As a first year student, I know how difficult it is to regulate your diet and eating habits when you get to college – it’s a huge change. Throughout the time that I’ve been here, I’ve picked up some food tips for eating outside of Mary Fisher Dining.
- Want groceries but don’t want to pay? Buy a to-go container from Mary Fisher and you can take home ingredients with a meal swipe. You can keep the green box for a one-time fee of $10, and you can purchase it with dining dollars. I will elaborate on its function later in the tips.
- Make your instant ramen better. Ramen is great (my personal favorites are Shin, Soon Veggie, and Chappageti), it’s cheap and easy to make. But it does not have enough nutrients to fully energize your body. Next time you make ramen, add a protein like tofu or chicken and a green like scallions or spinach. Conveniently, all these ingredients are available at Mary Fisher.
- Your freezer is your friend. I like to make meals in my dorm, but I can’t buy produce or perishable ingredients if I’m the only one eating them. So I freeze everything to increase longevity and save food from going bad. I currently have a container of frozen scallions in my fridge, a bag of dumplings, and frozen fruit, but you can basically freeze anything. Trader Joe’s and H-Mart are my favorite places to get frozen meals/food.
- Continuing the theme of making food last, buy dried fruits and fermented vegetables, they will last you much longer. I have a bunch of kimchi that I add to my ramen and the student market chicken bowls.
- Find snacks and quick meals that fill you up, and keep them stocked in your dorm. Imagine: it’s late at night and Alice’s just closed, and you are so hungry that you feel you are going to punch something if you don’t eat. In this case, I recommend having something with a lot of protein, carbs, and/or healthy fats around. For example, nuts, hummus and pretzels, and cliff bars. These are mostly available at the Student Market.
- My last tip is to take care of your body and mind. This means listening to your hunger cues, not always eating healthily, and giving yourself food that energizes you and makes you feel good.
Taking care of your eating habits can be difficult, especially when you are away from home. So don’t be hard on yourself and have fun making new meals and trying different foods.
Feature Image: My fridge after a trip to the grocery store!
