At least once or twice a week, I go food shopping. While you might imagine me pushing a cart through the aisles of a grocery store, these weekly trips actually take place in my dining hall. With Tupperware and plenty of zip-lock bags in tow, I scan through the buffet and the salad bar selections of the cafeteria to see what items I can smuggle outside the door in order to whip up creative, healthy meals in the comfort of my own kitchen.
Although I have heard stories about students who managed to leave Georgetown's dining hall with a panini grill, giant tubs of ice cream, and even an entire cake, my loot is typically more discreet. Extra slices of bread and pieces of fruit are some of the easiest things to sneak into my bag for later. Despite many school policies that prohibit the removal of food from the cafeteria, the high prices of college meal plans and costs of stocking one's own refrigerator can convert many students into petty thieves. So long as one does not attempt to steal the waffle maker or an entire tray of grilled chicken, use the dining hall to your advantage and consider investing in the following five items for a week's worth of meals.
1. Salad bar items. The dining hall salad bar is the ultimate spot for stocking your refrigerator. With an assortment of vegetables and other toppings, you can create an easy stir fry dish without having to buy ingredients in bulk. Snag some beets and carrots for this unique twist on panzanella salad. Take some beans and sweet potatoes to make these delicious veggie burgers. Or, simply gather whatever looks good for a healthy salad to be enjoyed later. As strange as it might sound, you can even create dessert by loading up on grated carrots. The vast selection means endless possibilities.
2. Cheese. A recent article in Food Network Magazine identified that many items in grocery store salad bars are bargains compared to retail price, particularly cheeses. For college-strapped college students, taking advantage of the varieties in the cafeteria is an easy way to save money. Load up on cheddar cheese for those days when you crave macaroni and cheese. Adding feta cheese to a bowl of pasta elevates the dish to another level. Whether as a pizza topping or for lasagna, mozzarella is never a bad choice. Of course any variety can be used to create a quick quesadilla. Those willing to test their looting limits can even combine favorites to create a rich, baked pasta dish unparalled by anything served in the dining hall.
3. Rice. Rather than spending money on extra cartons of rice from Chinese take-out, scoop up this carbohydrate at the buffet to create meals all week long. Whether white or brown, use it as the prime ingredient to prepare these easy one-serving peanut or coconut kale rice bowls. For breakfast or an unconventional dessert, rice pudding cereal is a warm, cozy treat.
4. Cereal. Admit it: when arriving at school there was a lot of joy in seeing a bottomless selection of cereals that were forbidden when mom did the grocery shopping. Indulge in all the sugary goodness denied to you in childhood, but also load up for creating other dishes worth waking up for in the morning. In this recipe for french toast, try coating the bread in crushed corn flake cereal instead of cornmeal. Crispy rice cereal is a little dry on its own, so use it to make granola bars or chocolate bark. You can even create a unique sweet and savory combo by grinding Cap'n Crunch cereal as a breading for baked or fried chicken tenders.
5. Fruit. Fruit is by far one of the easiest things to sneak out of dining halls. As apples come into season, pilfer one or two (or five if you are really sly) and enjoy them in any of these dishes. Slice up some extra bananas, cover with chocolate and freeze for frozen bonbons perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up. With those yellow fruits forgotten and overripe in your backpack, make muffins. Enjoy a juicy orange, but save its zest to bake this light pound cake. And don't forget about dried fruits; they are great for stews, oatmeal or a simple snack.
When it comes to re-purposing food from the dining hall, your imagination is the only limit. We'd love to hear your favorite foods from the cafeteria -- let us know what you like to, um, borrow in the comments!
--Bethany Imondi for Small Kitchen College
Bethany Imondi, a junior studying Government and English at Georgetown University, would rather see her meal plan dollars spent while shopping at gourmet markets for unnecessary, luxury ingredients.
Follow Small Kitchen College on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@BGSKCollege
While meal plans are not usually the best value option for students, they make the rules pretty clear up front (usually) and are not profit-machines for the school (again, usually). The fact that dorm residents are forced into them is crappy, but I can see the justification if only because dorms do not have kitchen facilities (usually, yet again). Ultimately, when you sign the contract you agree to the terms, and violating those terms constitutes stealing... and I can't believe how many people want to justify that.
If you think the plans are crap, work to get them changed or see what options you have - perhaps live off-campus, or see if the "cheap" meal plans will get you through. When I lived in the dorms I got the cheapest plan, and kept a small store of basics in my room - that way, I could have a bowl of cereal or a sandwich without paying for an entire all-you-can-eat hot meal. When I went, I made sure I was hungry when I arrived and full when I left, and I ate what I wanted to eat with regards only to my interest and health, not the food cost. In short, I lived within the rules. The author should try it sometime - it's really not that bad.
In the real world, that would be bait and switch.
While I can't speak to every institution, a student I know lived in an on campus apartment and was still required to have a minimum food plan. When they objected, partly because they didn't want it since they now had a kitchen and because the cafeterias had slim pickings for vegetarians, they were told that the school did indeed use the meal plans to help subsidize expenses.
Really, simply wrong and the institution counts on the fact that they have students there for a short time who then move on, so it is difficult to get things changed.
With items that are served by employees scooping out school-sanctioned servings, I am not allowed to have more than one serving at a time. What does it matter if I would prefer a double serving of rice instead of a serving of rice and a serving of carrots?
Additionally, the option to move off campus is simply not there for most students. Many institutions require students who are under twenty-one to live on campus. They then say you have no choice except to buy the meal plan since you live on campus. Last year I was the student who had an on-campus apartment but was still forced into a meal plan.
So, yeah, if I can smuggle some bananas out in my purse, I will. I paid for an unlimited amount of all-you-can-eat meals, and all of the restrictions after the fact are not only stupid, but wrong.
Do you endorse this for ALL all-you-can-eat establishments? When you go to one of the ubiquitous "Chinese Buffets", do you approve of your daughter smuggling out a case of eggrolls on the basis that she is not getting her money's worth?
Figure this into the costs. If you cannot afford "dorm + meal plan" without stealing, then you need to find some alternative, such as "cheaper school" or "live off-campus and cook for yourself".
When I was a student, my friends and I used to take more snack-like things to for late night studying. Pierogies were the best because they baked them and so you could carry them out in a napkin. They were great hot or cold.
Half of the food gets thrown out anyways...
College meal plans have changed. You pay a lot and while you can theoretically eat all you want, you really cannot.
There are no trays at some schools, necessitating a weird balancing act of plates and bowls. If you try to just sail through because you have no time to sit down and eat a full meal, they will not let you grab a muffin and an apple and take it with you to class. You are not allowed to even take two pieces of fruit at a time.
Taking a panini press is one thing. Taking food you have paid for is an entirely different story. I appreciate that the college wants to cut down on waste, but they have gone too far.