Dorm room dining doesn’t have to consist solely of Ramen noodles and take-out, and the cafeteria doesn’t have to be the only source of a somewhat balanced diet. With some storage space, access to a mini-fridge, a microwave, a stovetop and some utensils, a healthy, tasty and affordable meal-plan can appease even the most vicious of late-night-up-studying cravings.
Freshman Victoria Kretchner said her roommates in Woodcrest already brought the 100-calorie snack bars, and she and her mom plan to go shopping for apples, oranges and potato chips after moving in.
A Cabrini College graduate offers the advice to “drink lots of water and avoid late night take out.”
For some healthy guidance with what to fill your shopping cart with, Education.Yahoo.com lists some examples of easy dorm room cooking ideas on the site 10 Things You Can Cook in Your Dorm Room. They include stocking up on low sodium canned soups, frozen meals and bean burritos, easily microwavable mac and cheese and pastas, cereal with fruit, canned tuna or egg-salad sandwiches, and even stovetop veggie stir-fry. The list doesn’t end there.
Munchies are often in more of a demand than wholesome meals, but can also cause a bigger problem when they result in 1 a.m. Wawa runs or trips to the diner. Not only are these indulgences unhealthy, they are also costly and can hinder studying as an escape-method excuse or with uncomfortable side effects to excessive amounts of grease.
Dorm room recipes at www.baltimoresun.com take snacking past pre-packaged chips and cookies to pre-meditated health snack recipes that can easily be wrapped in a paper towel and be carried across campus to eat between classes. The site recommends using spreads like peanut butter, jelly, or cream cheese to top-off bagels, English muffins, or rice cakes. If you have a blender in your residence hall, fruit smoothies are recommended as a tasty treat. Non-fat yogurt with fruit add-ins is an alternative to smoothies.
Many ideas for healthy dorm-room snacking are just a few clicks away on the Internet, and a healthy lifestyle is just around the corner with some invested time, small preparations and common sense. Just remember to keep the kitchen clean, shop the sales and buy non-perishables. College students aren’t just eating to fill their stomachs, they’re eating to fuel their minds.
