…you must get crafty, or you will starve and/or survive off of cereal. (Not a bad alternative.  I know, I have been there).

As addicting and delicious as mug after mug of cereal can be, it isn’t the healthiest option and can leave you quite hungry.  So that means I need to get creative with my “meals” in the dorm, since I need to use those dining hall meals sparingly.

Oh, and you may be thinking that I could just get more meals each week, which I COULD!  BUT as the semester goes on, some of those meals will roll over and it gets to the point that I can’t keep up and then I have so many meals and they go to waste and I’m an awful person and other people starve.  Okay, not the last couple things, but you get the jist.  (Actually, it’s more of my mom pushing me to use every last meal.)  The meals start to rollover, so eventually, I will have enough to eat twice a day most days per week, but for now, I’m surviving off of my stash.

Here is a peek into the way I make that happen!

BreakfastOatmeal with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Flax Granola, peach slices, banana chunks, peanut butter topped with Unsweetened Vanilla Almond MilkOld photo, but I have oatmeal with a microwaved egg and parmesan cheese 1 or 2 days a week.  Depends if I want sweet or savory!

LunchToasted Coconut Vanilla Oikos topped with Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Flax Granola and banana chunksMicrowaved egg with mixed raw veggies and parmesan cheese (these two photos were consumed as one meal)Clockwise starting at top: banana slices with peanut butter, Trader Joe’s Sea Salt and Black Pepper Rice Chips, carrots and broccoli, a microwaved egg, sweet n’ salty trail mix

*More trail mix an hour later*  Those white chocolate chips call to me from the bag, I swear.

Okay, so here’s the thing.  Broccoli with peanut butter is so good.  Like, SO GOOD.  If you’ve never had it, don’t scrunch up your nose just yet.  It just…works so well.  I have been eating broccoli with peanut butter for years, and dare I say, it’s better than carrots with peanut butter?  Yeah, I said it.All washed down with a La Croix Peach-Pear seltzer.  This brand gets good reviews, so I had to give it a try when I found it on sale at Target.  I give this flavor one thumbs up- it’s good, but tastes kind of artificial.As I write this, I am eating another plate of this and that:Banana slices with peanut butter, Sea salt and black pepper rice crisps, carrots, a handful of trail mix and a mug of Trader Joe’s Cream of Tomato Soup

I don’t know where you are, but it is down pouring here- like soaking wet clothes and hair-pouring.  So I ran/ hobbled/ scurried back to my room as fast as I could dodge all the umbrellas and slow walkers and once I got back, I was drenched.  Nothing better than a hot mug of soup to make it all better, right?  As far as canned/ boxed soups go, this variety is pretty good and definitely a great thing to have in a dorm room, since it only needs to be refrigerated when it’s opened.

Well,  I’m off to put on my rain boots and wait for the bus to get to my next class.  I might need more soup later.

[Edited to add: I feel that I need to make it known that what I show as my “meals” above, are not really meals, but more along the lines of mini meals.  What you see above holds me over for a couple hours, until my next mini meal, which will get me to dinner.  I am eating an egg salad sandwich as I type this, just three hours after my last “meal”.  Just wanted to clear that up!]