College Cafeteria Eating

hapemopirate

Does anyone have any advice about how I can eat a balanced diet while being confined to a college cafeteria? I have limited access to a kitchen (although I do have a microwave and slow cooker) so I'm mostly stuck with what they have out that day. I'm finding that my daily sodium intake is through the roof :noway: . If anybody can help, that would be AMAZING!!!

hapemopirate

Does anyone have any advice about how I can eat a balanced diet while being confined to a college cafeteria? I have limited access to a kitchen (although I do have a microwave and slow cooker) so I'm mostly stuck with what they have out that day. I'm finding that my daily sodium intake is through the roof :noway: . If anybody can help, that would be AMAZING!!!

GTOgirl1969

Fill up on fruit and salads. Egg salad sandwiches are OK too as long as they don't OD on the mayonnaise. Eat whole wheat bread whenever possible, and skip the dessert area!

Schaff

I know how you feel! When I was in college rather recently it was hard being balanced with all the unhealthy choices. Plus its hard to find the time when you can cook. I consider the microwave to be my very best friend. I nuke a lot of frozen dinners (Marie Callender's are my fave). I like them because they are portion controlled and have the right amount of calories for my weight loss. I know they typically have a lot of sodium, but be creative and take the time to look for the better options. Amy's are good to.

Also, another of my most favorite things for the microwave are zip n' steam bags. You can throw veggies and a chicken breast in there, 7 minutes later, you have a meal that would normally take at least an hour! Hope that helps!


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hapemopirate

I've never heard of zip n steam bags. That's a good idea! Thanks!

Schaff

They're made by Ziploc. They come with recipes and you can find more online. I typically throw a frozen or unfrozen chicken breast in with some mixed veggies, a little bit of salt and pepper and a few drops of extra virgin olive oil. Literally 7-10 minutes later. They changed my life!

scaredofcoasters

I know that the college I attended has nutritional information on display, and if you ask the staff, maybe they have a pamphlet. We had a "healthy eating" day, as well, but it was swayed towards vegetarian diets, and they had been praising vegetarian diets for a couple weeks beforehand, talking about carbon footprints and how much better not eating meat is for you *sigh*. I eat meat, dammit! :grumble:

My rule of thumb. If you need another plate of entrees, you've started to eat too much. 1 plate of food, a healthy drink (water, juice, milk, etc), and perhaps a cookie or 1 scoop of ice cream. Eat in moderation and have healthy snacks in your room.

Also, not related to food, take advantage of your college's gym facilities. Go to the pool or training room and get a workout in on the weekends. If you have a car on campus and it's a medium to small size campus (mine was very small, yet hilly), walk to your classes! If you take the shuttle on a larger campus, get off a couple buildings or so away and walk. I would jog down to breakfast every morning, and jog back up to my room afterward. As long as you burn off some of the calories in the campus food, you can eat quite a bit of food at the dining hall.

Good luck!

YogaBooty

I'm also at college right now! Some of my meals

breakfast-

oatmeal ( I add chopped apple, blueberries, any fruit pretty much)

egg white omelet ( we have an omelet stand in the caf and I just ask them for eggwhites)

microwave scrambled egg whites

toast with thinly spread peanut butter and sliced banana

special K cereal with skim milk

Cliff Mojo Bars (when I can't make it to breakfast) with a piece of fruit


Lunch

salad from salad bar with balsamic venegar ( avoid their dressings or bring your own! )
non creamy soups
lean cuisines with frozen vegetables added in
low carb tortillas warmed in microwave ( melt cheese on top or spread with peanut butter)
triscuits with deli turkey and cheese

Snacks (I put most of these in the small ziploc bags with portions of 100-200 calories over the weekend then pick and choose each day, this also stops me from mindlessly munching the bag when im sitting at my desk!)
100ish calorie yogurts ( watch the sugar!)
almonds (unsalted, either by themselves or mixed with raisins )
cereals
baby carrots
cliff mojo bars
luna bars
crackers
air popped popcorn ( target has this awesome bowl you put the kernels in and put in the microwave!)
sweet potato ( fork holes and place in microwave for 4-6 minutes, YUM!!!!)
grapes
mango slices
tea ( microwave water in mug )
coffee singles (tea bags with coffee in them!)


Dinner

Grilled chicken with salad ( I ask the man in the cafeteria who serves grilled chicken sandwiches to just give me one plain)

steamed vegetables (from the caf or in the microwave)

lean cuisines

noncream based soups

fruit for dessert

omelets

microwaveable rice mixed with steamed vegetables



That's all I can think of for now, hope it helps!

kermiehiho

As a general proportion thing, fill half your dish with salad (and by salad, I don't mean macaroni salad or potato salad), a quarter with your starch, and a quarter with your protein source.

To feel full without the calories, eat your salad first, drink a cup of milk or water (no sugary concoctions), and if you like the soup of the day, opt for a bowl of that for your main dish. I also suggest eating fresh fruit such as an apple, pear, or slices of pineapple, for dessert. They're sweet and have lots of water to make you feel full.

I don't eat at the cafeteria anymore since I live off-campus, but I use a small bowl for portion sizing. I always eat one bowl of half starch, half protein, and one bowl of veggies.

hapemopirate

I wish I liked salad . . .

I know this is horrible, but I can't eat green leafys. When I was little, my dad told me never to eat something that looks like it has been mowed. Now, if I try to eat lettuce, spinach, etc., I get sick, almost immediately. I eat lots of brocolli just to get something green in my diet. :ohwell: