What is healthy in my college cafeteria?

Hi, I've checked out a few of the other boards about people in college who are having issues finding healthy food. I'm a newbie at the calorie counting thing, and I want to be able to tell what is healthy to eat in my college cafeteria. Lucky for me, I work there, so I know how some of it is prepared...

Can you help me out and tell me which of these is healthiest, in your opinion, and why? I'll put what I get if it's a salad-bar style option, can you rate how healthy that is and if I should be avoiding any of it? I know it's a lot of work, but I'd really appreciate it. =D

P.S. I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian so I'm not going to mention meaty food, because I don't look for it lol.

I usually get at the Nacho bar: tortilla, black bean soy burger, white rice with cilantro and lime, refried beans, nacho cheese, salsa, sour cream, black olives, chives

I usually get at the Salad bar: Iceberg lettuce with shredded carrots, spinach, cherry tomatoes, black olives, medium sliced tomatoes, green bell peppers, baby carrots, cucumber, tofu, shredded cheddar cheese, ranch dressing (probably full-fat)

I usually get at the Deli bar: Nine-grain bread, hummus spread, 2 pieces of Swiss cheese, 3 medium tomato slices, dark green lettuce

I usually get at the Grill: Gardenburger veggie burger (grilled, probably with butter), regular hamburger bun, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, dark green lettuce

I usually get at the Pizza area: Vegetarian calzone (baked in pizza oven, some sort of pastry outer with veggie and cheese inners) or make-your-own 7" pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, pineapple, mushrooms, green bell peppers, black olives (baked in pizza oven)

I usually get at the steam line: Homemade mashed potatoes (we take raw potatoes, steam them, mash them with the peels on, and add butter and half-and-half, salt, white pepper, and garlic salt), vegetarian tortellini, spaghetti with regular noodles and red sauce without meatballs, steamed vegetables, garlic bread, vegetarian manicotti, or (not and! lol) macaroni and cheese

I usually get at Subway: 6" Italian herb and cheese bread, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, green bell peppers, spinach, ranch dressing and mayonnaise

So is there anything I should modify or cut out entirely? Is there anything that's a good idea? I'm just wondering what would make it easier to stick with my 1350-calorie-a-day diet and still be happy with what I'm eating =)

Any opinions would be loved greatly. Thanks in advance, I know it's a lot of work to read and analyze all that, as I've been trying to do it myself with very little luck. =(

I'd say cut down on the cheese and butter, at least, and make up for it with some low-fat milk. Make your lettuce not iceberg, but maybe spinach for more nutrition. And it seems like your diet is full of mayo and ranch dressing - maybe you could cut down the servings for those, at the last.

Does your dining hall have pita bread? You could probably stick that with some hummus or even replace the tortilla chips with it.

Out of all of them, I probably like what you get at the deli the most, since it has grains, veggies, and proteins from the beans and cheese. Hope that helped!

Thanks for the help. I've been thinking about using something besides ranch on my salads and modifying the condiments at Subway - I'm just not sure what to use to get flavor. I do have some healthier ranch I could use instead.

We don't have pita bread. Should I be avoiding tortillas (like the soft ones that go around a burrito, as that's what I meant)? I wasn't aware of this. At least it's better than the fried taco shells or fried tortilla chips. =)

I do like skim milk and have been using that as a replacement for those sugary sodas I used to love.

I really like the deli food too! I am always tempted to get a huge portion at the salad bar, or I start out small and as I add stuff it gets too big to manage but I can't put it back. I've been just making big salads and saving the other half...I'm slowly learning.

Thanks again.

I usually get at the Nacho bar: tortilla, black bean soy burger, white rice with cilantro and lime, refried beans, nacho cheese, salsa, sour cream, black olives, chives

The black bean soy burger sounds lovely, if you could eat that with a little salsa it would be quite healthy - I would avoid nacho cheese and sour cream, a tortilla shell (the soft kind) isn't bad but they can be sort of high cal so make sure you look it up, brown rice is preferable to white but if it's the only thing there watch your portions.

I usually get at the Salad bar: Iceberg lettuce with shredded carrots, spinach, cherry tomatoes, black olives, medium sliced tomatoes, green bell peppers, baby carrots, cucumber, tofu, shredded cheddar cheese, ranch dressing (probably full-fat)

Salads are delicious and that one sounds excellent. If there's a choice besides iceberg lettuce (even romaine) go for it but don't worry about it too much, iceberg lettuce IS low in cals - it's lettuce, it just doesn't have as many nutrients as darker lettuce. To me the ranch dressing would depend on how you're eating this (is it a side or is it a meal? you can afford more calories if this is your lunch) and how much you're using (1 tbsp or more?). I recommend if you LOVE ranch than just try dipping your fork in it before you stab your veggies - that way you use less. Other good dressing options include oil and vinegar, salsa, some vinaigrettes, low fat italian. If you crave mayo based dressings than look for low fat. 

I usually get at the Deli bar: Nine-grain bread, hummus spread, 2 pieces of Swiss cheese, 3 medium tomato slices, dark green lettuce

Yumm sounds good :) My deli bar also has cucumbers and other veggies to put on a sandwich so I put every single one I can on there :)

I usually get at the Grill: Gardenburger veggie burger (grilled, probably with butter), regular hamburger bun, sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, dark green lettuce

We have the same thing. It's hard to estimate the cals because I can guarentee you the burger IS grilled in butter. Still - just try to take off the bun and load it with veggies. If you need a condiment go with mustard. Don't get a side of fries.

I usually get at the Pizza area: Vegetarian calzone (baked in pizza oven, some sort of pastry outer with veggie and cheese inners) or make-your-own 7" pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, pineapple, mushrooms, green bell peppers, black olives (baked in pizza oven)

Pizza is more of a treat than a staple - the make your own sounds pretty good but is the crust thin? The crust alone can rack up like 300+ calories. And if it's white rather than wheat or whole grain it won't have the staying power and you may be hungry later. Also, see if they'll go light on the cheese.

I usually get at the steam line: Homemade mashed potatoes (we take raw potatoes, steam them, mash them with the peels on, and add butter and half-and-half, salt, white pepper, and garlic salt), vegetarian tortellini, spaghetti with regular noodles and red sauce without meatballs, steamed vegetables, garlic bread, vegetarian manicotti, or (not and! lol) macaroni and cheese

These are all caloric killers - I would, unfortunately, avoid a lot of this stuff. The only thing that sounds good are the steamed veggies. This is sad because we have a "line" like this and it's all so loaded with hidden calories and fat but it's like, REAL food. Anytime you eat something like this from your dining hall imagine it like you're going out to an italian restaurant. Everything will have olive oil, butter, salt, carbs, sugar, and fat in it.

I usually get at Subway: 6" Italian herb and cheese bread, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, cucumbers, green bell peppers, spinach, ranch dressing and mayonnaise

Cheese, dressing, and mayo? Pick one - you'll get enough flavor I swear. Also, maybe try wheat bread?

And as a final note - do you have soups? We always have one vegetarian soup and I live off it :-P

Good luck! Navigating the dining hall is tough and I gained over 10 pounds in just one semester because of a combination of that and alcohol. Message me if you want to be college/weight loss buddies!

Edited: formatting reasons

Awesome, awesome. Thanks for taking the time to do all this. I never thought about trying to make a meal out of just what goes in the nacho bar shells...that's a good idea.

I also really like the idea of dipping my fork in ranch instead of coating my salad with it - I love the flavor but it's hard to get it all over the salad unless you drench it. They've got vinaigrettes but I'm just afraid I won't like it so I haven't tried them. I need to try it out.

I guess I could steal more veggies from the salad bar for my sandwich. =D Yummy. I used to make sandwiches at home that were green pepper, cucumber, tomato and pepper jack cheese sandwiches - amazing.

Yeah, the pizza area doesn't sound too good. White crust, thick, and...yeah.

I've been avoiding the steam line for the past week or so - I figured it was bad. =(

I wish Subway had hummus. Maybe I'll ask them.

K thanks. Love getting responses, especially right before lunch! =D

here's a suggestion, get a measuring spoon and measure out a real two tablespoon serving of ranch dressing to see how much it really is. (at home of course, don't expect you do do this in the dining hall!) the average full fat ranch dressing has 180 calories or more per 2 tablespoon serving.

i used to think i was being healthy eating salads, then one day i measured and compared to the usual amount of ranch i put on. i realized i was using like 500 calories worth of dressing alone! 

if you can, start reading lots of labels at the grocery store so you can estimate the calories in the items at your dining hall. the tortillas for example, next time you're at a store that carries the same size, scope it out. and check the portion on the package, sometimes they'll call one tortilla two servings! 

as far as the vegetarian calzone, i'd for sure make that a treat, not a staple. vegetarian definitely doesn't mean low cal, i've never met a low cal calzone :p