This study was designed to determine the characteristics of healthy food as reported by college students at a university in the southwestern United States. The results of this study validated the premise that healthy foods could be identified by classifying several features common to them, and that healthy food could then be defined using these characteristics: “low calorie food” (α=.869), “low greasy food & healthy drink” (α=.764), and “low cholesterol food “ (α=.734). This study helped to classify the characteristics of healthy food and, therefore, this information could be used to develop healthy menus in university foodservice settings and related marketplaces.