One of the biggest complaints about living in dorms is the food. Whether people are unhappy with the quality of the food, the lack of healthy food, the small amount of choices, or the limited amount of plus dollars, most people have a problem with it.
However, there are a few items that you can purchase and tricks that you can learn to make your stomach and taste buds a lot less angry with you.
Jason Finely with his toaster.
Saying that Jason Finely, freshmen biology major, is a picky eater is a drastic understatement.
“What don’t I like?” he said. “I think it would be easier to name foods that I do like.”
But he did manage to name a few foods that he would never eat: meat, all vegetables except carrots, beans, nuts, and tofu.
Finely pretty much only uses his meals for ordering pasta (without the sauce), blueberry yogurts, and bananas, he said.
He purchased his toaster during the first week of school and it has helped him tremendously, he said. At least two of his meals a day comes from it.
“If you are a picky eater like me, I would definitely recommend taking precautionary steps to survive college,” he said. “For me, it was getting a toaster.”
*Fun Fact: you can turn a toaster sideways and use it to make grilled cheeses and quesadillas if you butter the outside first. It is also handy for heating tortillas.
Though a toaster may seem like an obvious resource, others are a bit more obscure.
Amber Hanna, freshmen statistics major, uses her iron for more than just ironing clothes.
Hanna goes to Sandwich Factory almost daily, she said.
“Sandwich Factory is my favorite place on campus,” she said. “But, one day I was craving something different. I got out my iron an
Breonah Magana working the pasta station at Vista Grande.d made a Panini."
You set the iron to a medium heat and press each side for about 30 seconds to a minute, she said.
“It takes my turkey, avocado, bacon, and jalapeno sandwich to a whole new level,” she said.
Students also mix the food on campus to create an array of meals.
Breonah Magana, Vista Grande employee and Questa student, said she sees students making creative meals by mixing food from different stations.
Some students buy either grilled chicken or chicken strips and use the bread from the sandwich station to make sandwiches, Magana said. Other students have also made pizzas using the flatbread and pepperonis from the sandwich station and marinara sauce from the pasta station.
“One of the weirdest combinations I saw was a student putting pasta in his burrito,” she said.
Next time you are tired of the same food day after day, try one of these tips. Or even better, think of one yourself!
Dorm Life 101 