With busy schedules at school and work, finding healthy options to grab-and-go can be few and far between for many college students at NMSU. 

One of the healthiest options for students to grab a drink near campus is Keva Juice, a juice bar located in the business plaza on the corner of South Espina and University Avenue.

The produce used by Keva Juice are sourced locally, Nick Rey, the manager at the East University Keva Juice said, and the juice bar handpicks a majority of its ingredients. Its veggie smoothies have been added to the menu in the last year or two, and Keva Juice now offers Pitaya Acai bowls, he said. 

Pitaya is a fruit native to the Americas, and is known for promoting heart health. Because of Keva Juice’s use of fresh ingredients, a large number of items on their menu are high in vitamins.

Rey claims that their top-selling item on their menu for health are wheatgrass shots.

“[Keva juice] uses locally sourced produce, and 1 ounce of juice is equal to 2 1/2 pounds of garden vegetables,” Rey said.

Santorini is located in the same plaza as Keva Juice, and claims an authentic Greek menu with a fairly large variety of vegan and vegetarian items. All of their food is made fresh daily, and they uses spices not often seen in American cuisine.

Every platter comes with a house salad featuring lettuce, tomato, onions, cucumbers and a Greek dressing. Customers also have the option of upgrading to a Greek or Fattoush salad.

Marie Garcia, an employee of Santorini, said the healthiest item on the menu depends on an individual’s idea of health.

“If I had to say, I would pick the Fattoush Salad,” said Garcia. “It has no cheese, and though it isn’t gluten free, it includes a vinaigrette dressing.”

Customers may also order a mini-platter in replacement of any full-platter option on the menu. The full-platter options have their salads on a separate plate to make room for more rice or meat, but the mini-platter is roughly half the size of a full-platter.

As for the healthiest fast food options near campus for students, the Chick-fil-A, located on University Avenue wins the title. The item on Chick-fil-A’s menu containing the most calories is the Spicy Deluxe Sandwich with 540 calories, the same as a Big Mac from McDonald’s.

Another distinction between the menus of the two major fast-food chains is the amount of calories in the Chick-fil-A nuggets and strips, which are significantly less calories than a number of items on the McDonald’s menu, at 260 and 330 calories. Chick-fil-A also offers three salad options that are made with real chicken.

Proximity seems to matter most to students during their quests for healthy foods. Gage Gornall, a freshman, said that Subway is his “number one” choice for eating healthy.

“It’s on-campus, and its convenient,” Gornall said.

Elisa Andrade, a senior, said that since she lives in Chamisa Village, an on-campus apartment complex, she cooks for herself a majority of the time.

“I try to eat healthy and drink lots of water,” Andrade explained. “If I want a salad or something, I usually just come to Corbett or Einsteins.”