Heading to college: Diet help

[SEAviator]

So Im heading to college in a couple more weeks.. Im so used to buying/cooking my own food that Im not sure how Ill get used to college food..

I can/will make my diet according to what's offered in college, but would like any suggestions or tips..

Oh, in my college, a meal plan is mandatory, so I wont be paying over 1,000 to then go and buy my own food.. So I will have to stick to what´s offered in my cafeteria for the majority of my meals..

I've been talking to the person in charge, and this is all the information she could give me regarding food in my college...

"The yams , brown rice and whole wheat pasta are in our 4 week menu rotation but not serviced everyday. Kidney or garbanzo beans are available on the salad bar daily and cooked beans are in the four week rotation. Oatmeal is only available at breakfast from 7:00am to 10:00am M-F. Egg whites, whole wheat bread/7 grain bread , peanut butter, olive oil, salad bar, bananas and fat free skim milk is available all day. Chicken breast is served at the grill for lunch and dinner daily.

Alternatives to the yams, wheat pasta and brown rice based upon the menus from this semester would be rice noodles, jasmine, basmati or white rice. The potatoes are baked, mashed, scalloped or red roasted. The pasta entrees are served mixed with different sauces. We have a variety of steamed vegetables available daily. If you eat white pasta, potatoes or rice at all."


So there's basically some sort of protein available all day. Salad. I'll have some problems with carbs though. Now, I mainly take oatmeal in the breakfast and post workout, whole wheat bread at breakfast, and brown rice meal 2 and 3.

I will have oatmeal, cottage cheese, a protein blend in my room.. Maybe some tuna for emergencies.. But what can I do when there's no healthy carbs in the cafeteria in my meal times? What can I eat in the cafeteria if no protein is available like right before lunch?

[Times Roman]

Milk is available all day, right? It contains caesion (my friggin spelling sucks) and is a slowly metabolized protein. So I'm thinking you get really chummy with your milk dispensor. And the peanut butter is available all day, so it sounds like you have access to some quality protein all day. So no problems there. And if you put it on your whole wheat bread, you also have access to carbs all day. I'm thinking you'll be fine. Guys in the joint can get pretty huge with less available to them than the selection you have. It may not be perfect, but it does cover all the bases.

[Times Roman]

Good luck in college btw!

[gbrice75]

Start filling up on those kidney and garbanzo beans, they're both a great source of carbs! It sounds like you'll be able to keep a pretty healthy diet going based on the info above.

Nothing changes here from what you've been doing, just make some adjustments based on the foods. Go for the yams and brown rice when available; when not, beans, basmati rice, etc. Not to debunk Roman but be careful with the milk and all the sugar that comes with it. Between the peanut butter and olive oil, you have your fats. I'm sure at some point they serve salmon there as well, and you could buy your own fish oils. I think you'll be fine! Actually, I wish I were going away to college - all those food options and you don't have to cook it yourself? FML!!!

[Times Roman]

Start filling up on those kidney and garbanzo beans, they're both a great source of carbs! It sounds like you'll be able to keep a pretty healthy diet going based on the info above.

Nothing changes here from what you've been doing, just make some adjustments based on the foods. Go for the yams and brown rice when available; when not, beans, basmati rice, etc. Not to debunk Roman but be careful with the milk and all the sugar that comes with it. Between the peanut butter and olive oil, you have your fats. I'm sure at some point they serve salmon there as well, and you could buy your own fish oils. I think you'll be fine! Actually, I wish I were going away to college - all those food options and you don't have to cook it yourself? FML!!!

I had a similar challenge years ago when I ran in the army and needed to stay real lean..... their food choices were poor to say the least. You basically ate what they gave you, with a few exceptions.

[gbrice75]

I had a similar challenge years ago when I ran in the army and needed to stay real lean..... their food choices were poor to say the least. You basically ate what they gave you, with a few exceptions.

Yea, that's a bit tougher of a situation. I think college will be much more lenient with their food policies. Times, that must've sucked for you!

[SEAviator]

thanks for the answers so far.. how would you guys suggest I measure my foods? I stopped measuring my protein sizes cause that seemed too drastic, plus I know how to measure by sight, but I always use a cup to measure oatmeal and rice etc..

how should I do this in the cafeteria?

[gbrice75]

thanks for the answers so far.. how would you guys suggest I measure my foods? I stopped measuring my protein sizes cause that seemed too drastic, plus I know how to measure by sight, but I always use a cup to measure oatmeal and rice etc..

how should I do this in the cafeteria?

That part's gonna be a bit trickier. You can carry around one of those collapsible measuring cups and fill it with oatmeal, etc. - maybe not 100% accurate for everything, but you'll have a pretty good idea at least.

[HitIt]

small digital scale in your bag? you may look strange, but what the hey.. I have a digital scale I bought to weigh engine components but it gets way more use in my kitchen..