The Dining Hall. Don’t lie, we all have a love/hate relationship with it.

What’s to love: You don’t have to cook every night and it’s free (well it’s not because you’re paying for a meal plan but it seems like it is ok)!

What’s to hate: mostly unhealthy choices, there may be things you might not like every night, and you get sick of it so quickly.

Hmm how do we fix the problem? Well we sure know that you can’t order in every night because that stuff adds up quickly (UD friends, most of my bank statement consisted of El Diablo last semester ya feel?)

I have a solution! Here’s a list of food hacks – food that you can make right in your dorm for cheap, on those nights you truly do not feel like eating dining hall food!

Mac and Cheese with Toppings.

The staple food to most college students’ diets: Easy Mac. Don’t get me wrong I love Mac and Cheese, but sometimes I want to add a little somethin’ somethin’ to it. So, once your mac and cheese is out of the microwave, you can add bacon bits, sriracha, sour cream, or tuna! These are delicious combinations and can make for a different meal each night so you don’t get sick of it!

Grilled Cheese. 

How can I make grilled cheese if I don’t have a kitchen… Well, do you remember the iron your mom made you bring to school that’s just chilling under your bed? Now is the time to use it! Grab two pieces of white bread, a piece of cheese, and turn on that iron!

Sweet Potato Chips. 

Say What?! Yes you heard right! You can make these babies right in your microwave! Just cut them into thin slices, place them on parchment paper (sprayed with cooking spray of course), sprinkle some salt, and cook them for 4 minutes! Yum!

Taco Salad. 

Don’t throw away that bag of Doritos! Take some lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cheese, guacamole, those Doritos, and throw them in a bowl. You have yourself a Taco Salad!

Tip: You can even just use the bag as a bowl as shown in the picture below

Paninis.

Don’t put the iron away post grilled cheese yet! Make a sandwich of your choice, wrap it in foil, and apply heat with the iron! This is super quick and delicious!

Oatmeal.

This is always a great breakfast option! Buy some microwaveable oatmeal, put in an adequate amount of water, and cook it for the recommended time. When it is done and cooled off, you can place toppings on it like nuts, granola, or fruit!

See! Making healthy and delicious meals in your dorm room isn’t so hard after all!