Let me tell you a secret: No one actually wants to live off ramen noodles.
In fact, ramen gets really boring no matter how many different flavors you buy, or how many things you add to it, it is still going to get really boring, really quickly. But what on earth are you supposed to eat if you don’t want to trek out to the dining hall every night and you can’t afford takeout?
Did you know that every residence hall on campus has at least one kitchen? Yup, every single residence hall at Plymouth State University has a kitchen, somewhere in the building. Also, if you ask your CA you should be able to borrow pots, pans, and things of that nature. And they’re open for use from all of the residents!
Food shopping can be daunting, especially if you’ve never had to actually go grocery shopping alone in your life. And food shopping can also get expensive if you want to continue eating like you did when you lived at home.
Okay but seriously: eating real food in college is so much easier than you probably imagined!
Step 1: The Essential Hardware.
These are the one time purchases, just to start you off.
While yes, most of the dorms have pots and pans, sometimes the look a bit used and abused, I suggest investing in a medium sized frying pan and a decent sized saucepan that is all your own. You can literally cook so many things in either of these, and they’ll run you no more than $25 total. You can get things like cookie sheets, serving spoons, spatulas, measuring cups, and tongs for just a few extra dollars at the Dollar Store or Walmart!
And for the love of this Earth, get yourself some reusable containers for your leftovers! I love the glass Snapware containers personally because they’re better for your body, they’re nice and sturdy, and they’re so much easier to clean compared to plastic!
Step 2: The Essential Staples.
These are things you’ll have to replace once in awhile, but are handy for making things like cookies, muffins, and things like that that you can make to stretch your food budget weekly. I personally like to keep a few seasonings on hand to help spice up the blander dishes.
So, in terms of essentials, you’ll probably want to acquire a good amount of the following items:
Step 3: The Basics.
Okay, so now that you have stocked your proverbial college pantry, it’s time for the list of foods you’re going to probably have to replace more frequently than the items in Step 2.
If you’re like me, you’re probably cooking for one person most nights and maybe the occasional guest. Or perhaps you’re cooking for or with your roommate. Either way, I like to try to keep certain items on hand because you can make a lot out of things from a few ingredients.
My list of basics includes:
*pro tip: buy another box regular plain old pasta that matches the type of mac and cheese you’re making and add an extra ½ cup or so of pasta… You can easily turn a 2.5 serving box into a 3 serving box and by extension stretch that for one more meal.
Those are items that are good to keep stocked but you won’t necessarily need to buy everything on this list weekly.
Step 4: Weekly Purchases.
After living up in Plymouth pretty much year-round for a while, I have noticed that it’s best to do my weekly grocery shopping at Hannaford. I often find the cheapest deals on produce and meats and even some of the dry goods I buy at Hannaford. They also seem to have a bit of a better variety compared to Walmart. That said Walmart is great for bulk purchasing snacks and cereals and ice cream, but I try to only go there one or two times a month.
Living on my own, I find that I’ll buy about a pound of meat weekly, but I’ll separate it when I get home and throw part of it in the freezer for another week. So essentially, I get different types of meat every week, and make them stretch longer. For example, last week I bought chicken and separated it in half, and then this week I bought a pound of hamburger and separated it in half. I try to make two or so “meals” a week, and try to make enough for two or three meals, and then I keep the leftovers for dinner or lunch the next day or so.
I’ve learned that buying too much produce weekly just goes to waste, so I try to only buy a few fruits and veggies and maybe something else if I plan to cook it that week. My biggest thing for sticking to my $25-30 a week budget is by making a list. I always go online or check out the flyer before going grocery shopping.
So you’ve probably noticed that I like to keep things on hand to make life easier. But you’re probably trying to figure out where on earth I kept all my food in a tiny dorm! When I lived in the dorms I had a 2-door mini fridge in my room, so I had space for some things in my freezer and fridge. I also kept my dry food contained to one of those plastic square crates, and I used the top of one of those 3 tier plastic drawers as a shelf. I also used the bottom drawer of my desk for my pots, pans, plates, etc.
Provided you're willing to go shopping, and you're willing to plan meals a bit, the effort is worth it when you have real food to eat! Feeling kind of lost for things to cook?! Stay tuned for next week's article featuring some easy, delicious recipes you can make at college!
