Spicing up dorm dinners
Coming back to school after Christmas break can be a drag.
Not only are students back in class, but now they have to remember how to feed themselves. The time for friends and family laughing around tables full of delicious home-cooked meals is finished.
As stomachs go through flavor withdrawal, students are struggling to find real food between the holes in their meal plans. All across campus, people are doing everything from microwaving Top Ramen to making fried chicken from scratch.
After a month of adjusting to second semester, students across campus have some different tips on how to improve a dorm dinner.
Logan Nugent, a freshman studying special education, described how her gymnastics teammates prep every week.
“Meal prepping is good if you’re on the go,” she said. “Prepare your stuff on Sunday and you can have lunch for the week.”
She also suggested cooking with friends. It’s easy to shop together, then take over someone’s kitchen, she said. An evening cooking with friends is less of a chore and much more fun.
Some students try to be productive while cooking. For meals that need to boil, simmer or bake, that extra time can be used to shower, do homework or sometimes just relax.
“Look up recipes, and if it looks good, see what you need and what you already have and just go for it,” said Rylee Winegar, a sophomore in pediatric nursing. “I think people think it’s a lot harder than it is, but it’s really easy.”
Other students, like Andy Mitchell, a sophomore studying dietetics, recommend having a handful of consistent meals.
“I have a couple meals I can eat often during the week,” he said. “I usually shop off my memory and get the same things.”
While some meals may take a lot of time and effort, others can be as simple as a sandwich and a granola bar. They provide plenty of energy at little charge.
John Walker, a freshman in the business management program, swears by his rice cooker.
“Seriously, get a rice cooker. No joke, this thing saved my life. Quinoa and cholula also make everything better,” he said.
Walker also elaborated on the importance of high calorie intake done the right way. He explained the body needs plenty of energy to get poor college student through a whole day of studying.
Keeping a clean kitchen is also important in dorm cooking, said Daisy Rivers, a freshman in the nursing. Washing the dishes while cooking helps maximize time and space.
“I wash dishes as I cook, so I don’t have a huge pile at the end,” she said. “As one thing’s cooking, I go and get other stuff going.”
The time can even just be spent talking with roommates and catching up on social media.
Implementing just one or two of these tips can make a difference in eating habits. The quality of a dorm made meal and improve with just a few dollars and a little time.
— eshaffer127@aggiemail.usu.edu
@shaffer0127