Campus Eats: Dining Hall Hacks

Kate Killion, Junior Health Science Student, SAR ’18

Campus dining can be great, especially at BU where students are given lots of tasty options and variety day-to-day. However, as a self-proclaimed chef on a meal plan, I do sometimes miss the creativity that comes along with having a kitchen. To add even more variety to my weekly meals in the dining halls (and feel almost like I am cooking in my own kitchen), I do plenty of experimenting. Along the way, I have come up with these useful dining hall food “hacks” that have become my weekly staples:

  1. Steam Your Own Veggies

There are microwaves in the dining hall for a reason! Grab a bowl of raw broccoli (or any other vegetable of your choice) from the salad bar, add a splash of water, and steam in the microwave for roughly 2 minutes.

  1. DIY Peanut Sauce

I learned this one early on. Combine peanut butter, low sodium soy sauce, hot sauce, and a bit of water to thin out the mixture. Whisk this little concoction with a fork, and pour over a bowl of brown rice, a protein, and lots of veggies for a Thai-inspired dining hall dish.

  1. Bay State Blueberry Parfait

Have you ever noticed the frozen blueberries down by the waffle station at Bay State? They’re definitely tasty in waffles, but also as a topping for yogurt. When there is no parfait option at the dessert station, try making your own by adding these blueberries to the plain or vanilla non-fat yogurt, and top with some Sargent Choice granola.

  1. Get Creative With Your Sandwich

I like to ask the deli for one of their whole wheat wraps (maybe even with some hummus on it), then add my own fillings from different entrée stations or the salad bar. One of my go-to’s is a wrap with hummus, Sargent Choice Garlic Rosemary Chicken, and lots of different veggies from the salad bar.