When spring semester wraps around, I am sure many of us are sick of the dining hall and running out of things to eat. Also, the new year gets us in the mood to be somewhat healthy. To get use out of the expensive meal plans, I am going to give you all some easy tips to create diverse meals.
This semester I have started eating breakfast almost every day at The 90. I know it sounds hard to roll out of bed for breakfast at the dining hall, but it can totally energize the rest of your day. If you live on central campus and are a big breakfast girl, you will want to keep reading. The 90 has an omelet station that uses real eggs with multiple toppings to choose from, but what I like to get that a lot of people do not know about are fried eggs. If you ask politely, they will fry you an egg whichever style you prefer. What I like to do next is pair the eggs with two slices of toast, turkey bacon, and a bowl of fresh fruit that has the best pineapple ever! If you are not an egg person or not in the mood, I go to the infamous peanut butter banana toast. If the dining halls have bananas, take advantage of it! Toast 2 slices, spread some peanut butter, and top it with bananas and honey and you are full and good to go!
For lunch, I like to get my greens in. To spice up a salad, I search for some source of protein that is available whether that be grilled chicken that you cut up from another station or ground beef from the taco bar. Add a vinaigrette or salsa to give it more flavor and load it with veggies or quinoa/chickpeas. Extra protein will help fill you up. Salads also pair well with soup. Both dining halls have cozy tomato or broccoli cheddar soup that makes lunch feel a little like home. However, most importantly getting in the greens now will let you splurge just a tad for dinner and help just in case you forget.
For dinner, you could eat the same thing you had for lunch, but it is better to change things up. If pasta is available, go for it. In order to complete this meal and add some zest, look for veggies at any of the stations to mix with the pasta. This again will help you to keep eating veggies because it is so easy to forget in college. If pasta is not available, scout the safety zone area because they always have options that can suit anyone’s needs. Also, to combat the sweet tooth, eat some more fruit after your meal.
With only a couple months of this semester left, hopefully, these tips will help you get more use out of your meal plan. This will keep the parents from bothering you and maybe make you eat a little healthier and cheat on the weekend.