dorm cooking

[Medako]

(cross post from the gift thread)

My sister recently started college and is in need of food for her room since she's not always able to make it to the cafeteria at noon due to her class schedule.

I want to get her some easy things to make for those days she doesn't get to eat. Sooooo....what are some things that maybe you had while in college or that a college kid wouldn't mind cooking in their room?

On the list so far are the obvious ramen noodles and heat-and-eat soups. Any other ideas would be a great help!!

[shopaholic]

I never lived in a dorm but I am assuming she has a mini fridge w/ freezer section on top?

How about frozen dinners than can be microwaved....or those frozen rice bowls?

[Kinetic]

-Jar of Peanut Butter and Box of Ritz Crackers (my personal favorite)
-Microwave Popcorn
-Fruit snacks/Fruit Leather
-Nutrigrain Bars
-Boxes of Macaroni + Cheese to make in a hot pot
-Tuna Fish
-Fruit bowls
-White Castle frozen hamburgers
-Bowl Apetites

[pride&prejudice]

Those rice bowls and popcorn are a great idea!

Some other things that I can think of are:
- Snack size bags of chips, etc. This way you don't open a bag and it goes bad
- Hot pockets
- mini pizza bagels
- Pop tarts
- Apple sauce (they have individual ones, but this was like my ultimate comfort food, made me feel like I was at home!)
- My SIL suggested teas, or hot chocolate if she likes that
- Individual soups in a cup/bowl

[lml41981]

If she has a microfridge (the fridge with a separate freezer and microwave on top) then she could do frozen meals...Also Kraft Easy Mac n Cheese doesn't suck royal eggs. Bowls, cereal and milk always work. For more healthful options, bags of salad and pre-cooked chicken breast strips. Bread and sandwich fixings...

[Myra]

cereal

[lauren f s]

Does she have a microwave she can use? My old roomate and I loved to mix frozen broccoli with cheddar cheese soup - instant broccoli cheese soup!

I also liked:

*Easy Mac
*lunchables
*crackers
*cheese
*fruit
*bottled water
*popcorn, bagels
*cream cheese
*cereal
*granola bars
*Ramen noodles.

[amew]

I used to make baked potatoes and scrambled eggs in my microwave. You can add some veggies and cheese to either and have a reasonably good lunch.

[Aimee]

My freezer in my dorm fridge was super-tiny; it only held a few hot pockets or frozen dinners.

I used to keep a loaf of bread and some deli meat for sandwiches in my fridge, along with squeezable mustard and mayo. I'd just squirt it on the bread, smear the bread together and didn't even need to dirty a knife!

I knew many, many people who had Foreman grills, even though they technically weren't allowed. They'd make hamburgers or chicken in their room.

DH ate the hell out of Pop Tarts in college. So much that he won't eat them at all post-college. They're good for a quick breakfast on the way to class. We couldn't have toasters so we ate them "uncooked."

I also always had some crackers and chips, dry foods that were good for snacking. I gained a ton of weight that way, actually. The food in the cafeteria was so bad, I'd skip dinner, come back to my room and eat a box of wheat thins. Since I was just eating crackers, I never felt like I'd had a "meal" so I had trouble knowing when to stop. Ugh.

[shopaholic]

wow...this makes me thankful that I didn't go away for college. I couldn't eat like that!

[ManteoChik]

wow...this makes me thankful that I didn't go away for college. I couldn't eat like that!

Haha! That's why I only lasted one year at a school where I had to live in a dorm. It was the worst experience of my life. I always had a fully stocked fridge with all sorts of food. We also used to order pizza at night....we'd use those 3 for the price of one coupons so we could put the leftovers in the fridge and eat for lunch.

I also ate the hell out of some Easy Mac, Cereal, Sandwiches, Crackers w/ cheese and spread, hot pockets, salad (in the bag), Pop tarts. I also had a George Forman and Toaster hidden in my room. We used to make grilled ham and cheese sandwiches.

[Kristy]

Easy Mac rocks. I bought boxes and boxes of it while living in the dorms. Those Campbell's Soup at Hand are great too. Easy to take to class with you on a cold day as well. I also stocked up on dry cereal, granola bars, flavored oatmeal, trail mix, etc. The fridge my roommate and I had was super tiny and could barely fit anything in it, so frozen items wouldn't have worked.

[Aimee]

wow...this makes me thankful that I didn't go away for college. I couldn't eat like that!

Eh, it's a small price to pay for all the fun I had. I wouldn't trade my college experience for anything in the world, and I'd do it all over again if I could. I was treating my body like crap anyway by staying up super-late, drinking, etc, so all the processed food wasn't really going to do that much more damage. Plus, when everyone is eating like that, you don't really realize how terrible it is.