Post by olesya on Aug 31, 2008 16:59:31 GMT -8
Alright! Welcome to another episode of 'THE Ally's How-To Guide to Everything! Today we are going to be talking about:
Eating in College!
You are all relatively high school age, and college is just around the corner so what are you going to do about it?! There's always that FRESHMAN 15 (or Freshman 50 >_>) to worry about, so without Mommy cooking your meals for you, what are you going to do?!
Well, I'm going to tell you (:
1) Where do I start?!
Well, when you live in a dorm room, you have far less space and resources than walking into your kitchen at home. Electronic appliances are usually illegal (except for a mini-fridge), so no toaster, microwave, or oven of your own. Most dorm halls have communal kitchens you can use, but the cabinets and drawers usually aren't safe enough to store your things without people stealing them. So they all have to go in your room, and if you have a roommate, then your storage room is already cut in half (or less depending on your roommates sharing habits).
We will be using myself, a college student, as an example for this tutorial. I have a single this year so my storage space is possibly 5x what you would expect for a freshman dorm, but we will cover that later.
2) What TYPES of foods should I bring with me or buy?
Alright, first of all, I recommend you buy the majority of your food AFTER you've moved into your dorm room. Its less to pack, won't break up in traveling, and you will have a sense of what you need to buy/what you can fit. Have your parents take you shopping in town before they take off on their motorbikes for Vegas, so you can use their pocketbooks =D?!
Some exceptions to this are if there are some sweet deals back home, or some things like a flat of water (12-24 packs) or soda or something that comes in its own large packaging.
Now, you're in the grocery store with your parents, right? What are you going to buy?!?! Well, one of the biggest things to remember is that you're in a room, not a house. Less cabinet space, no pantry, few resources, tiny fridge. Keeping this in mind, you're going to want the majority of your food to be non-perishable food items. Non-perishable literally means 'it wont rot.' Many popular name brands come with many single serving non-perishable versions of foods you love like Easy Mac, Cup o' Noodle, Ramen, Campbell's, and even Hamburger Helper has its own mini 'make-your'own's' of its popular dishes, just add water!
Now after a while you might get bored of some dishes (notice the absence of Easy Mac and Cup o' Noodle..>_>), if you eat one thing for a long time you tend to get sick of it. So buy a little of everything and toss it up every once in a while.
3) Okay, that's fine for meals...but what if I want to SNACK!?
Snacking can be a big relief and a big concern to college kids. Not hungry for a meal? Grab a snack. But how much? And of what? Now you COULD just buy full bags of chips and hope that they don't go stale because instead of being shared by an entire household, you're just feeding off of them. And also because it is just you eating out of the bag, how do you know when you're eating too much (remember those freshman 15)? Popular brands have also come out with snack sizes of chips, crackers, cookies, you name it.
Grab a bag and have at it! These can come in regular and 100 calorie versions (which actually don't taste that bad). That way you can still enjoy the snacks you love, but in moderation.
If you want something different yet still nutritious and tasty you can go for trail mix! Now, many trail mixes come with added sugars and preservatives and honestly, I really don't like them. That is why I make my own! Take the dried snacks that you love and add them to a gladware container (very handy, discussed later). Im not a fan of peanuts and sweet things like candy in my trailmixes, so mine contain banana chips, almonds, sunflower seeds, craisins, apricots, and a Sunmaid package of 'tropical fruits.' Now, they contain sugar, but its far less than if I bought a package of trailmix itself. Plus instead of one teeny bag I have 3 gladware containers full...its a lot for cheap.
Though you want to keep away from too much sugar, a little bit helps. Afterall, it is a necessity for your body, just a tiny one. If you're up studying late or in the middle of the day and youre feeling a little low (you will learn to recognize this feeling most likely), you can pop a few skittles or m&m's or whatever your favorite candy is. Just don't indulge in it. I like to buy the larger bags of candy and then put them into small gladware to keep on my desk. That way the serving size is low but its there if I need a sweet pick-me-up.
4) BUT WAT TO DRINK!
Soda, soda, and moar soda...if you want to gain weight and clog your system. Like you want a variety of foods, you also want a variety of drinks, and there are two ways you can do this.
Pre-packaged drinks
Soda, water, juices...these can all come in boxes of cans or bottles for your drinking pleasure. I only really recommend bottled water if your college water is gross (which sometimes happens), if you need something cold (refrigerator), or you have guests over. Right now I have bottled water because it was given to me, but I try and keep it for guests rather than drinking it myself and throwing the bottles away, which is a growing concern of plastic waste. PLEASE RECYCLE! I bought a Nalgene bottle at the bookstore in order to refill my drinks rather than throwing them out. Anyway, back on topic. These you can keep in your fridge and store the rest until you need them. They are quick and easy when you can't make a full pitcher of juice or lemonade or whatever.
Make-your-own drinks
To save money from buying multipacks, or buying coffee everyday, you can always make your own. Popular brands have come up with single-serving packets of your favorite drinks and can be found in the drink isle of nearly every grocery store. However, these can tend to run a little more expensive if you really look at it. So, you can choose to go for convenience, or for price range. I personally buy the bigger packs of drink mixes and then just dole it out in spoonfuls into my cups and waterbottles. You get more that way I think, but whatever floats your boat. As for coffee, you can get anything from instant regular and decaf to specialty flavors and cappuccinos. Early morning classes can be snore fests, so if you need a little pick me up, toss some instant coffee into a travel mug and microwave it up, you'll be happy you did.
Don't like coffee? HAVE SOME TEA!
Tea can come in thousands of flavors and styles, and theyre so easy to make. Water + teabag + cup + microwave = YUM. And for faux iced tea, put a teabag into a water bottle and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning simply take out the teabag and youre on your way! So simple, yeah?
5) Now, what do I eat with?
Alright, this is a simple one, though you might want to write this down. Human beings eat with utensils. You will want to get your own set of plates, bowls, cups, mugs, forks, knives, spoons, etc. You don't really want anything too breakable in a dorm setting, and places like Walmart and etc usually have deals on hardy, microwave safe plastic kitchenware. You can even get them in pretty colors!
Now, you CAN get all of these things in disposable varieties, but what have we been talking about staying green? Honestly a tiny bit of dish washing won't hurt you, it takes like 5 minutes if you let them pile up and as little as 30 seconds if you wash them right after you're done eating. Do the right thing, go green.
How many of each to get? Depending on your dish washing habits, 5 of each should usually be more than fine. That way if others come over and you want to share, you can have a dinner party at your desk or something. I don't know, stranger things have happened. One thing I did was this summer I got a sweet deal on a full silverware set for like 10 bucks. It was my moms friend who is moving to Taiwan or something, but either way, silverware set.
Now, do I really need this much silverware? Heaven's no, but in the next year or so I am going to be getting my own apartment, and apartments don't come with their own kitchenware, believe it or not. So instead of having to buy everything at once, I bought them now for a sick ass deal, and won't have to worry about it later. The pink cutlery at the top is the durable plasticware I've had for 2 years now (since freshman year). So I still have the plasticware, just a lot more options.
6) Okay, so I got it all...where do I put it?!
One good place to store your food and kitchenware is in a large plastic tote sort of thing. They come in all shapes and sizes to fit under beds, in closets, wherever. (Tip: You really want to utilize under-bed storage when possible). Last year I used a three-drawered tote to put my food and kitchenware in and it worked rather well.
This year, because I live in a single I have much more space, so I was able to utilize the shelving space and everything to organize my food and kitchenware in my closet.
Either way, you don't want it sitting out and open (bugs and rodents, ew!), so look into getting some sort of bin to put it all in. Even if you put your food in a plastic bin and put your kitchenware in a shelf in your closet, you will find what works best for you.
Also, gladware is your friend. Your best friend. Its marvelous for leftovers from take out or delivery foods, or if you make something and don't eat it all, whatever the case may be. Also if you buy larger bags of certain foods like chips and candy, you can put them in smaller gladware for portion sizes. (:
I hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any questions and I will add them below (: Happy eating!
Eating in College!
You are all relatively high school age, and college is just around the corner so what are you going to do about it?! There's always that FRESHMAN 15 (or Freshman 50 >_>) to worry about, so without Mommy cooking your meals for you, what are you going to do?!
Well, I'm going to tell you (:
1) Where do I start?!
Well, when you live in a dorm room, you have far less space and resources than walking into your kitchen at home. Electronic appliances are usually illegal (except for a mini-fridge), so no toaster, microwave, or oven of your own. Most dorm halls have communal kitchens you can use, but the cabinets and drawers usually aren't safe enough to store your things without people stealing them. So they all have to go in your room, and if you have a roommate, then your storage room is already cut in half (or less depending on your roommates sharing habits).
We will be using myself, a college student, as an example for this tutorial. I have a single this year so my storage space is possibly 5x what you would expect for a freshman dorm, but we will cover that later.
2) What TYPES of foods should I bring with me or buy?
Alright, first of all, I recommend you buy the majority of your food AFTER you've moved into your dorm room. Its less to pack, won't break up in traveling, and you will have a sense of what you need to buy/what you can fit. Have your parents take you shopping in town before they take off on their motorbikes for Vegas, so you can use their pocketbooks =D?!
Some exceptions to this are if there are some sweet deals back home, or some things like a flat of water (12-24 packs) or soda or something that comes in its own large packaging.
Now, you're in the grocery store with your parents, right? What are you going to buy?!?! Well, one of the biggest things to remember is that you're in a room, not a house. Less cabinet space, no pantry, few resources, tiny fridge. Keeping this in mind, you're going to want the majority of your food to be non-perishable food items. Non-perishable literally means 'it wont rot.' Many popular name brands come with many single serving non-perishable versions of foods you love like Easy Mac, Cup o' Noodle, Ramen, Campbell's, and even Hamburger Helper has its own mini 'make-your'own's' of its popular dishes, just add water!
Now after a while you might get bored of some dishes (notice the absence of Easy Mac and Cup o' Noodle..>_>), if you eat one thing for a long time you tend to get sick of it. So buy a little of everything and toss it up every once in a while.
3) Okay, that's fine for meals...but what if I want to SNACK!?
Snacking can be a big relief and a big concern to college kids. Not hungry for a meal? Grab a snack. But how much? And of what? Now you COULD just buy full bags of chips and hope that they don't go stale because instead of being shared by an entire household, you're just feeding off of them. And also because it is just you eating out of the bag, how do you know when you're eating too much (remember those freshman 15)? Popular brands have also come out with snack sizes of chips, crackers, cookies, you name it.
Grab a bag and have at it! These can come in regular and 100 calorie versions (which actually don't taste that bad). That way you can still enjoy the snacks you love, but in moderation.
If you want something different yet still nutritious and tasty you can go for trail mix! Now, many trail mixes come with added sugars and preservatives and honestly, I really don't like them. That is why I make my own! Take the dried snacks that you love and add them to a gladware container (very handy, discussed later). Im not a fan of peanuts and sweet things like candy in my trailmixes, so mine contain banana chips, almonds, sunflower seeds, craisins, apricots, and a Sunmaid package of 'tropical fruits.' Now, they contain sugar, but its far less than if I bought a package of trailmix itself. Plus instead of one teeny bag I have 3 gladware containers full...its a lot for cheap.
Though you want to keep away from too much sugar, a little bit helps. Afterall, it is a necessity for your body, just a tiny one. If you're up studying late or in the middle of the day and youre feeling a little low (you will learn to recognize this feeling most likely), you can pop a few skittles or m&m's or whatever your favorite candy is. Just don't indulge in it. I like to buy the larger bags of candy and then put them into small gladware to keep on my desk. That way the serving size is low but its there if I need a sweet pick-me-up.
4) BUT WAT TO DRINK!
Soda, soda, and moar soda...if you want to gain weight and clog your system. Like you want a variety of foods, you also want a variety of drinks, and there are two ways you can do this.
Pre-packaged drinks
Soda, water, juices...these can all come in boxes of cans or bottles for your drinking pleasure. I only really recommend bottled water if your college water is gross (which sometimes happens), if you need something cold (refrigerator), or you have guests over. Right now I have bottled water because it was given to me, but I try and keep it for guests rather than drinking it myself and throwing the bottles away, which is a growing concern of plastic waste. PLEASE RECYCLE! I bought a Nalgene bottle at the bookstore in order to refill my drinks rather than throwing them out. Anyway, back on topic. These you can keep in your fridge and store the rest until you need them. They are quick and easy when you can't make a full pitcher of juice or lemonade or whatever.
Make-your-own drinks
To save money from buying multipacks, or buying coffee everyday, you can always make your own. Popular brands have come up with single-serving packets of your favorite drinks and can be found in the drink isle of nearly every grocery store. However, these can tend to run a little more expensive if you really look at it. So, you can choose to go for convenience, or for price range. I personally buy the bigger packs of drink mixes and then just dole it out in spoonfuls into my cups and waterbottles. You get more that way I think, but whatever floats your boat. As for coffee, you can get anything from instant regular and decaf to specialty flavors and cappuccinos. Early morning classes can be snore fests, so if you need a little pick me up, toss some instant coffee into a travel mug and microwave it up, you'll be happy you did.
Don't like coffee? HAVE SOME TEA!
Tea can come in thousands of flavors and styles, and theyre so easy to make. Water + teabag + cup + microwave = YUM. And for faux iced tea, put a teabag into a water bottle and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning simply take out the teabag and youre on your way! So simple, yeah?
5) Now, what do I eat with?
Alright, this is a simple one, though you might want to write this down. Human beings eat with utensils. You will want to get your own set of plates, bowls, cups, mugs, forks, knives, spoons, etc. You don't really want anything too breakable in a dorm setting, and places like Walmart and etc usually have deals on hardy, microwave safe plastic kitchenware. You can even get them in pretty colors!
Now, you CAN get all of these things in disposable varieties, but what have we been talking about staying green? Honestly a tiny bit of dish washing won't hurt you, it takes like 5 minutes if you let them pile up and as little as 30 seconds if you wash them right after you're done eating. Do the right thing, go green.
How many of each to get? Depending on your dish washing habits, 5 of each should usually be more than fine. That way if others come over and you want to share, you can have a dinner party at your desk or something. I don't know, stranger things have happened. One thing I did was this summer I got a sweet deal on a full silverware set for like 10 bucks. It was my moms friend who is moving to Taiwan or something, but either way, silverware set.
Now, do I really need this much silverware? Heaven's no, but in the next year or so I am going to be getting my own apartment, and apartments don't come with their own kitchenware, believe it or not. So instead of having to buy everything at once, I bought them now for a sick ass deal, and won't have to worry about it later. The pink cutlery at the top is the durable plasticware I've had for 2 years now (since freshman year). So I still have the plasticware, just a lot more options.
6) Okay, so I got it all...where do I put it?!
One good place to store your food and kitchenware is in a large plastic tote sort of thing. They come in all shapes and sizes to fit under beds, in closets, wherever. (Tip: You really want to utilize under-bed storage when possible). Last year I used a three-drawered tote to put my food and kitchenware in and it worked rather well.
This year, because I live in a single I have much more space, so I was able to utilize the shelving space and everything to organize my food and kitchenware in my closet.
Either way, you don't want it sitting out and open (bugs and rodents, ew!), so look into getting some sort of bin to put it all in. Even if you put your food in a plastic bin and put your kitchenware in a shelf in your closet, you will find what works best for you.
Also, gladware is your friend. Your best friend. Its marvelous for leftovers from take out or delivery foods, or if you make something and don't eat it all, whatever the case may be. Also if you buy larger bags of certain foods like chips and candy, you can put them in smaller gladware for portion sizes. (:
I hope this was helpful, let me know if you have any questions and I will add them below (: Happy eating!