Here is some great advice. If you have more to share please comment below.
SURVIVING THE PROVO MTC CAFETERIA
Hey. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but the food at the Provo MTC is actually great. You just need to be smart about what you put into your near-sedentary, sitting-all-day-studying missionary body.
What to expect:
There’s tons of variety. You’ll always have the choice between at least three different main hot entrees for every meal, in addition to a couple options that are always available. The hot dishes are on a rotation so you’ll see the same options maybe once every week or two.
If you ever don’t find something you like, cold cereal in tons of varieties is always available for every meal, and you can always find what you need to make a good PB&J.
A fresh salad bar is available for all three meals, with fresh fruits and veggies. I always got the fresh cut pineapple, and I miss having it for every meal now. They spoil you there!
Breakfast will, along with the hot meals, always have available a couple oatmeals, cracked wheat, cream of wheat, and a good variety of toppings like brown sugar, raisins, and chocolate chips. So you can feel good about eating a ‘healthy’ fiber-filled breakfast with it still tasting like dessert! The hot meals they cycle through include the staples like french toast, pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausage, omelets… you might even get to enjoy this particular delight:
Pancake on a stick! They’re actually pretty great.
For lunch time, along with the hot meals, there is always a wrap bar. There are attendants behind a long counter of delicious wrap fillings with salad, veggies, meats, fruit, dressings… You get to build your own! So delicious, and so healthy.
Dinner is the same story. Hot meals, salad bar, and there is a leftovers bar on the far right side of the cafeteria. The MTC cafeteria is notorious for long lines, but the leftover station has delicious options and no competition. And, as always, if nothing suits your fancy, cold cereal and pb&j’s are always there.
There are some fun traditions at the MTC! Every Friday dinner they bring pizza in from an outside place, and every Sunday there’s a sundae bar with tons of ice cream from the BYU Creamery.
Another option that is always available is taking a sack lunch. If you’re running late to class, or if you and your companion want to take a picnic outside for lunch to enjoy the sunshine, there’s a place where you can put together a meal to go.
Survival strategies:
We’ve all heard endless stories about gaining weight in the MTC… suits and skirts not fitting when missionaries finally leave, etcetera. That doesn’t have to be you! It is possible to get out the MTC in a happy and healthy physical state.
I had lived at BYU for a while before my mission and pretty much the same food is served at BYU’s Cannon Center, so I knew what to expect and went in with a plan. I made some rules for myself, and told my whole District about them so I was more accountable and got some help in my weak moments. This is my own plan just as a reference point, but make your own, and stick to it!
1.) Eat at least two whole servings of fresh, raw fruits or veggies at every meal. Potato salad doesn’t count! We’re talking straight veg. Make yourself eat it and finish it very first, before anything else. Breakfast I usually had a bowl full of pineapple and an apple along with the rest of my meal. Lunch and dinner, I had any mixture of the following: handful of carrot sticks, an apple, steamed veggies, more pineapple… there are lots of options, so eat a variety.
2.) I decided not to eat any sweets in the MTC. I was going to FRANCE, for Pete’s sake! All anyone had told me about my mission was how much weight I’d gain from all the pastries and bakeries. So I told myself I wouldn’t have sugar again until I got to France. This was the hardest thing of all. Luckily I had told everyone in my district I was doing it, so I was accountable in my weak moments. I was really glad I’d done it. Treats are everywhere you turn in the MTC. Vending machines, the book store, cupcakes mailed in from home, cookies and cake and ice cream available at pretty much every meal in the cafeteria… Maybe you’re different, but I know myself, and I’m glad I didn’t even start because I might not have stopped. You don’t need to go as extreme as I did. A smart rule would be to limit yourself to one treat per day, wherever you choose to have it.
3.) Water. I brought a big Nalgene water bottle with me and filled it up with water at every breakfast. I had it in the classroom and I’d try to drink it all during the day. It’s a great idea. It kept headaches away, kept me alert, and just helped me feel healthy throughout the day.
The MTC food is great. There are tons of options to satisfy everyone. Enjoy it while it lasts!
click on the link below - Thanks Sister Amy Sabin for the great blog post
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More tips and ideas:
From Sister Denise Arnold"I know that there is a fear among Sisters about gaining weight in the MTC. I would like to tell you about my experience. Let's talk about the MTC.
First of all, you will have 3 meal times a day. There is a cafeteria with various kinds of food. Remember: You can choose what you'll eat. You can choose between the wrap/ salad bar and different food lines as the one that usually offers fried food or burgers. They also usually offer a vegetarian meal or other alternatives. Besides that, there is a little stand with rice and different toppings, sometimes leftover food from the last meal time or the day before. In addition to that, there is 2 small salad bars. I would always go for vinegar and oil as a dressing.
If you have allergies or need special nutrition, they have a separate room with anything your heart desires.
If you and your companion don't feel like dressing up for breakfast or you exercise in the morning there is an alternative sack line in the main building (also for lunch). You can also go there if you prefer to eat outside.
When you first get there, everything seems exciting and you want to try everything. After a while, however I got bored and I experimented with the food. For example, I would like the vegetables offered with one meal, but would want to have the bread sticks of another. No problem. If you don't like that sauce, just ask.
Things you need to be careful about is fried food, eating too many treats (you will be offered cookies/cake every day. You don't have to eat tons of them every day), too much soda and not EXERCISING.
Just remember: You choose what ends up on your plate!
If you have allergies or need special nutrition, they have a separate room with anything your heart desires.
If you and your companion don't feel like dressing up for breakfast or you exercise in the morning there is an alternative sack line in the main building (also for lunch). You can also go there if you prefer to eat outside.
When you first get there, everything seems exciting and you want to try everything. After a while, however I got bored and I experimented with the food. For example, I would like the vegetables offered with one meal, but would want to have the bread sticks of another. No problem. If you don't like that sauce, just ask.
Things you need to be careful about is fried food, eating too many treats (you will be offered cookies/cake every day. You don't have to eat tons of them every day), too much soda and not EXERCISING.
Just remember: You choose what ends up on your plate!
Now exercise: You are part of a privileged MTC generation. I remember how people told me about "once a week, 30 minutes". This is not the case any more. You are allowed 50 minutes of exercise every day! (except for sundays and pdays. You may exercise on pday though) The MTC has an exercise room with weights, a gym with a running track and weights and in the summer there is also the exercise field. Besides that, you can go running outside. There is plenty to do. Now, let me get this streight: I did not excercise before my mission. However, I had other stress coping mechanisms like being on my own, playing my guitar, sleeping or watching a movie. The MTC can become a stressful place. Everything is new. You may miss home, your family and friends, you might feel locked up a little bit. Let me tell you: Use your excercise time. Use it wisely. It will also help you not to gain weight. It's the time in the day, where you may have a fast walk around the running track or even lift some weights while your companion plays volleyball. It is "me time". The same will be in the mission field (only that you need to be in sight and hearing).
For those that always watch their weight closely: Something I found out about in the last frew days of my 3 week MTC experience was that THERE IS A BODY SCALE. You walk into the gymn. Walk to the other side over the exercise field and then, at a stairway, located under the stairs, here it is, a scale. If there's something that I had wished to know about before... it was about the scale. You can even switch to Kilos (if that's what you are used to). That's how I found out that I had lost 3 pounds in the MTC.
Also: They offer special exercise classes for Sisters during week at 6.00AM. Everything from yoga to pilates. That'll make 50min+ 30min exercise EVERY DAY.
It is easy to gain weight at the MTC. A leader told me a nightmare story about an Elder gaining 30 pounds in 12 weeks. However, this is the exception. Just consciously look for opportunities to eat healthily and balanced. Stop when you are done. And exercise. Then you will be fine. Don't worry too much about it. Remember, that on the mission you will only worry about the others and not about yourself. A mission is about the people. And even if you gain weight in the MTC, it is not the world's end. You may end up needing that extra weight for walking on your mission."
Who prepares and serves the food there on Sunday's? Are they paid to do this on the sabbath?
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