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.

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 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing research on colleges, and sees a few schools where most of the students complain about the food. I am insistent that there is no college currently in session that has food that is completely inedible for the 3k+ students to go there. They would not still be in existence. It would be front page story. I get that there are schools with subpar hot meals or variety; but salads and cereals!?

Your kid is being picky. This is the perfect opportunity for them to break the habit and start training their pallet for life.

My kid isn’t being picky. He took a gap year last year and traveled independently throughout South America, cooking for himself at hostels and eating all kinds of food. At the hostels, though he usually had access to some kind of stove, top and oven, which meant he had more options for cooking a simple meal.

I take him at his word that the meal plan dining food is not worth the cost. He’s dropped down to ten meals so that’s done.

It’s not a front page story (why would it be?) but the dining services at Temple university are getting many complaints this year from students and parents. It’s definitely not a secret and they are complaining to the company managing the dining hall.

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.

Please do not subject his roommate and hallmates to these smells. Ugh.

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing research on colleges, and sees a few schools where most of the students complain about the food. I am insistent that there is no college currently in session that has food that is completely inedible for the 3k+ students to go there. They would not still be in existence. It would be front page story. I get that there are schools with subpar hot meals or variety; but salads and cereals!?

Your kid is being picky. This is the perfect opportunity for them to break the habit and start training their pallet for life.

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 wrote:Surprised no one has chimed in about the quality/temperature controls of dorm refrigerators. They are fine for beverages and a leftover slice of pizza, but would hesitate storing eggs and raw meat. Another factor would be the smell of cooking food in a small dorm room area. Gross.

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 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please do not encourage him to keep an illegal toaster oven. Dorm fires are a real risk and it’s really not fair to the rest of the inhabitants of that building.

+1

And they’ll be found out pretty quickly when there are cooking and burning smells coming from the dorm room.

My kid had one last year, and their room was next door/connected to the RA's (double double with a bathroom in between. There were never any issues, because my kid knows how to cook and use a toaster oven safely.

75% of their friends also had a toaster oven and managed to use it safely.

How did you know what 75% of their friends had? Are you so involved that you know the contents of their friends’ dorm rooms?

So many insane parents on DCUM.

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 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing research on colleges, and sees a few schools where most of the students complain about the food. I am insistent that there is no college currently in session that has food that is completely inedible for the 3k+ students to go there. They would not still be in existence. It would be front page story. I get that there are schools with subpar hot meals or variety; but salads and cereals!?

Your kid is being picky. This is the perfect opportunity for them to break the habit and start training their pallet for life.

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.

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!

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 wrote:My kid is doing research on colleges, and sees a few schools where most of the students complain about the food. I am insistent that there is no college currently in session that has food that is completely inedible for the 3k+ students to go there. They would not still be in existence. It would be front page story. I get that there are schools with subpar hot meals or variety; but salads and cereals!?

Your kid is being picky. This is the perfect opportunity for them to break the habit and start training their pallet for life.

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 wrote:My kid is doing research on colleges, and sees a few schools where most of the students complain about the food. I am insistent that there is no college currently in session that has food that is completely inedible for the 3k+ students to go there. They would not still be in existence. It would be front page story. I get that there are schools with subpar hot meals or variety; but salads and cereals!?

Your kid is being picky. This is the perfect opportunity for them to break the habit and start training their pallet for life.

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.

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

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.

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 wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing research on colleges, and sees a few schools where most of the students complain about the food. I am insistent that there is no college currently in session that has food that is completely inedible for the 3k+ students to go there. They would not still be in existence. It would be front page story. I get that there are schools with subpar hot meals or variety; but salads and cereals!?

Your kid is being picky. This is the perfect opportunity for them to break the habit and start training their pallet for life.

My kid isn’t being picky. He took a gap year last year and traveled independently throughout South America, cooking for himself at hostels and eating all kinds of food. At the hostels, though he usually had access to some kind of stove, top and oven, which meant he had more options for cooking a simple meal.

I take him at his word that the meal plan dining food is not worth the cost. He’s dropped down to ten meals so that’s done.

It’s not a front page story (why would it be?) but the dining services at Temple university are getting many complaints this year from students and parents. It’s definitely not a secret and they are complaining to the company managing the dining hall.

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.