A College Foodie's Survival Guide

A journey through freshman year in college: the in's and out's to keeping your sanity and your tastebuds satisfied when you're working with a dining hall, your single digit bank account and the occasional care package...

First off: prepare for the dry spell. Milk every last bit of cooking creativity your mom has in the final days of summer

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Have your mom make all your favorites and savor every last bite. (TIP: try not to think about how long it will be until you have another one of mom's homemade greek turkey burgers that are to die for...)

Once mom's kitchen creative juices have dried up... take matters into your own hands

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Cook absolutely everything in your ability that can't be made in a microwave. Remember, you won't even lay your eyes on a stove or an oven until Thanksgiving break! Have any special foods you like to make (like banana protein pancakes)? Make them now or forever hold your peace.

One word: tupperware

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Let purchasing a plethora of tupperware be one of the first things you do when settling in. Learn quickly that it's beyond acceptable to smuggle as much food as you can stuff in your backpack out of the dining hall. Save your grocery store money for the things they don't have in the dining hall. When "stolen" food is already factored into your tuition, you're missing out by not taking those extra snacks for later.

Take advantage of roasted veggies when they are offered. Trust me, the time spent waiting in multiple lines just to get the side veggie will be worth it once you dig your fork into your masterpiece.

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Put them in a big salad as a nice switch up from the same old shredded-like-confetti cold cukes and carrots in the salad bar. Maybe you'll be late to the table but your friends will all be envious once you sit down with your actually appetizing-looking meal after they've scarfed down whatever goop they could find. "Woah you made that in the dining hall?! How?!"

Hit up the deli line but then open that sandwich back up and pile it a little higher with the salad bar offerings

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We all know when you ask for banana peppers you get one (MAYBE two) on top of your turkey and when you ask for mayo you get a pound of it centralized in an area about the size of a nickel. Oh and don't even think about asking for "a couple more peppers please" or to "spread that a little more evenly please" ... you will get death glares, I promise.

Take full advantage of what IS offered in the dining hall and supplement it with what ISN'T

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Bring in any ingredients that aren't offered to make some of your at-home favorites (like sunny side up eggs on toast with cheese and avocado on top)!

Hate to break it to all you avocado lovers out there, but don't expect to see any of these in the dining hall. (WARNING: you will get confused looks and tons of "omg where did you get avocado?!") Isolating yourself on the days when you've brought your own extras is never a bad idea... unless you're ok with being the weirdo foodie who brings avocado (and their own peanut butter) into the dining hall.

Treat breaks like you haven't eaten real food in months. Live to eat not eat to live my friends.

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Your thanksgiving meal is just about the last time you'll see real food until winter break. Savor that marshmallow sweet potato casserole and those green beans that actually weren't cooked in a pool of sysco fat. It's gotta be enough to hold you over for the November/December dining hall blues.

Make the goal of your breaks to take full advantage of having access to a kitchen again... at least temporarily.

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bake bake and bake some more until you're sick and tired of it.

(like banana cinnamon streusel bread)

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Make yourself solely responsible for baking every last batch of Christmas cookies. (Your mother will love this daunting task being taken from her amidst the holiday stress)

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... bake for birthdays

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... bake for breakfast

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... bake things you don't even like! Trust me, they will be eaten and you only have so much time left with your oven!

Once back at school, accept any and every offer from family or friends living nearby for a meal regardless of how distant the connection is

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Hey a home cooked meal means one less dinner in the dining hall. Suck up the possibly awkward conversation and enjoy your dinner! (TIP: going to school in the same city as your foodie older sister is a perk...) Swordfish in a citrus glaze with avocado and pineapple? Yes please.

Ladies... find a boyfriend in the same city.

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Hopefully he's one you actually like and aren't just dating for the free nice dinners you get out of it... And to the boys out there: being wined and dined is never more appreciated than when us foodie girls are broke in college and just tryin to satisfy our foodie cravings.

Don't be afraid to call the shots with where he takes you either...

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If you wan't BBQ, go for it. (Baby back ribs with mac & cheese and cole slaw from Redbones BBQ in Medford, MA)

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Really... there's no need to hold back. Satisfy your sweet tooth in a way your dining hall couldn't come close to. ("Pazookie" or skillet chocolate chip cookie a la mode from Joe's American Grill on Newbury St. in Boston)

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and as long as you keep calling him back... honey when you want Mexican, you can have Mexican.

(Tuna and feta tosadas from The Painted Burro in Medford, MA)

Learn to appreciate and be amused by the little things in the dining hall...

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... or the big? Believe me, you will learn to love the weeks when the Dole bananas shipment looks like it was injected with steroids somewhere along the way.

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... who knew apples has stars inside of them? If you need to play with your food, go right ahead.

Keep an eye on the campus calendar for special meal nights

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Don't let the campus-wide lobster dinner be the night you're stuck in the library cramming for that chem exam and dining elegantly on pretzels and swedish fish.

Attend any and every event that advertised "free food"

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You never know what you could be missing out on. Homemade nutella-stuffed chocolate chip cookies at the community service info meeting? Yes please.

Take advantage of your mini-fridge and the nearby grocery stores, and be sure to have bowls and utensils in your dorm room!

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Blueberry lovers be warned: don't expect to see berries of any kind in the dining hall. Bananas, mealy apples and a "melon medley," as it is so elegantly labeled, is about as good as it's gonna get.

Don't be afraid to make the dining hall food seem significantly worse than it actually is when you talk to your mom on the phone....

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"Mom there's NOTHING to eat here I'm practically starving!" The care packages will come, you watch...

... oh and don't feel the need to share these care packages. Your mother sent them to you, not your roommate.

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dorm: (noun); a place where it is not only acceptable, but required to spoon nutella straight from the jar and into your mouth

If your favorite local ice cream and coffee shops have a frequent flyer's "buy 9 get the 10th free" card... don't waste any time. Get your hands on it. Fast.

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Discounts and coupons become a college foodie's best friend in times of dry bank accounts and real-food withdrawal. Someone shoving an obnoxious 2lb coupon book in your face when walking to class? Take it.