You guys know I love to cook and bake. I love me some kitchen appliances! Unfortunately most of that gets taken away when living in the dorms. But within just a week of being here, I’ve learned that it is actually pretty easy to eat healthy (and good!) while living on campus. Thankfully, the university here at K-state has some pretty good dining hall food. They are big on dietetics and nutrition so I have found many things that I really like. Plus, they post all the menus and nutritional info on their website so I can decide what I want before I even go to eat. There is still a lot to try and I’m glad I will have that as an option this year! However, it is definitely nice to have my own little kitchen area in my room and be able to do my own thing when I’m just not feeling the dining halls. Yesterday I got my grocery shopping on and am now stocked up with some pretty tasty meal and snack options.
Before I get to the food goodies though, I’ve got a thought-provoking question:
Why is healthy eating such a foreign concept to so many people? I have already gotten several looks and comments on what i’m making/eating. My roommate is constantly looking over my shoulder at my food and honestly, it’s annoying. I don’t say anything about your Easy Mac and bags of chips, so why do you feel the need to question what I eat? What ever happened to “to each their own?” Okay, okay…now I’m just ranting…but it does get me thinking. Will healthy eating ever become the norm? Will there be a point in time when I don’t have to explain my every food choice to people?
I know I shouldn’t let it bother me, and it certainly won’t make me eat any different. But like I said, it’s just annoying. People will just have to get used to how I do things because I’m not changing for anybody!
Okay, on to the food!
Welcome back to my humble abode!
My fridge is the light silver one closest to the sink. After my grocery run, I feel I’m good to go for the week!
Currently, the freezer consists of:
- ice cube trays (hello, 100 degree weather)
- Kashi microwave meal
- Amy’s California veggie burgers
- bag of frozen veggies
- Trader Joe’s jalapeno chicken sausages
- Perfect Foods peanut butter bar
The fridge consists of:
- egg whites
- blended silken tofu (Magic Bullet!)
- homemade protein pancakes
- almond milk
- veggies: grape tomatoes, salad, broccoli/cauliflower, carrots
- fruit: nectarines, apples
- cheese sticks
- laughing cow light cheese wedges
- low sodium deli meat
- whole grain wraps
- cottage cheese
- peanut and almond butter
- condiments: mustard, salsa, hummus
The pantry area consists of:
- rolled oats, quick cook steel-cut oats, oatbran
- cereal
- 34 degree whole grain crackers (love these! walmart!)
- Kashi crackers
- minute rice (brown)
- whole grain bagel thins
- bananas
- Amazing Grass powder
- protein powders
- bars galore
- nuts (roasted peanuts and almonds)
- roasted edamame
- extras: cinnamon and coconut extract (oatmeal) , mrs dash fiesta lime (lunches or dinners)
- Starbucks Via packets (instant coffee), green tea packets
And lucky me, I get to look at these pretty birthday flowers from my mom and sister every time I go to make something:
Next post will be about what do with all this food and all the meals/snacks I’ve come up with so far!
I’ll be back soon!
Question: Can you relate to people making comments about what you eat? How do you deal?
Kristi
Sweetly Fit 
NO ONE in my family eats like I do, so it can get rough at times. They always try to get me to give in and eat a hotdog or have that extra serving of homemade mac and cheese, and I just dont get why they would do that to me!! Just stick to your guns girl. YOU know what makes YOU feel the best, dont ever back down for ANYONE!! :):)
I hate How I am always criticized or “observed” for healthy eating! What You eat is a personal choice, and I do Think it is sad That healthy eating is NOT the norm!
I totally don’t understand why healthy eating is such a foreign concept to people. It’s frustrating.
Hey girl,
I’m relatively new to your site and living vicariously through you. I have been out of college for 4 years now but remember college being the time of my life! ENJOY!
Now about what people say about your food. I just competed in two fitness competitions. Prior to preparing for these, I ate alright but not that good. Now I only eat unprocessed, healthy foods (I love what you post about). But the transition in lifestyle envoked quite a few questions from my peers and others in my life. The thing that really works is YOU being excited about what you are eating becuase you love it and it makes you feel, look, and be your best! Do not be defensive when you get questions, feel happy that they are intrigued (even when people ask you things with a tone that sounds like they are disapproving or judging you, do not react like you pick up on that, but with excitement to explain your eating habits to them). In the end, know that the proof is in the pudding. A lot of people who initially gave me a hard time now come to me asking for advice (yes, that’s right!). This will happen to you too. People will get over it and probably be looking to you in no time =)
That is great advice and I am trying to do just that!
YES i can relate! i got a lot of weird looks this summer at my colleg prog. the girls in the dorm would complain about the smell of egg whites when i microwaved them.. oh well i enjoyed my food!
haha yeah my roommate mentioned the egg white smell too. I don’t smell anything though lol!
Gaaahh I can relate so much!! My creepy first roommate would constantly be watching me cook and it would freak me out! Not only that but everyone would throw me under the bus for eating healthy, nicknaming me the “cottage cheese girl” or the one who always eats well. It’s so annoying, but hey, at least we’re not filling our bodies with trash. You keep your head up and know you’re not alone! 😀
BTW– totally envious of your food stash, if we were roommates, our tastebuds would be besties 😉
ye i totally feel ya!! its SO annoying when people peer into your bowl and make comments. Or say things like.. oh you’re in shape because you eat salads. soooo ridiculous. and the most ridiculous part of it all is that if you eat healthy- you are actually nourishing your body the way it is MEANT to be nourished!! And they make comments as though we’re the weirdos??? Since when were greasy chicken and fries and plastic yucky processed yuckness and goodness knows what else unnatural thing human food??!!
My whole family eats alike, so its great when we all cook and eat together. I love the dorm room! I would be quite happy living there! I love your “pantry” 🙂
Your dorm room is so cute. 🙂
Enjoy your first week of college girl!
i pack my lunch for work every day and while everyone else has crappy frozen meals, I get my homemade healthy meals analyzed every day. it get pretty annoying. My roommate does it too and I feel like I am being analyzed to the T. Don’t let it bug you, maybe you can teach them something and they will learn how to enjoy healthy food too!
I absolutely hate it when people are constanly looking over my shoulder at what im preparing in the kitchen…if it’s not their food then they shouldn’t be in it’s business! Sorry but its one of my major pet peeves. I agree with you too, healthy eating now is like pretty rare within a group of teenagers. Its pretty sad actually, because eating habits start at a young age.
Oh my gosh, that sort of thing always happens to me! It doesn’t even matter what I’m making! Someone is always looking over my shoulder. My family would even do that too! Anytime I ever make something, someone always comes in the kitchen and questions me about it. It’s really not any of their business because it’s not for them. I just don’t understand why they care so much. I’m eating organic cereal, whoopty-doo!
the thing i hated MOST about dorm living was trying to eat healthy and getting weird comments/looks from other students. none of my roommates ever cared about what they ate, so they thought i was super weird for packing healthy lunches and keeping veggies and protein bars in my purse. i soon learned not to care when i realized that i felt and looked much better than those choosing gross dorm food! 🙂
Aww so sorry about the roomate situation! Maybe one day healthy food will be the norm 🙂
Don’t you go changing your beliefs for anyone girl! I can relate so much, in my first year at uni, my flatmates would constantly talk about what I ate and would comment on how ‘gross’ my food looked (even things like peanut butter oatmeal). It just shows how inconsiderate people are. In my second year, it was much much better, my flatmates and I had such a laugh making up cool recipes, I totally converted them to healthy eating! I know it’s hard but just keep doing exactly what you want and they will stop being so nosy and accept that people don’t all eat the same! Aww how sweet of your family :), good to hear your caf has a bit of sense!
I can definitely relate!
I have afternoon classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I always go out for lunch with a group of friends. I usually order a salad, and they ALWAYS look at me with that “WTH is that” face. Sometimes, they even make a comment: “Jeeez, you’re so healthy.”
These looks and comments really annoyed me at first. Now, though, I just try to relax and answer every comment or question with an evasive “Yep… Yeah, it tastes good… I love vegetables… Not I’m not an alien from Mars.”
They’ll get over it, someday 🙂
Loved your fridge and room, by the way!
College sounds REALLY exciting to me right now. I can’t wait until 2013! :)))
xoxo
I hate that! How come thin people or people who eat healthy always get the nose up from others? What’s wrong with eating right?
I totally know what you mean! It bothers me when people question me about my food choices too. I especially found it frustrating at work over the summer, and I think people thought I was really weird. But don’t let it get you down, because food is fuel and the fuel your eating is so great! I love seeing all your food items, it always cures my curiosity 🙂
Where is the nut butter stash? 🙂
I had to put some back for a while because I was starting to overflow the kitchen area LOL
ahhh I have like the same stuff in my fridge!! I also brought a mini crock pot for my dorm room haha and a mini blender. And a popcorn popper. I used to care about what people thought, but as a junior now Ive just accepted it as who I am. Your true friends will respect you for who you are-not what you eat =)
I can realte to this 100%, people always comment on my food and it really bugs me to be honest. I actually plan to talk about this sometime soon
My coworkers comment daily on my eats. I used to get frustrated but I soon realized that they are asking because they’re intrigued and actually want to learn more about healthy eating! Stick to your guns and share your knowledge 🙂
Great question! I wish I had the answer because I go through the samething all the time! Its so sad that junk food has become the norm. Having to explain my food choices is SO annoying and I feel like I’m being put on trial everytime I pull out fruit instead of a candy bar…..UGH! Frustrating!
oh the comments….I disregard it….and this never goes away…you can be 18,28 or 68..people will always comment on your food choices and I will never understand it. we are all human and we all eat, mre importantly eat what we want so I just dont listen to comments and bkeep doing my thang! looks great girl! look at you go with these healthy eats! I acutally found eating healthy in college pretty easy because of the abundance of choices in the dining hall! its about finding what works for you!
I’m lucky that my husband shares a similar diet to mine and he is 100% supportive of what I eat. But everyone else is full of a million questions! It gets tiring explaining every thing that I put in my mouth, especially because I don’t ask other people while they’re putting crap in their bodies! Hopefully one day we will be the normal ones 🙂
Its funny because this is EXACTLY how my dorm room and “kitchen” looked in my room three years ago! I was very lucky though because my hall had a room that had a sink, oven and stove top for everyone to use. I was the only person that used it though! Everyone would come down the hall and see what i was making for lunch or dinner and want to try it! But I also got many crazy stares at the food i ate. And all my friends always tell me I’m so healthy, and why I eating that. Its very interesting and a great point. It would be amazing if healthy eating was the norm, but as soon as you start taking your dietetics classes you’ll soon find out we are far from it. BUT I will say that most of the girls in my dietetics program at ASU were EXACTLY like me. Which was a nice breath of fresh air.
Back to the kitchen I found this egg poacher at wal-mart and it is AMAZING for cooking eggs if you want to make an egg sandwich or cook them for breakfast. Just thought I would share my findings!
I’m hoping I will find at least 1 person like me in my dietetics class…fingers are crossed! And thank you for the egg poacher idea. How awesome!? I will totally check that out next time I’m at Walmart!
I do not understand at all why people think it’s so weird to eat healthy! All of my roommates and family know that I eat “weird” so they’re accepting of it, but I still deal with comments all the time on all the “nasty crap” that I eat. Sorry but the Poptarts and frozen pizzas are the REAL nasty crap. Don’t change because other people think it’s weird, and your roommate will get used to it soon enough!
people do it all the time and it’s so stressful. especially when they’re like “how can you eat THAT and have your body?!” which is the absolute worst. i try to just say i eat what i want, when i want it. moderation is everything. if i’m not picking on you, please don’t pick on me. it’s your body and your fuel, try not to let other people’s ignorance/misunderstanding get to you (as hard as it is!)
I honestly wouldn’t take it personally. I think it’s more of a lack of exposure to healthy eating. Sure we know that lean meat, salads, and vegetables are healthy. Most Americans would have never heard of half the items in your fridge. Rather than get frustrated, take the time to educate her. She probably has no clue how unhealthy her foods actually are.
When I decided to change the way I eat, it took research on my part. I thought 100 calorie packs of cheezits were healthy. I think knowledge = power. And when it comes to food, you’re ahead of the rest.
I absolutely love what you pointed out — WHEN WILL HEALTHY BECOME THE NORM? That is so imperative to this nation’s health. We need to instead of relying on the fast food Hamburgers, SuperSized Drinks, Lard-laden Friench Fries, Deep Fried, etc and rely on Fruit and Vegetables, Whole Grains, Healthy Fats, Lean Proteins?!?!?!?!?! I think it’s an epidemic in this country that needs to be resolved. One thing we can do is set a good example to our friends and family. We can change the world, one person at a time.
I’m SO used to people thinking I’m weirdly healthy…but I love it so I don’t care! Your dorm looks great! Mine was waaaay messier 😦