University dining options are slim as it is, adding a restrictive diet only makes it worse. Being a vegan on a college campus is not entirely easy, but it can be done. We’re here to give you a couple of hacks to help you navigate this seemingly difficult way of life. First piece of advice is most universities that offer a dining hall of some sort have a salad bar, take advantage of that. Second, you can cook just about anything using a microwave. Vegetables, rice, pasta, oats, popcorn, sauces, tea, you name it. We agree, it really is not as good as food prepared in a full kitchen, but it works.
If you want to be a vegan, you need to get used to finding protein in different ways. Tofu noodles are an incredible invention, and many vegans eat them all the time. Vegan pesto also exists and can be found at Trader Joe’s, it is so good. Beans are a staple food for vegans. They can be eaten as is or they can made into something, like a vegan cheese sauce. Nutritional yeast is a must in order to fill any cheese fix. Fresh fruit might be expensive or hard to find during the winter months, but take what you can from your university dining hall! We at Bryant University love to stock up on apples and bananas. Also, you cannot go wrong with sweet potato. Plop that baby in the microwave, heat up some beans, and bam, you got yourself a nutritional and tasty dinner.
A large part about being a vegan is about being creative, you have to work with what you have and learn from your experiences. I was personally lucky enough to receive a vegan at college cookbook from my grandmother, which is actually super useful! The big takeaway here is this: take what you can from your universities dining hall and work around the rest of it. Rice, potato, and beans are all very cheap. Even these few food groups have a wide range of possibilities. You have to work with what you are given and find your way around the rest, but being vegan at college can be done and it doesn’t have to be as hard as the world makes it out to be.