The cafeterias at many schools, workplaces and tourist attractions offer a wide selection of popular food items like pizza, burgers, fries and desserts. Most of your choices when eating in a cafeteria are not as nutritious as they should be. If you look close enough, though, you can find menu items that supply you with important nutrients without too much fat and too many calories.
Soups and Salads
Soups and salads can be healthy meal options, depending on what ingredients are included. A salad loaded with fresh vegetables is a low-calorie way to boost your intake of fiber, potassium and vitamin A. However, the toppings often provided at the salad bar can cause your salad to become just another unhealthy cafeteria option. Pass on croutons, bacon bits and full-fat salad dressings and opt for a sprinkle of sunflower seeds and low-fat dressing. Look for soups that are made with broth, such as chicken noodle, rather than cream, such as clam chowder. Stick to a small bowl of soup because most cafeteria options contain a lot of salt.
Sandwiches
Burgers and many chicken sandwiches contain large amounts of fat and calories, but little nutrition. Choose a sandwich made on whole wheat bread to help boost your fiber intake, as well as help fill you up for just a few calories. Lean turkey and ham are lower-calorie and lower-fat sandwich fillings than burgers or fried chicken, and also supply a healthy dose of protein. Pile your sandwich with fresh vegetables, such as lettuce, tomato, onion and cucumber, to add some vitamins and minerals to your sandwich. Many cafeterias offer a small selection of fruit, such as apples or bananas -- healthier sides than fries or potato chips.
Main Dishes
Pasta, pizza and nachos are common cafeteria fare, but they are not necessarily healthy. Look for a pasta dish that includes vegetables and that has a tomato-based sauce, which is lower in fat than a cream sauce. A vegetarian pasta dish is lower in saturated fat and sodium than one served with meatballs or sausage. A piece of cheese pizza can be high in sodium and fat, but is a better choice than pepperoni or sausage varieties. Macaroni and cheese, loaded baked potatoes and fettuccine Alfredo all contain a lot of saturated fat, sodium and calories.
Desserts
Almost all cafeterias offer dessert options like cookies, cake, pie and brownies. Eaten every once in a while, a dessert is unlikely to damage your health or your waistline, but if you eat in a cafeteria on a regular basis, you may want to rethink how many desserts you consume. With a rare exception, most cafeterias are not concerned with nutritional value, so their sweet treats contain too much sugar, fat and calories to be considered healthy. Some cafeterias offer low-fat yogurt, which is a healthier choice that also supplies nutrients like protein and calcium. Fresh fruit is another healthy choice for dessert.
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