Starving College Student

Like I said in my last entry, I’ve always been surrounded by good food. This first week of college has been quite difficult to find food that’s remotely similar in quality to what I eat at home. First off, living in Lander Hall we have one food stall in the food court open because the kitchen does not become fully operational until fall. So, the kitchen only offers two dishes per meal with “delightful” menus including macaroni and cheese, and green shrimp gumbo. The other issue with the food set up is the kitchen is only open for a short period of time for each meal. If you don’t show up between specific hours, you’re not eating there. The mini mart in the dorm has some decent things so you could make a halfway healthy breakfast but most food there prepackaged from some factory with little to no nutrition.

On Wednesday I decided I needed a reprieve from my high carb, low protein diet. Maria and I set out on a quest to find something that was neither prepackaged nor lacking in dietary quality. Wednesday was a fitting day for this outing as the two of us have been eating lunch together on Wednesdays since sophomore year of high school. It only made sense that we had to find good food for this three year tradition. Salvation came in the form of a bus ride to QFC grocery store. As we walked into the store, we walked past the stacks of shiny flawless fruit. The oranges in particular caught my eye as they were bright orange and lacked the bruising and green spots that were standard issue on the oranges in the dorm. After the fruit section we wandered over to the deli and ordered grilled sandwiches. I know I’ve only been in the dorms for only about four days now but the fresh bread, fresh vegetables, good cheese and meat was probably the best thing I’ve eaten since my arrival at college.

I always appreciated the food in my house, but I never thought about it at the level I do now. Food at home is open 24 hours a day, it’s fresh, and you can find a way to make a balanced healthy meal. Finding such things in college is quite a challenge.