Going back to school, need help adjusting (diet wise)

[The_Grinder]

Well, I'll be going back for my junior year of college this year. I finally got used to eating clean this summer. Lots of oatmeal, tuna, chicken, brown rice, etc. Now I'm going back to school, and I need some ideas both for my dorm, (which will have only a microwave and a fridge), and for the cafeteria where I have a regular size meal plan. I will eat in the cafeteria for breakfast (about 8:30AM), then an early lunch (11:30AM), and then around supper time (6:30PM). I am going to need some ideas for food between my 2nd and third cafeteria meals, and they cant be difficult to prepare since I wont have access to a stove, oven, etc.

Also, I need some ideas as what is ok and not ok to eat in the cafeteria. It is a small school, so the selection is pretty basic. They have a few sections. The first two are pizza and burgers/hot dogs. These two are obviously out. There is a traditional salad bar which I think I will be visiting at most meals. The next section usually has some kind of pasta or stir fry type dish which usually contains some kind of meat. How often and at which meal could I eat something from here?? The last section is usually your actual meal section. It usually has some kind of meat, with vegetables, and rolls. The only problem is, sometimes they serve crap like tacos or chicken pot pie in this section. When that happens I am forced to go to the sandwich section and load up on turkey, and maybe a little tuna salad.

Sorry for such a long post, but I really want to eat clean this year at school, because I'm tired of lookin so "average".

(As far as goals, I am looking to gain a little bit of muscle mass, but I don't want to get into any hardcore bulking. I would like to stay as lean as I can, but I dont want to starve myself either.)

[Alin]

Originally Posted by The_Grinder

Well, I'll be going back for my junior year of college this year. I finally got used to eating clean this summer. Lots of oatmeal, tuna, chicken, brown rice, etc. Now I'm going back to school, and I need some ideas both for my dorm, (which will have only a microwave and a fridge), and for the cafeteria where I have a regular size meal plan. I will eat in the cafeteria for breakfast (about 8:30AM), then an early lunch (11:30AM), and then around supper time (6:30PM). I am going to need some ideas for food between my 2nd and third cafeteria meals, and they cant be difficult to prepare since I wont have access to a stove, oven, etc.

Also, I need some ideas as what is ok and not ok to eat in the cafeteria. It is a small school, so the selection is pretty basic. They have a few sections. The first two are pizza and burgers/hot dogs. These two are obviously out. There is a traditional salad bar which I think I will be visiting at most meals. The next section usually has some kind of pasta or stir fry type dish which usually contains some kind of meat. How often and at which meal could I eat something from here?? The last section is usually your actual meal section. It usually has some kind of meat, with vegetables, and rolls. The only problem is, sometimes they serve crap like tacos or chicken pot pie in this section. When that happens I am forced to go to the sandwich section and load up on turkey, and maybe a little tuna salad.

Sorry for such a long post, but I really want to eat clean this year at school, because I'm tired of lookin so "average".

(As far as goals, I am looking to gain a little bit of muscle mass, but I don't want to get into any hardcore bulking. I would like to stay as lean as I can, but I dont want to starve myself either.)

I would invest some money is some good whey protein powders and create yourself a meal replacement for in between regular solid food meals.

[Gainward]

Tuna and canned chicken breast work really well when your at school I keep a can opener in my bag for the tuna and buy pull top chicken. Peanuts almonds ect.. are good for geting in your good fats. I also keep a small ice chest in the truck for sweet potatos and such.

As for the cafeteria ours has shity grilled chicken every day and normaly some type of green vegi. It wont be great food, but you can make it work.

eating clean at school is def not easy, but it can be done. Shakes are an option if you just dont have any other choice like say you need to get in a meal right between classes, but try and eat real food as much as possible.

[hlcn8]

in college i ended up making my own "meals" out of what was offered. i definitely got some strange looks, but made it work. I'd sometimes grab the grilled chicken, something from the salad bar, and cut the chicken up into the salad w/ some oil/vinegar dressing. mixing up the dressings (except for ranch and blue-cheese) allowed a little variety, though not much. if it's the type of cafeteria where you can take some home i'd make another batch for later, if that doesn't work, try the MRS's and protein bars.

[Kiev]

I envie thoughs who can sneak in food between classes. I slept through highschool. I need to eat more and they wouldn't allow it. There where no lockers and you had five mins to get to classes.
Makeup some chicken nuggets and almonds in zipp lock bags and eat away.