Because of my daughter’s schedule she doesn’t always make it to the dining hall for lunch. There are many on campus options, but for whatever reason, she doesn’t want to use them. I’m sure it has more to do with not wanting to go alone due to scheduling or just wanting something quick. I’m not pushing the issue because she eats in the dining hall enough other times, it’s just the occasional lunch that she doesn’t go.
But, it’s only October and she’s sick of Easy Mac and doesn’t eat soup or those microwave pasta meals - too much salt. I’m trying to help her think of other options, but her “Kitchen” is a shared mini-fridge and a microwave. The only ideas I’ve come up with are whole wheat wraps with peanut butter or turkey. Anything else???
This problem will solve itself soon with the end of the semester and schedule change, but for now…we just need to get through. Thanks.
My D has a large glass measuring cup and makes herself pasta - then dresses it up with parm. Hummus and chips/pita. Cheese cubes and apple slices. Salsa and chips. Scrambled egg w/cheese in the glass measuring cup.
What would she eat for lunch if she was at home or at the cafeteria???
She can get a rice cooker and make rice bowls.
Cheese, fruit (apples, grapes, pears) and cracker plates. Maybe some smoked sausage.
Tuna
Cottage cheese w/fruit or veggies.
Yogurt w/granola and fruit.
Boiled eggs (you can get her a microwave egg cooker)
Baked potato in the microwave.
Too much of that Easy Mac is bad for her and full of sodium as well.
I suspect her minifridge does not have much room for keeping a week’s worth of yogurts, etc.
potatoes keep well at room temperature and are microwaveable.
When I’m home and just want a quick bite because I’'m in the middle of things, I might open a can of tuna or salmon and put it on crackers. Sometimes I’ll just have cheese and whole-wheat crackers, and an apple. As long as she’s getting a breakfast and dinner in the dining hall- which usually means ample meals- a small less substantial lunch
isn’t such a bad thing.
Does your daughter like Indian food? Kitchens of India (and, I’m sure, other companies) make entrees that don’t need to be refrigerated before being heated in the microwave.
My first thought was Bagel & cream cheese, hard boiled eggs, one or two lean cuisines, any type of granola bar or even a granola trail mix, bananas, apples, cucumber cut up, cheese & crackers, grapes, guacamole & crackers or chips…
Ezekiel bread with almond butter and banana (for both almond and peanut butter I get the kinds that don’t have added sugar or other junk - nuts is the only ingredient) or cheese sandwiches with a little butter; home-made egg salad or tuna sandwiches.
My D keeps bags of frozen vegetables in her dorm fridge freezer compartment. She sometimes has them with the quick-fix rice that cooks right in the pouch in the microwave, or picks up a protein or soup elsewhere on campus and supplements with the veggies. Oatmeal works well in a pinch, too.
Thanks for all of the ideas. I knew this was the place to ask. To answer the cost question, we have not paid for the meals. We bought a mid-range dining plan that runs through the year. We can add to it if necessary as the year progresses.
Sometimes the school cafeteria is so crowded you spend too much valuable time just standing in line. My D tries to keep an open period between 11 am and noon and eat lunch before the main crowd hits.
Hungry Girl has dozens of “egg mug” recipes on her website. She used to use a lot of processed food in her recipes but the egg mugs are pretty decent. There’s also a little pan that goes in the microwave to make “egg mcmuffins” style eggs that she could then put on an English muffin or on bread. There are pouches of tuna, salmon, soup, rice etc. that make a small meal.
Isn’t Ezekiel bread $4 or $5 a loaf? That might be both expensive and hard to find as a specialty item on some campuses.
Ezekiel bread is not that much at Costco - but you have to buy two loaves of it. Any whole grain bread would be good.
Sometimes a good meal-put-together-rule is :
One protein
One whole grain
One fruit or vegetable
One dairy
So that could be a slice of whole wheat bread or crackers w/unprocessed cheese, an apple and pb.
Or: Hummus, pita, a piece of fruit (that she takes out of the cafeteria the night before) and a glass of milk
Tell your daughter to bring Tupperware whenever she goes to the dining hall. That way, she can bring a stash of different foods back to her dorm with her. I do that. Ice cream, sandwiches. Maybe even a small bowl for soup if she needs. That way, she can have it for the next day if she missed a meal.
DD sometimes makes smoothies in her room for lunch (doesn’t want to make them for breakfast as it’s too early and may wake up her neighbors!). She can get bananas and almond milk from the dining hall and has a supply of frozen berries in her freezer. Quick and healthy!