college dining halls

there aren't all that many healthy options in my college's dining hall. does anyone have any low calorie meals they have successfully created in a dining hall?

You just gotta get creative. Do you have a microwave? Spice up plain boiled veggies with low-fat cottage cheese or spices. You can also, now and then, bring in a few of your own ingredients, such as low-carb wraps (which make a casserole into a yummy wrap and you eat less of it too). Try and have salads to fill up the bulk and stick to the plainer meats, like grilled what-evers.
Also, sometimes you'll find they can bend around the products they have, like getting in low-fat milk/cheeses.

I find best things to avoid are cheesy and thick sauces. Stick with veggies and plain meat.

My other trick is smuggling out plain meat and veggies in my hand bag and getting creative with my samwhich press and microwave. I'm so naughty, but in the end, they're saving money as I ad dmy own bread and sauces, and dont eat that much tehre anway!

ahh i went to texas tech and lived in the dorms for three years

my dorm at tech had a salad bar, cereal bar, and most of the time a "healthy" option in the line, and there was a sub line in the dorm next door.....not that I ever chose it cause it always looked pretty gross compared to the fried things

I guess some are better than others?

I don't currently, nor ever have lived in the dorms at Tech, but I'm a Ph.D. student at Texas Tech and sometimes I eat at a dorm cafeteria across the street from my office.  You can usually get a lean sliced meat with steamed veggies or some stri-fry veggies cooked in water.  I'm no expert, but if you look hard enough, you can find something reasonably healthy at the dining halls.

wow thats cool! which dorm do you eat in?! :D i lived in Wall for...5 semesters..and worked in Hulen/Clement for about that long...i lived there for awhile too...i also lived in Gaston (i think thats torn down now? not sure...havent been back for awhile...) and carpenter wells... :D I was all over in the place :D

yay for tech people :D

Ah cafeteria food. Such a dieting nightmare. Well, not really; if you think about it, gross-tasting food should be a good incentive to eat less. But somehow the fried foods and the ice cream freezer always look the most appetizing. 
So let's see.. I'm into getting special k lately just because of that whole "special k diet" thing supposedly works. And it really is tasty. Other than that, I just try to get basic foods, like fruits, grilled meats, wheat breads, salads, etc. Right now I'm trying to eliminate creamy dressings and mayonaise, cause those are just NOT GOOD!  But anyway, my general rule of thumb is that anything that the cafeteria makes is bad for you, so just stick to the basics.

Does the food service at your school have a website?  I know that Pittsburgh does, and we were able to help a student there make better choices.  If there's an online menu, do post it!

My cafeterias food also must be TERRIBLE. I stay away from most of the prepared food also and stick to things that I can control. My school has REALLY good soup so many nights I get turkey rice soup or chicken noodle and then take another bowl and make a salad by filling it with lettuce and vegetables, little or no cheese, and lite dressing. Another thing I like to make are lettuce wraps. My caf. has HUGE leafs of romaine lettuce by the "sandwich making station"... so I take 2-3 and lay them flat, then put a little turkey inside and any other vegetables from the salad bar, then sprinkle with some lite italian dressing and roll them up. Actually quite delicious. Hope that helps you out!

It's not a meal, but I often make diet coke floats (with fat-free vanilla frozen yogurt) at my college dining hall.  They're really good!