We’ve all been there: You walk into the dining hall on a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday night. You knew that there wouldn’t be anything appetizing to eat, yet you still had hope that perhaps you would be pleasantly surprised to find that it was chicken parm day. No such luck. After walking two laps and then three around the dining hall, you settle for cereal or on a really unfortuanate day, a hot dog. For those days when you just can’t find anything to eat, here are a few D-Hall hacks that you can make in under five minutes that are guranteed to be better than what’s on the menu.
- Rice Crispy Treats: Put rice crispy cereal and marshmallows (found near the tea and coffee) in a bowl and microwave it to create your very own homemade rice crispy treat!! You can also add sprinkles, chocolate chips, Oreos, or chocolate sauce for some extra sweetness!
- Speciality Waffles: Take your favorite toppings from the nut zone, greek yogurt station in the morning, or ice cream bar (raspberries, almonds, chocolate chips, blueberries, rainbow sprinkles, etc.) and mix them into your waffle mix. Boom! Your favorite type of waffle in under five minutes.
- Macaroni and Cheese: Anybody who knows me knows that this is one of my personal favorites. Take penne noodles and add Alfredo sauce and cheddar cheese from the salad bar. Microwave for one minute, add butter, and microwave for another minute. For creamier mac and cheese, I like to add a dash of milk after taking it out of the microwave.
- Pizza Bagels: Cut a bagel in half and then add whatever you want! Marinara sauce from the pasta section, cheese from the salad section, pepperoni from the Mediterranean bar, pesto, the options are endless! Then just put it through the conveyor belt heater by the soft-serve ice cream and voila — a personalized pizza bagel.
- Meatball Sub: Grab a roll from the salad section, add some meatballs from the pasta station and cheese from the salad bar if you’re feeling adventurous.
- Deluxe Dessert Yogurt: For a healthy alternative to our amazing (yet fattening) dessert bar, take greek yogurt, add a dash of Nutella, and top it off with your favorite nuts or granola!
- Banana Sundae: Cut up a banana, put it in the microwave for one minute, and add honey, cinnamon, Nutella and nuts! Add ice cream to make it into a sundae if you aren’t too worried about your beach week body.
Hopefully with these hacks, you’ll be able to spend less time wandering around the dining in vain trying to find something to eat, and more time indulging and deilicious meals. And at the end of the day, we do still have it pretty good. It can be easy to forget just how amazing our dining hall is when compared to the options at some other schools. All of the ingredients are there — you just need to know how to use them.