It was at the end of Greg’s freshman year when we first brainstormed the idea that eventually became Finite Foodie. We began by discussing what Rebecca and Greg had done to help them survive college cafeteria food, especially during the time they lived in a dorm room. So for all of you college students, we have a very special chapter devoted to you in our upcoming book! One of the main topics we discuss in the book is how to stock up your dorm room for healthy, easy cooking success.
As you get ready to leave home and go to college, give some thought to the fact that you will probably spend the next nine months in a 10×10-foot space, living with a complete stranger. You’ll be required to eat cafeteria food that may or may not tingle your taste buds. And no matter how nice it might be in the beginning to eat hamburgers and pizza every day, you will definitely get tired of them. You will most likely pack on some extra pounds as well. Rebecca and Greg went through this, as did their friends. Hopefully you can learn from their mistakes!
Dorm rooms vary from campus to campus. Most colleges now have a kitchen located on each floor or each wing, although some freshmen still have no access to a kitchen. Either way, small refrigerators for your room are a great option.
I highly recommend a mini-refrigerator/freezer, especially if you’re going to cook. I wouldn’t leave anything in a community fridge. You can’t trust other people to leave it alone. Even if you don’t cook, you can keep a wider assortment of food in your room if you have a refrigerator.” ~ Greg
Greg and Rebecca both appreciated having a mini-fridge in their rooms. Rebecca had NO access to a kitchen her freshman or sophomore year, so she really needed one. Greg’s dorm had a decent-size kitchen on each floor, but he quickly decided it wasn’t worth using. Greedy scavengers would pilfer the community kitchen refrigerator, whether a name was on the container or not. He lost way too much food that way. So, for the sake of convenience, and to protect your food, we suggest purchasing or renting an in-room refrigerator if possible.
A microwave is another useful item to have in your dorm room, and it makes for a great graduation gift. You can use it to heat up water for tea or coffee, cook oatmeal, and pop popcorn. If your community kitchen has a microwave that is convenient to use, then you can get by without one in your dorm room. However, it’s nice to have in your room for late nights and mornings that come too soon. (Just make sure it is okay with Housing first!)
These two items are the first step in our college preparation for a Finite Foodie kitchen space in your dorm room. They are extremely helpful even if you purchase a meal plan. In fact, Rebecca and Greg chose the least expensive meal plans possible, so they could afford to supplement with foods they preferred. Our next post will discuss how to stock your tiny dorm room with a few other “kitchen” items that we believe will be very useful.
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