Tips on Cooking in the Dorm Room
For many students, especially freshmen in college, living in the dorm can be quite a change from what a student is normally used to. And as for meals, in many cases, you are at the mercy of the dorm cafeteria hours and whatever restaurant is open when you want it. The problem with the dorms is that there is obviously no kitchen in your dorm room in most cases and many students don’t have a car at first. So what is a person to do with their sudden hunger at 2am while cramming for that political science exam in a day or writing the final draft of a report that you thought would only take a few hours to write? Many students living in the dorm have learned to cook in their dorm rooms.
There are many options in addition to simply storing dry goods such as granola bars under your bed in the dorm room. This is why it is a good idea to bring a small refrigerator the first day arriving at the dorm. In addition to the fridge, it’s a good idea to have a microwave in your dorm room as well as some microwave safe dishes, utensils, dish soap, pot scrubbers, dish towels and a cookbook. With these tools in your grasp, you will have plenty more options available to satisfy your hunger pains rather than simply going for the pack of cookies or tortilla chips in the vending machine down the hall. You will have a little kitchen in your little dorm.
Now what to keep in your dorm while not taking up too much space is important as well. We recommend simply keeping your standard canned pastas and soups around along with those wonderful bean burritos, frozen dinners, nuts and yogurt. Late at night, eating pasta may not be the best thing so yogurt and nuts is always a good thing, but you never know. You may just have a massive craving for carbs or even need them on the go as you are forced to skip dinner for whatever reason. It’s good to have a balance. The dry items can be placed in your wardrobe closet in that extra space beneath your clothes which can be used as a makeshift pantry.
Another great piece of equipment for the dorm is a water boiling unit. This is always great for those ramen noodle cravings as well as for making coffee and tea. Coffee makers can suffice as well just as long as you can boil the water since it will most likely be coming from the restroom faucet. You will need to boil out whatever may potentially be in the tap water such as chlorine.
Some students living in the dorm actually decide they want to be a bit more gourmet with their dorm cooking and who could blame them. These students usually have a stock of fresh lettuce greens, salad dressing, frozen vegetables in their freezer and more. They will prepare a gourmet salad on those days hey have no access to real food using all of the ingredients they have available.
Living at the dorms should limit you or any student completely as there are many ways to get around some of the small hurdles of college life. It just takes a little adapting. If you are one of the fortunate ones who arrives at college your first year with a car to drive around in then that is great. But there are just some times you will not feel like traveling all the way to the parking lot to get into your car in order to travel out to main street to find a business that is still open that has a drive thru window or even a grocery store that is open at later hours. It is always a good idea to simply keep cooking equipment and ingredients around in your dorm to make sure that you get the proper nutrition that all students need during their new college experience.
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