Just last year when I went vegetarian, I never thought I would decide to go vegan, especially when you have to eat off a meal plan in college. I thought to myself that maye I would go vegan after I move off of campus because I thought it woudl be too hard to eat vegan while limiting myself to only eating at Whitney Dining Center, Chars, and Mondos subs. After some thinking and researching, I just realized that going vegan was something I didn’t want to wait to do. Now, I’ve been vegan for about 2 months or so and I can honestly say it has not been the kind of challenge that I thought it was going to be. Here are some tips and tricks I use while eating on a meal plan as a vegan at UW-L.
1. Download the Dine On Campus App– I just recently downloaded this and I’m so thankful that I did! It lists what is going to be served all day in the dining hall. Along with this, it lists which items are vegan which is so awesome! There are some things that I never thought would be vegan, but are. I really recommend checking this out to help plan your meals better!
2. Fully Utilize the Salad Bar– This might be an easy given for vegans at UW-L, but it’s so fun to mix up your salad once in a while with different veggies at the salad bar! Also check to make sure that the soup is vegan. I never thought Whitney Dining Center served vegan soup until I read the nutrition label one time.
3. Get creative! A lot of the time for breakfast, I always spread peanut butter on a piece of bread and top it off with some banana slices. This is very filling and tasty! Another idea that I use is to mix in peanut butter, fruit, and coconut shavings onto some oatmeal.
4. Bring your own food to Whitney! What I like to do sometimes is bring an avocado that I bought from the store and use it to chop in with some veggies or spread on my toast! Sometimes I’ll bring in my own oatmeal packet and use the soy milk that whitney has, which is another idea I suggest!
5. Don’t be afraid to talk to a worker at Whitney if you have questions! They know the food more than you do and they might be able to give you some guidance on what’s vegan and what’s not!