1. Peanut Butter
As a vegetarian, you miss out on the protein that you usually get from meat. Peanut butter serves as my main source of protein, and I eat it every day. For breakfast, I eat a toasted plain bagel with a ton of peanut butter. I also grab a banana, break it into pieces, and dip the pieces in peanut butter. This makes for a tasty and nutritious breakfast in which you get some protein for the day.
Peanut butter can also be incorporated into your lunch by eating toast with peanut butter, or an old-fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwich. One of my favorite nighttime snacks that I eat in my dorm is Ritz crackers that I put peanut butter on.
2. Potatoes
Potatoes are a versatile food that serves as a hardy contribution to a vegetarian diet. Some of my favorite sides at the Student Center dining hall are seasoned slices of potato, mashed potatoes, and the potato pierogi, all of which can be served as an entrée rather than a side if you just ask. Sweet potato and French fries are other potato side dishes available at the STU.
3. Fruit
Fruit is a very important part of staying healthy and getting the vitamins you need. For breakfast, I love to eat mandarin oranges or pineapple slices over strawberry yogurt, with granola toppings. Another way to incorporate food into your meal is by slicing up a banana and putting it into a bowl of cereal.
The STU frequently offers applesauce and apple cobbler, as well as a side dish of grapes. Grab an apple or orange from the STU and take it with you for a snack.
4. Vegetables
Obviously. Apart from the typical salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, and raw peppers, other vegetables I eat a lot of in college are green beans, snap peas, and celery sticks. Baby carrots, fresh or cooked with seasoning, are very tasty at any time of the day as well. The STU also offers vegetable soups.
5. Cheese
Cheese is perhaps the most versatile food. It can be eaten in vegetarian omelets, over macaroni, or in ravioli. At the Deli station in the STU, you can order a plain cheese quesadilla, without the chicken. The STU also offers macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, ravioli, meatless lasagna, and cheese pizza. You can also get plain pasta at the pasta station and top it with parmesan cheese, with or without sauce: marinara or alfredo.
At Late Night, you can order plain nachos with cheese sauce. Also, don’t forget about cream cheese as a bagel topping!
6. Milk
Just as we were taught as children, milk is very important to your health, particularly teeth and bones. Incorporating a lot of milk into a vegetarian diet is a way to stay healthy. Regular or chocolate milk is a good drink for any meal. When I get iced coffee, I pour in whole milk instead of the artificial half and half. Milk with cereal is another way to intake milk on a daily basis.
7. Soups
The STU always offers at least one type of soup, or if it is the morning, perhaps oatmeal, cream of wheat, or grits. Soups include vegetable soups, French onion soup, clam chowder, Minestrone, and chicken tortilla soups, in which the chunks of chicken are very easy to eat around. The same goes for chicken noodle soup.
8. Sugar
Sugar is good for you in small amounts. I find that when my lack of protein as a vegetarian has me feeling fatigued and sluggish, consuming a bit of sugar gives me a temporary energy boost. I find this sugar rush in iced coffee with milk and sugar, chocolate pudding topped with whipped cream, or the occasional soda. My guilty pleasure, however, is chocolate ice cream for dessert. Other desserts at the STU include cookies, other various puddings, and hot chocolate.
Aside from these major foods, other carbs are always an option, such as rice, pasta, cornbread, or vegetable lo mein. At the toast station, toast an English muffin topped with peanut butter, or toast a piece of bread and add butter, cinnamon, and sugar.
Keep in mind that any dish you see at the STU that has meat in it, nine times out of ten, if you ask one of the food service employees for the same dish without the meat, it won’t be a problem at all. Whether it’s a vegetarian burrito or a pasta dish (hold the chicken parmesan), pretty much anything you want can be produced without a problem.
Outside of the dining hall, other snacks that I keep in my room include granola bars, graham crackers, popcorn, Pop-tarts, pretzels, Oreos, and Cheese-its. These are vegetarian snacks that won’t go bad, due to my lack of a refrigerator. My roommate’s favorite dorm room snack is an orange with Nutella. I also drink a lot of water every day, and take supplemental vitamins every morning to help my body get the vitamins it needs.
Choosing to be a vegetarian means that you have to take extra care of your body, which can be difficult when eating college food every day. Remembering to consume a lot of protein and vitamins, and eating the foods I have discussed, will make your body say "thank you"!
