Fellow college students, what are your favorite meals and snacks that you can prepare in your dorm room?

For the BQ, I actually don't know! I was the same with Thanksgiving break. I didn't know until "hey, we don't have school for a week!" I no longer live in the dorms, but some things that I did eat were things that my family randomly sent to me. The only thing I had was a fridge. The person next door had a microwave, so we shared appliances. My grandmother sent a lot of Marie Callendar's microwaveable foods. Those were yummy! She also sent a lot of granola bars and canned soup, especially chicken noodle, because I got sick often. She also sent Gatorade. My mother sent a lot of YooHoo and Cola. She also sent me a HUGE case of Ramen. I got SO sick of Ramen. I remember eating a lot of Doritos. The campus wasn't too far from Walmart, so I could easily take the trolley and get my favourite snacks. I also ate a lot of pre-cooked things, like pre-cooked chicken breasts, pre-cooked burger patties, and those chicken patties that you can stick in the microwave. Peanut butter sandwiches were also the norm, as was oatmeal. Looking back, I can see why I got sick all of the time in the dorm room...

Not currently in college-already graduated. But I still work on the campus, and I have a limited schedule and tend to have the same issue with snacks at home. When I was in college I was horribly unhealthy and usually just kept hot pockets and ramen in my room (though ramen isn't horrible for you.) And even then I usually just went to the dining hall. I had unlimited meals and lived with a minute walk of the dining hall. My first suggestion would be smoothies. I buy fresh bananas and frozen strawberries or whatever as well as orange juice and blend all of that up. I only buy the frozen strawberries because it can be a while before I finish them sometimes. Maybe various fruits and veggies that keep well and are easy to grab and munch on. I'm thinking apples, carrot sticks, celery, etc. If you want you could use a light dressing to add to the flavor or change things up a bit. Rice is a relatively good choice that is cheap and can be made in the microwave almost as easily (maybe more so) than on the stove. I went to a friends house once and she made this dip which was salsa, black beans, and corn. She had made the salsa herself, but that's not feasible for all of us, myself included. It was quite tasty with some tortilla chips. Similarly, boca burgers are tasty and quick in the microwave, and are really good cut up and put on a flour tortilla with this same 'dip.' That was a favorite of mine for quite a while. Quick, easy, and relatively healthy. With a coffee maker, you can also just run water for hot water and have hot teas, or even to brew up iced teas. I use one black tea bag, one green tea bag, and one flavored tea bag for my iced tea. (Sugar is optional. I live in the South, and we were raised on sweet tea, but I use significantly less sugar in my tea.) Another thing I really like is to buy oranges and cut them up, then put them in a pitcher and fill the pitcher with water and put it in the fridge to make tasty orange water. The oranges stay good for a week or two, and you can just keep adding water. Adds some vitamins and flavor to your water. Bagels are also good. It is bread and often cream cheese, but it is filling and tasty, and there are a lot of options of both the bagels and the cream cheese. Also, last day of exams is Dec. 14th. (Again, I know because I work on the campus.)

I'm vegetarian, with eggs thrown in though. However, our culinary culture & cooking style, as well as tastes differ hugely from western vegetarians. [one of the reasons I rarely answer cooking-based Qs ;-)] So, I'm simply going to list a few possibilities & techniques : Blender : You can make salad dressings, as well as salsa ! Simply throw in the ingredients & pulse a few times till you get the right consistency & crunch :-) You can make some of your favorite staples, using customized ingredients [you may need to take a few hours to make & store this stuff, but it will give you a wide 'instant' choice during your study] : eg. http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/10/store-bought-kitchen-staples-you-can-easily-make-yourself.html http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/10/homemade-mint-hot-chocolate-mix-for-giving-or-keeping.html You can prepare “instant” dry mixes & store in mason jars. Eg. for oats, porridge, hot chocolate, …. Then all you do is add milk or any other ingredients or give it a turn in the microwave. Make or stock up on your favorite spices & seasonings. These help to alter the taste of the same dish, so that you won’t feel like you’re eating the very same thing repeatedly. Toaster Oven : How about bruschetta ! Perfect. And you can add fresh veggie toppings with cheese, & seasoning, etc. While sightseeing in Australia, we used to make egg omelets in this [in the drip tray]! This can also be used as a Grill or to Roast veggies ! Vegetable (pot) roast can be prepared very simply in this oven; or to quicken the cooking time, you can spin it in the microwave for a bit, then let it dry roast in the toaster oven. [you may have to reset the timer a few times]. Give your chef some competition ;-)) Try fresh herbs for that nutritious as well as great flavor whenever possible. In the microwave, if you place veggies, etc. in a Covered container, they come out like steamed veggies, with moisture [& nutrition] intact. You can also scramble eggs in M/W. Break an egg or 2 in a container, add some milk, a dash of butter or olive oil, stir/whisk gently; place covered in oven at 60-70% setting for less than 2 minutes. You can check in between, till you get the timing correct. When the mixture starts to leave the sides of the bowl, it’s done. ‘Break’ it with a fork, to get the scrambled look. Season, add herbs, …. You can dry roast nuts in the microwave. Takes just a few minutes. Almonds, Cashewnuts, Walnuts, Peanuts,…… However, do them separately [diff roasting times] & stir a couple of times. *** 100% heat initially, then 70-80% or if you have combo, then use that option. Note: they get crispier as they cool, so don't overroast them*** Cool & store. Munch on them whenever you like or break into smaller pieces/ powder in blender & use for granola bars, toppings for veggies, in salads, etc. Roast semolina, couscous, oats, wheat porridge, etc. in the M/W [add some oil if required]. Store when cool. These can be cooked ‘instantly’ by adding hot water or milk as well as veggies, nuts, herbs, seasoning, sugar, honey, ....as your heart desires. Hope some of these help :-) Edit : within asterisks ***. Add : Purees & Soups : Roughly chop up some veggies, place in a covered bowl & nuke on high for 1-2 minutes [depends on size, quantity, etc.]. Slightly cool, then pour into blender & blend into a puree. You can refrigerate this thick puree. As required, it can be used as sauce, diluted for soup, used as or mixed to make bread spreads, mixed with rice, etc. etc. after adding requisite seasoning, et al, heating, & so on whatever the dish calls for. Or simply whip with water or buttermilk or curd & drink as cold soup ! It works great for spinach too. I always have a container of spinach puree in my freezer to be thawed & used as desired. And the color always stays bright green ! Add 2: Timely intervention ?! Look what I got in my mail this morning "World's Fastest Dinners"- http://www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/2012/11/worlds-fastest-dinners.html I still haven't gone through the whole listing in detail.....just rushed to put this on board :-)

As a non-student, non-wealthy, non-vegetarian grain addict with microwave experience, I base a lot of my meals around breads. And I don't go very long without a dose of cottage cheese. Peanut butter, cream cheese, Promise or other healthier butter substitutes, fruit and tofu spreads, etc. and whole grain breads are great for when you just want something simple. Crackers like Special K, Wheatsworth, Wheat Thins, Wheatables, Triscuits and all manner of tortilla chips with that, fruits and cheeses. There are so many dry and canned soups, stews, stuffings, pastas, rice, etc., all of which can be nuked easily enough and won't take up space in a fridge. One of my regulars is cornbread stuffing with any number of things: wheat/corn/bran/rice flakes, cheerios or rice (all of which are good in oatmeal), with a little adobo seasoning which is my favorite general spice I won't be caught without; salt, oregano, garlic and turmeric and, for me, black pepper. Also, stock up on the other dried spices you like already or try enough to find out . Just try rice or pasta and work from there; add in whatever you like and keep track of what works, like parsley, basil and garlic with parmesan. Keep a few mini cans of plain tomato sauce as well as ready made ones. And potato flakes and dried cooked beans; if you can get instant black beans, do, they're perfect for bean dips which are good sandwich fillers, too. None of that takes much effort or requires you to make mass amounts, although a few cup sized storage bowls could help.

sooooooooo mucchh pizza and red bull.

I would suggest fruits that can be easily eaten so not really apples but more like grapes or tangerines for a quick snack. I usually get an upset stomach during test weeks from anxiety so I drink bunch of green tea. Don't drink too much coffee since it's bad for you. This stomach problem also prevents me from eating something like Ramen so I prefer to something less...stuffy...like onigiri (pretty much rice wrapped with seaweed). It only takes 5 minutes to make two or three large ones and I'm pretty slow about it. You can add bunch of odd stuff (like spam) in there so it'll keep you occupied for at least the next few weeks. To save time you can make those containers that press the rice for you. Also like spam, you can try canned foods. I personally don't like it but they're not that bad..and my friend loves it. Also..sandwich? They take longer than onigiri but I guess they're more of a meal. I've made one with some jam and cheese before...It wasn't bad either I'll also recommend nuts like walnuts or pistachios Good Luck Studying~~~ I have around 3 weeks left..I'm starting to do my yearly Winter break countdown X)

Top Ramon, Cocoa Puffs (good cereal in general), puffed Cheetos, and taquitoes. Junk food isn't going to kill you.

burritos, frozen chocolate chip,waffles,ramen noodles

Not quite health oriented - but... if you have access to a microwave - put some cheese inside a tortilla and (whatever else you want) and mircorwave it. I rather love it and you can call it... a quesadilla or lazy @$$ pizza, it's cheap and good if you need calorie intake for a day it's an option.