It's been about 7 years since I have actually been in a dorm room, let alone had to cook in one! I greatly utilized the cafeteria at my school and would hoard healthy snacks in our shared mini fridge. I also lived with 7 other girls in a suite, so we know all individual suite mates' food ends up going to everyone for late night snacking, am I right?
As for sandwiches, who doesn’t love a nice hearty sandwich once in a while? I grew up eating PB&J, tuna melts, and turkey sandwiches for lunch all the time. Sandwiches are just my go to! They are extremely easy to make, and they’re so versatile. You can also pack them full of all the good crunchy vegetables too to make a nice well-rounded meal! I chose to make the tuna melt because it was a meal I was very familiar with, and I knew I would enjoy eating it. As mentioned before, who can pass up a hearty sandwich?
I followed this recipe as I guideline, but I did switch up some of the ingredients! It originally called for mayonnaise, but I had light mayonnaise in the refrigerator. It also called for cheddar cheese, but I had Kraft American cheese in my refrigerator as well, which is actually my preference! I picked up multigrain bread from the store instead of white bread because of preference of taste and texture. But multigrain bread actually has 3 grams of fiber per slice, so I like knowing I can add extra fiber into my meals easily like that. Talk about versatile!
Tuna Melts: Serves 1
Ingredients:
1 can (about 5 ounces) tuna in water, drained
2 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 slices American cheese or any sliced cheese of your choice
1/4 cup chopped celery 2 slices Multigrain bread
Preparation
1. Adjust the cooking rack in the middle and place bread directly on the rack. Set the toaster to toasting mode, set the temperature to 400°F, toast for 90 seconds or until the bread is golden brown. (Or select medium darkness level). Take the bread out and place it on a rack to cool.
2. Stir the tuna, celery and mayonnaise in a medium bowl.
3. Divide the tuna mixture evenly among the toast and spread to the edges. Top the tuna mixture with the cheese.
4. Set the toaster oven to broiler mode. Place the toast on a toaster oven pan. Broil until the cheese is melted. About 3 minutes.
I think it’s hard for college students to maintain healthy eating habits in a dorm room or while in college in general. For most cafeterias, they do offer a wide variety of foods. But they also don’t always cater to food allergies, preferences, or intolerances, so that can lead students to having to cook on their own in their dorms. The cafeteria options can also be loaded with additional sodium and hidden fats which can be difficult for a student to live a healthy lifestyle as well.
When it comes to cooking in a dorm room, the student is extremely limited with what they can cook, how they can cook it, and the flavor profiles they wish to achieve. Most food options are most likely going to be nonperishables and snack items that the students will have to find a way to cook and make a good meal out of. Being able to cook a tuna melt or make a sandwich in a dorm, is probably one of the easier options to make. You can also use a microwave if you do not have a toaster oven, or vice versa. You also do not need a whole grocery list of items to make a sandwich as a meal either. Knowing most dorm rooms only have mini fridges (which are most likely shared), I know it is hard to be able to get all your groceries to fit in there. The canned tuna and bread wouldn’t even need to be put in the fridge, and the items on this recipe can be found relatively cheap. We all know how bad student loans are, so saving wherever you can is important!
The overall experience of making a tuna melt, was exactly how I imaged it! It went smooth as mayonnaise! ;) Making a tuna melt is quick, so you can easily make it in-between classes and then run off to your next class without having to do a lot of clean up from making a large extravagant meal either. It took about 5-10 minutes from start to finish of eating the sandwich actually. I loved the crunch of celery in the tuna melt, but I would have loved some bread and butter pickles in it. I’m obsessed with pickles in general, so I think adding them to (most) sandwiches is a smart move.
Overall, I think sandwiches are going to be the most dorm friendly kind of meal to make for college students. You can even make an egg sandwich for breakfast as well, so you’re not limited to only making a sandwich in the afternoon or for dinner. There are minimal ingredients involved, the cost of making the meal is low, the clean-up is simple, and you can have a well-rounded healthy meal full of micronutrients and fiber if you choose the right options! All are a win – win in my book