Welcome to College!

So, today is my first day of classes. It's only 9:48 am, and I don't have class until 12:30, so I got breakfast in the cafeteria. I guess now is a good time to talk about good and bad cafeteria choices for breakfast.
If the cafeteria offers...:
-omeletts (made to order with add-ins such as cheese, tomato, mushrooms, spinach, ham, peppers)
-pre-made eggs (regular and egg-whites)
-bacon
-pre-made pancakes/french toast/breakfast breads such as that
-belgian waffles, to order, self-serve
-pre-made potato product (home fries, french fries, etc)
-cereal
-oatmeal
-mini muffins
-yogurt
-fruit
-bagels/bread & toppings (butter, cream cheese, jelly, peanut butter)
...You are going to be fine. This is a list of basically the only things my cafeteria serves. It is basic, and not that bad for you if you balance out your meal.
Today I think I ate the most balanced meal I've ever gotten for myself. I had an omelette with cheese and spinach: not extremely fatty, there's protein, greens, oh and I put salsa on it so it was extra delicious with extra veggies. I also got a banana nut muffin which yes, has a lot of fat, but it's a mini muffin so it's not as bad as other choices I could have made. And then I got a bowl of fruit and a banana. I got my protein. I got my veggies. I got my carbs. I got my fruit. That's how you navigate a cafeteria. You balance out the meals so you have a little of everything, but preferably more of the good stuff, such as protein, like eggs.
I have never tried the oatmeal in my cafeteria, mostly because it's off to the side and I forget it's there. But oatmeal is a very good choice for breakfast in the winter. In the summer, it's a little too hot for me to recommend such a hot dish, but to each their own. Oatmeal is a good healthy option, as long as you don't add in sugar and other unhealthy toppings.
Yogurt is my summer weeks oatmeal replacement. It's much lighter, colder, and absolutely delicious. My favorite thing to put in my yogurt is dried oats and raisins. They aren't too sugared so I still think I'm being healthy. But most schools will also have fruit everywhere in the cafeteria, which is another amazing add-in to yogurt. Go crazy with fruit, it's nature's candy.
I will have to say, stay away from pre-cooked and set out eggs. My school has a counter for self-serve breakfast, consisting of a large plate of scrambled eggs (regular and white), a plate of bacon, potatoes, and today was pre-made pancakes, sometimes it's french toast instead, or french toast sticks which aren't any good. Honestly, I steer clear of the self-serve counters. Bacon is always really good (I don't eat it but I hear no complaints...bacon is bacon) and the potatoes are generally pretty decent. However, everyone complains about the pre-made eggs. On the flip side, everyone loves the omelettes that are made to order. But the eggs on the counter are just not the same. They are greasy and made from egg-product, not real eggs, like the omelettes are...My suggestion when it comes to eggs is to get smaller amounts of the pre-made kind, and get it all made-to-order as often as you can. Sometimes there's no choice but to get self-serve food, but if that is the case don't eat too much of those pre-made eggs. They just usually aren't all that good.
All the bread products a cafeteria will generally serve (cereal, toast, bagels, etc) are perfect. I eat too much bread. But balanced out, it's great. No cafeteria can mess up cereal and bagels. Seriously, they would have to try (and sometimes we think our cafeteria really does).
However, pre-made (yet again) things aren't as good because they are usually sitting out for a while, unless you are the first in line when they place them on the counter. I usually pass up the pancakes because they are rock solid by the time I get them but the french toast is usually really good. However, french toast sticks are over cooked, over fried, and just plain bad. Be careful of things that look over fried, because it "over fried" is probably an understatement. Food in cafeterias tend to look better than they taste, while the food that doesn't look so good actually tastes quite delicious.
I'll finish up this post with the best way to look at breakfast: YOU HAVE ALL DAY TO BURN IT OFF! Honestly, breakfast is supposed to be the largest meal, while lunch and dinner are progressively smaller. Eat what you want for breakfast (make sure your breakfast is before noon), just be active during the day and don't eat junk food all day long. Oh, and it's not the best idea to eat after 10 pm (because college kids stay up later, they can eat a little later than the typical 7:00 dinner)...but no later because after that, everything you just ate stays because you can't burn anything off while you sleep.