We are lucky enough to have access to a variety of healthy, locally-sourced, dinning hall foods here at college. However, at the end of the day, no matter how perfectly the chicken was grilled or the panini pressed, its just not the same as a home-cooked meal.
Here is a collection of ways to amp up any dinning hall menu, I present: Dinning Hall Hacks.
1. Ice Cream Sandwich
Life is short, so let's start with dessert. Chocolate chip, M&M, sugar cookie, it doesn't matter. Plain is boring. Take two cookies, and use the soft-serve machine's AMAZING low-fat vanilla ice cream as filling between the two. Add sprinkles for maximum happiness.
2. Cheezus Christ
Sometimes you're just not feeling the dinner menu. Hey, it's okay -- we all have those comfort food cravings, those days when salad just won't cut it. Thankfully, HUDS has you covered with a multitude of grill options. Now, you could just order a grilled cheese sandwich and call it a day, but where's the pizazz? Add an egg to your grill order and when the two arrive, stuff that bad boy right into your grilled cheese sandwich. Go fried egg: for a crisp taste and reliable hold, or poached: for that runny, we're-gonna-need-more-napkins kind of dish.
3. Deli Sandwich
Turkey, salami, ham, swiss, provolone, whatever. The real reason everyone loves good deli sandwich is the potato chips you low-key fill your plate with. Save on plate space, and consume more chips by trying this simple hack. Make your sandwich: add the mayo, the mustard, cut off the crusts, yadda yadda yadda -- and THEN, before adding the second piece of bread, take a handful of chips and place them INSIDE the sandwich. You heard me. It adds crunch, salt, fat, all that good stuff to your *formerly* boring sub. You're welcome, America.
4. I Don't Know, It's Greek (yogurt) To Me!
Not understanding how to eat breakfast (which is a "time independent" meal and can be eaten for lunch, dinner, or as a midnight snack), is a serious problem which plagues many a college student. Why rely on leftover pizza, or sugary baked goods to get you going in the morning when you could be making the world-renowned (sort of) yogurt-granola parfait! Carbs, fats, protein! This dish has it all.
Use the low-fat plain greek yogurt provided in every dinning hall as a base. Add the off-brand hemp granola as needed into your bowl, stir liberally. Next, spoon some organic (or Jiff if the sugar is really that necessary) peanut butter into the mix and you've got yourself a basic, sure-to-please breakfast. Add sliced banana, honey, or other toppings for a personalized approach.
Bon appetite!
