Meal ideas - dorm living, no kitchen
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Anonymous
Op, I say this with kindness, you baby your son. You have consistently refused to consider any advice that he could possibly be wrong or have an obligation to his roommate and hall mates not to make his dorm room a smelly, unsanitary mess. Dorm rooms are not intended to be kitchens. |
Anonymous
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This can be easily done if he stretches his definition of "meals".
I have a kid in college who won't cook and doesn't want to eat much cafeteria food. He eats: Rotisserie chicken Pb&j Cereal & milk Yogurt & granola Microwaved scrambled eggs Trail mix Carrot sticks, sliced bell peppers, and baby spinach Clementines, apples, blueberries It's not a bad diet actually. |
Anonymous
| OP why do you keep engaging those that are telling you to "land the helicopter"? It seems you are more interested in them than the suggestions on topic you have been given. |
Anonymous
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Same problem for DD who is and has always been underweight so it’s more of a concern.
In the pasta and rice aisle of the grocery store there are a bunch of options for rice dishes that you can microwave in the pouch. There also is microwaveable pasta in a pouch. You can get shredded cheese, guacamole, tortillas, and make a quesadilla. There’s canned chili, Staag’s is not bad. Milk and either workout protein powder or carnation instant breakfast mix. Instant oatmeal. You can get better ramen options at Costco and Asian markets. DD likes the Tonkatsu they sell at Costco. Trader Joe’s frozen meals are good. As freezer space is limited, in a regular grocery store there is usually a section near the meat that has refrigerated prepared foods by Bob Evans, Simply or Hormel. DD’s favorites are.. 1. Trader Joe’s Fettuccine Alfredo frozen 2. Bob Evans Mac and Cheese 3. Bob Evans mashed potatoes 4. Amy’s Kale and Cheddar rice bowl 5. Trader Joe’s Chicken Tikka Masala |
Anonymous
It's also ironic that people here are giving ideas that are revolting (high sodium, packaged, incomplete nutrition) that are, at the very least, equal to the "sub-par" food quality at the dorm. |
Anonymous
You are wrong. I work in a University. The outsourcing companies that most schools use have nosedived in quality. Combination of increased food and labor costs/turnover and attempts at healthier food. It’s very difficult to serve healthy, cafeteria food on a slashed budget with cheap ingredients and cheap labor. The food really has gotten awful. |
Anonymous
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In college I used to eat chickpeas, frozen peas, and jarred Indian curry. Dump in bowl and microwave.
He can do tortillas, precooked rotisserie chicken, and cheese to make microwave quesadillas. Serve with salsa. I’d also get some kind of vegetarian sausage and wrap in a tortilla with cheese. Lots of veggie burgers or other burgers (precooked chicken, salmon) can be microwaved. Not super appetizing but serviceable. Instant rice, canned beans, some taco seasoning, and salsa and cheese could also be a microwave meal. Could add cooked chicken, lettuce. Kind of like a chipotle burrito bowl. |
Anonymous
There have been a lot of really good suggestions throughout the thread (of course options are more limited without access to a full kitchen and fridge). Yes, maybe he’d need to incorporate 2-3 frozen meals per week for simplicity. I’m sure he’ll be just fine! |
Anonymous
I know because when my kid asked purchase one, I asked is it allowed, and was told not really but got a list of everyone who already had one. |
Anonymous
Temp controls are fine in decent dorm fridges. We got a 3.1 Cu Ft unit with separate freezer, so the freezer actually works (those inside the fridge dont' really work). Kid is in an apartment but the main fridge is small for 4 people, so they wanted their own in their room. |
Anonymous
Umm, plenty have issues. My kid's college routinely has "undercooked chicken". I've seen the photos. Kids learn the safe places to eat and avoid the dining hall with those issues. But if there was only 1 dining hall, it would be a major issue. Similar issues at my 2nd kid's college. So yes, it does routinely exist. Luckily both have many choices, and we can afford it and allow the kids to doordash/uber eats/cook food in the apartment or dorm kitchen. But if you are on a budget it can be an issue |
Anonymous
| Please do not subject his roommate and hallmates to these smells. Ugh. |
Anonymous
Just be extremely glad you can drop to 10 meal plan and live in the dorms. Most do not allow that, so you end up overpaying and not using and still "eat elsewhere and pay for it". My kid is in a university apartment--4 beds/4 baths/a full kitchen with dishwasher (a normal aparemtne). They are required to have at a minimum the same plan they had last year--when they lived in a dorm where 40 people shared a tiny kitchen (small stove/oven, microwave and tiny sink). Last year they had about $1000 left in dining dollars with 2 weeks to go in each semester---so did most of their friends. So they bought overpriced things at the on campus "market" and donated it or treated TAs/grad students to meals/starbucks/etc. It will be worse this year when my kid has a full kitchen and can more easily cook healthy meals. |
Anonymous
| It’s easy to poach eggs eggs in the microwave.—45 seconds in half a cup of hot water. He can put this over an English muffin or whole grain bread and sliced avocado. |
Anonymous
| Could also get a rotisserie chicken and add it to salads, wraps, ramen, etc. Keep a bag of frozen mixed veggies in the fridge to throw into soups or rice bowls. Couscous is easy to make with water boiled in the microwave and could be the base of a meal. |