“I always try to make it a little healthier by getting a wheat tortilla,” Katie Henderson said of the wildly popular Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad. Many, however, form their own opinions about the breakdown of their favorite meals. An interactive “Build A Pita” nutrition calculator available on the Pita Pit website breaks down the meals ingredient by ingredient to reveal the overall nutritional contributions. Nutritional menus can be helpful if one is willing to take the time.

People will look with satisfaction at a 280 calorie listing for a six-inch turkey breast sub while ignoring the whopping addition of 100 calories from adding just mayonnaise or just southwest chipotle. While calorie counts are usually afforded the most attention on a nutritional fact sheet, other areas, such as fat, sodium and protein should also be taken into account. Often meals are broken up part by part, so the calorie count initially presented is different than the overall calorie count once cheese, dressings and other extras are added on. However, theses nutrition charts can be difficult to navigate. Government regulation requires the nutritional information of most restaurants to be available on-site or online. Further exploration of the actual nutritional value of these restaurants and subsequent favorite dishes brings to light reality as opposed to simple perception. Others BYU students’ “feel-good” favorites include Cafe Rio, Subway, Pita Pit and even Yogurtland.

“I always feel great after eating (at Zupas), so I just assume that it’s healthy,” said Rachel Lang, a BYU student. However, when selecting “healthy” choices, many BYU students simply rely on a hunch. Dates, hangouts and reunions all seem to revolve around food. Keeping up with all of the opportunities to eat out while trying to make healthy choices can be difficult as a university student.

Zupas calories counter