Whether you've been a vegetarian for your entire life or have only started recently, it's not the easiest thing in the world to actually find a variety of options when it comes to vegetarian food. You usually have to settle for the one item on the menu with the green leaf next to it at a restaurant, and sometimes, you're just stuck with the salad. However, navigating the dining halls in college trying to find some edible vegetarian food is a completely new level (and it doesn't help if you're picky). Here are ten foods you're likely to have encountered if you're a college vegetarian.
1. The "vegetarian" meat.
This is common in the dining halls-- fake hot dogs, "chick'n nuggets," and "vish fillets," to name a few. Granted, it's a good option for vegetarian newbies, and I have to give the university credit for trying to expand vegetarian options. But for those who have been vegetarian for longer or have never eaten meat before, it's not exactly enticing. Also, even meat-eaters say the taste is a little off.
2. The carb overload.
Pasta, noodles, garlic bread, mashed potatoes... when you're lucky enough to find anything in the dining hall that you'd actually want to eat, it's most likely carbs. If you're health-conscious, you might realize that the college vegetarian diet isn't exactly the best. And if you're not, well, it is possible to get tired of carbs.
3. The salad.
If you're anything like me when it comes to salad, having to eat only a bowl of leaves, carrots, and tomatoes for dinner makes your day a bit worse. The solution to this misery is drenching the salad in so much ranch dressing that it is no longer considered healthy.
4. The fries for dinner.
On the days the dining hall has no pasta and your day has been bad enough without salad, you might pile a ridiculous amount of waffle fries on your plate, dump them in a sauce of your choice, and call it a day.
5. The dessert for dinner.
Sometimes, taking two helpings of chocolate cake and a plate of cookies is worth it.
6. The fine-print soup.
When your dining hall has soup that isn't chicken noodle, it gets your hopes up... that is, until you realize that the broccoli cheddar soup is made with chicken broth (if you consider broth as non-veg).
7. The vegetarian sushi.
Some people love this, and others can't stand it. Often, what you put in the "sushi" decides how good or bad it tastes. For me, though, avocado and tiny pieces of cucumber taste a little weird wrapped in rice and seaweed. Not everyone agrees.
8. The experimental tofu.
I imagine that this happens when they want to make something original, but it just ends up tasting incredibly strange. Sweet-and-sour tofu sounds like a good idea, but the reality of it is pretty different. The same goes for baked tofu.
9. The steamed vegetables.
These are literally exactly what their description says they are: plain, unseasoned steamed vegetables. Usually, it's either broccoli or carrots, which is tolerable, but if you're unlucky, it's a bowl of cauliflower. I'll also throw in the random cooked mushrooms in this category.
10. The cauliflower pizza.
This isn't the kind of recipe you'd find on Food Network on how to make a pizza crust with cauliflower-- this is literally cheese pizza with plain cauliflower topping. I don't know why anyone would do that to a pizza, but somebody must like it.
Despite many of the disappointing experiences and starved days vegetarians may have in college, we're lucky that there are many more options for vegetarians now than there used to be even ten years ago. Some of these might have been foods that you actually like eating in the dining hall, which is great because you have more options. But for everyone else, until you get an apartment with a kitchen (or until you learn how to cook), just remember that there's always good old Taco Bell.
