How do you feel about dining hall food?
Coming into UVA, I did not hear great things about it. Now, I can bear witness to that. After eating here for orientation over the summer, I spent the rest of my time at home prepping and planning what food and snacks I needed to bring.
Within my first two weeks here as a first year at UVA, here are my top 5 struggle meals that can be made in a dorm!
ramen
Now this is my personal favorite. I’ve had ramen for dinner about 1/3rd of the time I’ve been here. My roommate and I came to UVA loaded up with a variety of ramen: Buldak, Cup Noodle, IndoMie, Jjajangmyeon, and Jin.
My personal favorite? Buldak Carbonara. Cheesy deliciousness with the perfect amount of spice. I tried the 2x spice, but I soon regretted that choice.
Now, if you want an easier option to make, then the best way to go is with Cup Noodle. I’ve eaten that between classes, before going out, or just late at night. Super quick to make and still tastes good.
Instant Rice, Spam, Soy Sauce, and Seaweed
One thing about eating at UVA is that I haven’t had Jasmine rice for a while. This little recipe feels like home.
While my friends and I were all craving a taste of home, we cooked up instant rice, cut up a can of spam, and microwaved it. Then, we added them all into a bowl, mixed in soy sauce, and it was ready to eat! However, if you want to add a little more flair to it, we wrapped spoonfuls of rice into seaweed snacks and ate those together as well.
This was one of my favorite late-night meals at home, and it has continued to be one here.
The Infamous Cucumber Salad
Now, I know you’ve seen this on TikTok. There’s so many varieties, which is what makes this so perfect. However, it is a little ingredient-heavy depending on what you want to make.
In all honesty, I think the best move is to just take a bunch of cucumber slices home from the dining hall in a takeout box (I would go to O’hill), and then you can make your choice of cucumber salad.
The recipe I like the most is the creamy cucumber salad. To make this one, you add:
- Cucumber slices
- Sour Cream
- Cream Cheese
- Everything bagel seasoning
- Greek Yogurt
However, the more famous “Asian Cucumber Recipe” includes:
- Soy Sauce
- Sesame Oil
- Chili Oil
- Garlic
Although some of these items are not the easiest to attain, once you get them, you could make so many more of these! The best thing about cucumber salads are that you can essentially put anything you want in with your cucumbers and it will still taste good.
Mac and Cheese
Come on, it’s a basic meal. You pop one into the microwave and it’s done!
You could always go for the classic Kraft Mac and Cheese, but if you ever take a trip to the Trader Joe’s nearby, you MUST try their Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese. It was life-changing for me (as much as frozen mac and cheese could be).
YOGURT
If you’re feeling a little healthier, one of my favorite meals is yogurt. This may sound odd, or maybe not even filling at all, but hear me out.
Yogurt with fruit, cereal, or other mix-ins.
I’ll admit, I judged my friends when I first saw them eat this, but it actually looked and tasted pretty good. It’s the perfect consistency of creamy and crunchy! If you’re not entirely looking for a meal but still want something sustainable for dinner, this is it.
All you need is to stock up on your choice of yogurt (you could also get some at the dining hall!) and any add-ins you want. Fruit is always a good option if you have that lying around in your dorm, but if not, cereal and granola taste great with it!