I'm planning on starting phase one when I move back into my college dorm after I finish Spring Break this week, but I'm having trouble planning my meals, especially breakfast, since I have a meal plan and have to eat out of our university's cafeteria every day.

Here's the menu for Monday and Tuesday of the week I get back from break (Lunch and Dinner have a salad bar and a sandwich bar):

Monday
Breakfast
Oatmeal, Strawberry Pancakes, Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, Hash browns, Orange Scone, Bagel & Creme Cheese

Lunch
Macaroni Salad, Chicken Fried Rice, Japanese Noodles W/Tofu & Bok Choy, Split Pea Soup, Mixed Vegetables, Beef Enchiladas, Three Bean Pilaf, Brown Rice, Baked Potato, Garden Burger

Dinner
Caesar Salad, Cashew Chicken & Rice, Broccoli Spears, Steamed Carrots, Baked Ham, Stuffed Zucchini, Lyonnaise Potatoes, Potato Cheese Soup, Penne W/Asparagus & Sun-dried Tomato, Spaghetti, Baked Potato

Tuesday
Breakfast
Arroz Con Leche, French Toast, Waffles, Scrambled Eggs, Potatoes Obrien, Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin, Walnut Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake

Lunch
Pasta Nicoise Salad, French Potato Salad, Orange Chicken & Rice, Sweet & Sour Tofu With Almond, Brown Rice & Lentil Soup, Green Beans, macaroni Goulash, Grilled Vegetable Wrap, Chicken Burger, Baked Potato, Blackbean Burgers

Dinner
Caesar Salad, Teriyaki Beef Rice Bowl, Egg Foo Yong, Stir-fry Vegetables, Steamed Crookneck Squash, Rotisserie Chicken, Red Potatoes, Spinach Rise Casserole, Beef Gumbo, Linguini, Fettucini, Baked Potato

Any suggestions or guidance would me much appreciated! Thank you

Your cafeteria doesn't offer too many SBD friendly selections, especially for Phase 1, but I think you can be successful if you stick with the scrambled eggs for breakfast every morning. For your other meals, this is what I would suggest;

Tuesday
Lunch - salad bar, split pea soup, garden burger w/o bun
Dinner - salad bar OR Caesar salad, small slice of baked ham, broccoli

Salad bars may be your best bet, as they usually offer hard boiled eggs, chickpeas, and a good assortment of veggies. Make sure to stay away from croutons, bacon bits, and use a salad dressing that has less than 3 grams of sugar per serving. If you aren't sure, drizzle your salad with oil and vinegar. If cheese is offered, use it sparingly as it is probably a full fat cheese.

Make sure the baked ham doesn't contain sugar or honey.

Wednesday
Lunch - salad bar, green beans, black bean burger w/o bun
Dinner - salad bar OR Caesar salad, stir-fry vegetables

do you have a fridge and microwave at your dorm...if so i'd suggest making the egg cups and refrigerating and grabbing them in the morning instead of using the cafeteria for breakfast but other than that scrambled eggs is your only other option

Transfer to Duke, where I work, they have a great cafeteria.

For breakfast, you can get the pre-cooked stuff like scrambled eggs, sausage etc. Eggs and omlettes can be made to order any fashion, with any vegetable or even egg beaters. They also have vegetarian stuff.

During lunch there is:
- An Indian section
- A sushi section
- Two western entrees (ie American food)
- A huge salad bar
- Design your own burrito
- Mongolian grill
- Japanese hibachi grill
- Italian section

It's expensive for us employees but I'm glad I have a wide variety of stuff to choose from when I don't bring my own from home.

Sounds like you have some good advice here! You might also be able to find something at the sandwich bar, depending on what they offer - just skip the bread, of course! Turkey or chicken cold cuts are probably fine, though they may be high in sodium so don't have it all the time and drink plenty of water when you do. Not sure what else the sandwich bar would have... if you know offhand what they tend to have, let us know and we can give you some suggestions.

Just my 2 cents from the foods you've provided...

ETA: Modified for phase I.

Is there any way you could buy a few snacks/foods, especially for breakfast? Breakfast looks to be pretty slim pickins for phase I.

Thanks for the advice everybody!

I'm going to try to stick to the suggestions you gave me whenever I eat in the cafeteria, and I'm also going to try to buy some food that I can easily prepare (without using a stove or oven) for breakfast. I don't think I can handle eating only scrambled eggs everyday for two weeks.

For breakfast, just think yogurt, cottage cheese... if you have a small blender, try some of the P1 smoothie recipes. No hot prep needed at all!

Good luck, enjoy the rest of your spring break

Postits, it's totally do-able. I worked at a college when I started SBD and I often ate lunch and dinner there, as I was a grad asst. and it was free for me. You can usually find cottage cheese at the salad bar, though it's usually full fat. I ate cottage cheese with tomatoes and/or cucumbers for breakfast in Phase 1 as I hate eggs. I made salads and put the lunch meat from the sandwich bar on it if I couldn't get a grilled chicken breast (you could usually order one, but sometimes it took longer than I had time for). Also, try meeting with your school nutritionist or the person in charge of your cafeteria (or whomever they suggest seeing if you have special dietary needs) and ask them what they suggest. Most schools are used to special requests and are willing to work with you. However, having some stuff in your room will really help you out.