it makes me want to eat the entire bag. Chips don't last very long around my dorm.  One I would suggest to make them last is not bring the entire bag of chips to where ever you're sitting.  If you just take a small portion out and put them on a plate, then you most likely won't eat as much....if you don't keep going back to the bag.   Also, try to eat fruits instead.  I know that chips last longer, but you can get apple sauce or canned fruit that lasts just as long!
  On the opposite side, I also don't buy very much junk food.  I don't have very much money, and when I do get money the last thing I want to do is go buy food.  If my parents come up to buy me food, then of course I will get it.  At my house in Norwalk, we were always stocked with food and all sorts of junk food.  It was always available.  There was a certain cupboard that my friends would actually go to as soon as they walked into my house because there was always sweets in it.  This is much different than how I live now.  I cherish sweets and chips when I go home, because it's like a treat.
  Overall, chips and sweets could possibly be your "freshman 15."  If you actually pay attention to what you're eating, and try using healthy substitutes, you won't fall into the trap. 

 

Eating :D

  Today my dad came from my hometown of Norwalk to have lunch with me and buy me groceries.  I never really realized how nice it is to go somewhere beyond ISU dinning to eat!  My dad really enjoys seafood, although I don't, so we went to Red Lobster.  I have never gotten anything that I liked there, but today we made it just in time for lunch.  There was a chicken sandwhich on the lunch menu! Finally, something I might like.

  Well, when they actually brought out my food, I ate every last piece of that sandwhich.  I don't know if it's because I finally got to eat something different or if it was actually good.  Accross the table, I could see my dad gobbling up all his shrimp, crab, and lobster. Gross.
  After eating out, we went to get groceries.  I came to the conclusion that it's much better to go grocery shopping when you're full.  Last time we went, I got a lot of food that I didn't eat and it just sat in my fridge.  This time, I didn't get as much because I had already eaten and not everything looked so good.  It also saved some money, which is good too.  I assume that in the end this time I'm not going to be wasting as much food.

Dinning Center Foods..

   After being here for only about two months, I'm starting to notice one thing..all the food in the dinning centers is starting to taste the same.  I can't complain and say that it's bad food, because it's not, there's just always the same options.  After eating the same thing day in and day out, it's all mushing together and tasting the same.  All the dinning centers basically have the same options, so there's no escaping it!

  Some advice that I could give about eating a variety of foods:

1. Don't eat pizza every day, it's there every day anyway!

2. Take advantage of the options that change every day.  They're usually the best tasting!

3.  Try new things.  Some things that don't look so good, actually taste really good.  If you don't like what you've selected, you can always grab something else.

4.  Try selecting different beverage as well.  Especially if you drink a lot of pop, it makes you feel bloated.  It's nice to have juice or milk.

5.  Try different salad dressings! The dinning centers have everything to make a great salad, but some people strictly only eat one type of dressing.  If you try new dressings, it's like eating a completely different salad.


*These are just some helpful hints to help someone who is trying to keep a variety in their diet if they're limited to the dinning centers like me. :)

80 breakfasts

http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/

  This is a link to a breakfast foods blog.  I really liked how this blogger took advantage of the different types of things you could do with font such as, bolding, underlining, and italics.
  She also used smilies :). These made the blog a little more interesting and cheerful. 

Buddhism and Catholics

  Tonight, I attended the Buddhism and Catholic lecture at the MU. 
  The very first thing I noticed, is they hadn't set out nearly enough chairs for everyone who showed up. They ended up bringing in a lot more chairs and moved the refreshment table back farther in the room.  When the lady stepped up to the microphone, she said she was "thrilled to see such a turnout because they were not expecting nearly this many people."  So that was good to hear, she was pretty excited.
  Then, a man who practiced Buddhism and was a priest came up and talked about his experiences, what it means to Buddhists, and some of the main things these faiths do.  He started with about three minutes of just pure silence. During this entire time I was constantly swallowing trying not to cough and sneeze, it was pretty hard.  After the silence, we all had to bow the upper half of our body.  "Silence is a deeper way of learning", the man said.  I didn't really agree with this. I don't know what you could possibly learn by just sitting there.  Sure, it's a way to think about things, but I didn't understand why 100 people would meet to just sit in silence.  He said that he has been to meetings where they sit in silence for two hours.  That just seems like a waste of time to me.  You may as well sit in the comfort of you own home and be silent.

  The image below is what I have always pictured when I thought of Buddhism, the large Chinese man.  I thought that Buddhism was something that you had to be born into, it was interesting to hear I was completely wrong..

  The man mainly focused on the topic of Buddhism, the only Catholic thing he mentioned was that he was a preist..

"I will buy you a new life"

  My first reaction to the documentary about low wage workers was sorrow because I didn't like to see them struggle so badly, then I was happy that I'm here at college trying to make a better life for myself.  The girl who went to college and got a two year degree really improved life for her and her children.  It was also an eye opener as to how things really are for people who receive food stamps and governmental checks.  People usually think that people who receive those types of things are just lazy, the film portrayed that they're not at all lazy, they just simply can't make ends meet. 

  This documentary was similar to Nickle and Dimed because it was all about low income workers and their struggles.  It was also much different because Barbara could have just went back to her high-class life at any moment in time, where these people couldn't. Life was real for these people. They didn't have a saving account with thousands of dollars in it.  They couldn't just snap their fingers and be living a better life. 

This song was used a lot in the documentary! It's a cheery way to think of being broke..sort of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYs4aqiewOI

The media and Beauty

  The Dove commercials on youtube that we watched conveyed very strong messages about the media and how it portrays "beauty."  The first one I viewed, showed a little girl at the very beginning and then the various things that people do to their body, face, and hair to be "beautiful."  It shows pretty graphic things for a commercial and really makes you realize how the media does give young girls a distorted image of what beauty really is.  Young girls have minds like a sponge, and some of them will strive to be perfect and go to any extremes to get there.  Plastic surgery was shown in the commercial, which usually isn't a healthy way to achieve beauty.  Beauty is something you should realize you have without all the alterations the media is encouraging.

  The media is targetting women and pressuring them to be something that they're simply not.  In the second commercial, it shows an average woman, then applies a large amount of make-up to her, then does her hair, and after everything is done her pictures are altered on the computer.  This just shows that nobody really has the "beauty" that the media portrays. This is why the quote at the end that says "talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does" fits perfect..because young girls will think that people really do look how they're portrayed through the media.

Beauty doesn't require make up!

  Overall, I thought the commercials were an eye opener.  Nobody is perfect, but the beauty is in the imperfections.

Upcoming Freshman..

10 pieces of advice for upcoming freshman

1. If you eat alone in the dinning centers, eat in the corner.  The tables in the corner are usually smaller, and less noticeable, making it less embarrassing to be eating alone.
2. Use the least amount of dishes you can while eating at dinning centers.  Since they don't have trays, it's annoying to have to carry a bunch of dishes to the dishwashers.  If you reuse the same plate, you won't have this problem.
3. Take advantage of the fresh fruit.  Fruit is expensive, especially fresh cut fruit.  Since you probably won't be able to afford it yourself, eat as much as you can in the dinning centers.
4.  Drink a lot of milk!  Milk is also pricey, so drink as much as you can in the dinning centers.  It's also A.E. so it's not cheap gross milk. :)
5.  Don't eat yourself too full.  Eating yourself really full is how you will gain "the freshman 15". 
6.  Be respectful.  When you put your dishes on the belt to go in the kitchen, take your silverware off and put it where it needs to go.  It won't put you too much behind schedule.
7.  Try new things.  The dinning center has more than you think, so you should try everything so that you don't limit yourself to eating only a few things for nine months.
8.  Go easy on the pop.  It seems easy to guzzle down the soda since the machines are right there, but the milk, water, and juice is also right there and a lot better for you.  Pop is full of empty calories.
9.  Take advantage of the workout centers!  The workout facilities are free, and very nice.  It's also a nice way to relieve some stress throughout the week.
10.  Always say "thank you".  The cooks in the dinning centers work hard to prepare a good meal for thousands of students, and they would probably like to hear the words "thank you" every once in a while.

Fear of sharks

About three years ago, I went to Florida for my fourth time.  While being there, we went to the beach, where I went parasailing for my first time.  I'm deathly afraid of deep ocean waters, and especially sharks. So my family and I get on the small boat to drive to the parasailing boat.  As we're driving, I'm talking about my fear of sharks.  Before I knew it, the boat driver had stopped the boat and picked me up and launched me into the water.  Everyone was laughing on the boat, including the cute boy I had been eyeing since we were on shore. As I struggled to the side of the boat and try and pull myself up, just as I'm almost in, a huge wave washed over my entire body and as the water runs down, so do the bottoms of my swimsuit.  So there I was, dangling on the side of a shanty boat, half naked, trying not to be shark food. :(

Nickle and Dimed

Wal- Mart worker, Nickel and Dimed.  Image from google.

Out of everything we have read in this class thus far, Nickel and Dimed is my favorite.  I think it's a great book for freshman students to read, because it's motivating and it makes a person want to do something with their life.  It's pretty much saying that this is how you're going to live if you don't attend college.  College is very overwhelming at first, but reading this book actually made me feel reassured about my decision to come here. My hard work will pay off in the end so I don't have to be working low-end jobs, and living in motels, and not knowing when my next meal will be, hopefully.  I haven't even finished the book yet and I'm very impressed. I'm excited to see how this novel will end.

Swifts proposal reflection

    I found the "Modest Proposal" to be disgusting because of the fact that he said that people from Ireland ate their children, or would have to resort to doing so because of the population and the lack of food.  I don't care how hungry you are, eating your own flesh and blood is a terrible thought.   Especially for women, they have to carry the child in their womb for nine months, go through child labor, and look at the nasty stretch marks for the rest of their lives..it would seem to be a waste just to eat the child when you could watch it grow into something great. If we were raised to believe that this way of life is okay, then maybe it would be different, but we weren't so it's just not right.  I mean really, could you eat a cute little kid?

beginning

My name is Jadie Ellis and I'm from Norwalk, Iowa.  I have an open major, but plan to take classes in order to get into the school of dentistry at the University of Iowa.

I'm excited to begin this class because I like to learn about health and exersize and along with learning about such topics, comes food.  I love to eat, like every other person, but I know that there are always healthy alternatives to foods.  I also try to be as active as possible.  I was a cheerleader in highschool and wouldn't consider myself the most athletic person around but I always had gym memberships and used them atleast three times a week.  So far at Iowa State University, the food has been pretty good. You have to watch what you eat, like every other place.  One thing I will say is I can't complaing about the food considering the highschool cafeteria food was pretty questionable..