I hate dining hall food and am always hungry
hgigilgylgl
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in College Life
I'm a freshman in college and I like everything about college so far except the food. I'm an extremely picky eater (the only foods I like are pasta with red sauce, macaroni and cheese,grilled cheese, pancakes, broccoli, and cheesecake). The dining hall almost never has food I like, and when they do it's made abominably. I would honestly rather starve than try new food, and I'm hungry and light headed a lot of the time. I am ABSOLUTELY UNWILLING to try new food, so I don't know what to do. I just want to eat food I like. It's not even like I can cook for myself, since I can't cook (my mom made all my food at home).
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Replies to: I hate dining hall food and am always hungry
My D didn't like her dining hall food at all but they did have to quick pick up things like cereal , fruit etc... and she could manage those.
They don't have anything on the salad bar you can eat?
Here is a bonus about being in college. You can try food, and if you really don't like it, you can throw it out. And there is no mom or spouse who will get mad that they cooked it and you aren't eating it. Think of college as a place where you learn new stuff, and learning new foods is part of that. They also probably have a wide variety of food, which makes it easier to try things.
I grew up eating a pretty bland diet -- smallish Midwestern town, and that is what my mom cooked and my dad liked. I remember an incident when I was a senior in HS when I was away from home, super hungry, and ended up eating last at a picnic with sandwich fixings as the main item. And the turkey was GONE! And there was no mayo. And only whole grain bread. And no American cheese! But I was starved, and knew there would be no food for about 6 more hours. So I put together a sandwich of things I'd never had before -- and was completely surprised when it was delicious. It was kind of a food turning point for me. I realized that I'd been scared to try things that we're unfamiliar -- but that some of them were good, and I'd been pretty sheltered from lots of different kinds of food.
Try taking some of at least one new thing at each meal. Eat at least 3 bites of it. Think of this year with food service as an opportunity to try a wide variety of new things to find more that you like, instead of as a trial.
Learning to cook is pretty easy for someone who is smart enough to go to college. Google a favorite food, find a recipe, and start practicing. Or ask your mom for her recipes.
You've got to broaden your horizons, that's all there is to it.
Try some meatballs with that pasta and red sauce, even if it means breaking up the meatballs into small pieces. Try some ham on that grilled cheese. How about some fresh strawberries on those pancakes?
If you're starving yourself until you're lightheaded, this is not a food issue. It's a mental health issue. Why not stop by the mental health office at your school and make an appointment? What you consider "extremely picky" may just be an eating disorder.
1. Open yourself to more food
2. Learn to cook
3. Move back home and have mom take care of you for the rest of your life.
My suggestion: start with #2... it will serve you well down the road. And slooowly work on #1. Your mom will probably object to #3.
There are social aspects to food choices. If your food tray is composed of the same narrow range of stuff, you will be teased. Likely, your friends will not want to hear about your narrow interests. You could be making yourself a social isolate...what if everyone is going for pizza and nothing on the menu fits your narrow choices. How would you share an apartment and expect your narrow range of foods from roommates who expect to share a food budget. When I was a child, three girl scout bites was required with new or disliked bites. You will not die of a tiny bite and tasting does help. Limiting food choices limits friends and you become socially ostracized.
It really helps to practice eating yucky stuff nicely. I was visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins and was served creamed corn, yams, and ham...not only gross but I could near my mother laughing in my mind...I just added the food to the plate and ate slowly. I now eat ham, try yams and avoid creamed corn forever! Life is so much easier as an adult, including college age, when you deliberately try new foods and broaden your food choices.
You could probably make pancakes in the machine too.
You should go to the counseling center. This is not a problem with your school dining hall. This is a problem with your perception of food. Being absolutely unwilling in all caps to try any new foods, when you are starving and light headed, is not normal. Please make an appointment right away at your school's counseling center so you can try to understand why you would rather starve than try a new food.
You're list of things you like is very small. Did your parents only feed you this stuff? Is there a medical reason why you don't like foods?
If you just don't like the way it's prepared, then IMHO, you need to get over it.
You need to work on this, period. The lack of variety in your food will cause you health problems later in life. However, I realize this may be extremely hard for you and not just "being spoiled". There are techniques that help, like starting from very small pieces (desensitization). You may never become omnivorous, but you should be able to eventually get decent nutrition in most situations.
Look for a therapist and/or nutritionist specializing in eating disorder. However, many of them unfortunately are concentrated on anorexia and bulimia and don't really know how to deal with this, so you might have to be proactive. Google "selective eating disorder".
in the meantime, you may start with getting a blender and making yourself protein cocktails to get some nutrition, and learning to cook (mac and cheese aren't that hard).
I think you can work on this in the dining hall. Start slow, and try more stuff.
I decided not to argue about food with her. She ate what she ate. Many of my friends with preemies with issues went to eating clinics at children's hospital, spent a lot of time tasting and urging and bribing. I just fed my kid what she liked. She liked everything plain, or on the side, so that's what she got.
For her it was a texture thing. She doesn't like things like yogurt, condiments, pudding, nothing banana ever ever ever, no ice cream with 'things' in it like nuts or berries. She's added a lot more to her diet by trying the 'plain' version and then trying it with a sauce, or mixed together (with cheese!).