Hi!
I'm a college student that's been vegetarian since I was 17, and now trying to become vegan.
I have no idea how to do so in a dining hall, and we're not allowed to cook our own food this year (kitchens closed for coronavirus safety) so I'm hoping this site has resources on being healthy with very restricted vegan foods available.
I'm looking forward to meeting other people and getting to know more about the community! :-)
Trying to go vegan
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Hi Kathryn!
First of all, props to you for going vegan! Going vegan can often be challenging, especially in a situation like yours, so you should really be proud of yourself. :)
Regarding eating in a dining hall, try to get used to weird looks you may get. Many vegans I know often bring their own food wherever they go, I also do that sometimes. It's better to bring a food container and risk some glances than to starve. This may be a little uncomfortable first, but it will quickly get into your habit.
Regarding food availability, it would be great to get a microwave if possible. You would then be able to cook porridge, rice (these are shelf-stable ingredients), reheat frozen meals etc. If not, stock up on high-calorie vegan foods: peanut butter, raisins, energy bars. The most difficult part, at least for me, is staying on top of my vegetables. When eating out, try to order dishes loaded with greens, because leafy vegetables and the like are the most difficult to prepare and eat if you don't have access to kitchens. You could also get a bag of crackers and a small tub of hummus because you could eat the whole tub in one sitting without having to deal with leftovers.
Remember to take B12. Protein powder is also your friend, you only need water for protein shakes.
Other than that, I wish you good luck :) I hope more people join this topic and write other ideas or pieces of advice as I'm sure there are plenty that I didn't think of
Edit: I found some links that may have useful tips
https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndVeg ... the_vegan/
https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments ... dorm_room/
https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments ... dorm_room/
First of all, props to you for going vegan! Going vegan can often be challenging, especially in a situation like yours, so you should really be proud of yourself. :)
Regarding eating in a dining hall, try to get used to weird looks you may get. Many vegans I know often bring their own food wherever they go, I also do that sometimes. It's better to bring a food container and risk some glances than to starve. This may be a little uncomfortable first, but it will quickly get into your habit.
Regarding food availability, it would be great to get a microwave if possible. You would then be able to cook porridge, rice (these are shelf-stable ingredients), reheat frozen meals etc. If not, stock up on high-calorie vegan foods: peanut butter, raisins, energy bars. The most difficult part, at least for me, is staying on top of my vegetables. When eating out, try to order dishes loaded with greens, because leafy vegetables and the like are the most difficult to prepare and eat if you don't have access to kitchens. You could also get a bag of crackers and a small tub of hummus because you could eat the whole tub in one sitting without having to deal with leftovers.
Remember to take B12. Protein powder is also your friend, you only need water for protein shakes.
Other than that, I wish you good luck :) I hope more people join this topic and write other ideas or pieces of advice as I'm sure there are plenty that I didn't think of
Edit: I found some links that may have useful tips
https://www.reddit.com/r/EatCheapAndVeg ... the_vegan/
https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments ... dorm_room/
https://www.reddit.com/r/vegan/comments ... dorm_room/
hey Kathryn, nice to meet you :).
It would be really helpful to know what types of things you have access to - fridge, microwave, instapot, stovetop, hot plate?
But before all that, research what is vegan and available in your surroundings. Check if your dining hall or restaurants nearby have vegan options.
Without a kitchen, if you can buy a hot plate stove + pot + pan, I would really recommend it as it would allow you to eat so much better! Any type of cooking setup would be very helpful if you don't expect to be able to find ready made vegan foods. If you don't have a microwave, you can reheat food in pots and pans no problem at all, I lived without a microwave for a year. So any type of cooking setup is more versatile than a microwave. Kettles aren't very necessary either I still don't have one and I'm just boiling water with my pot.
Another option is getting a blender and getting used to smoothies. I personally have never tried this but it's very easy to pack a lot of food and nutrients into smoothies, put it into a tumbler that preserves the cold temperature and drink it throughout the day. It's a nice option for lunches or busy days.
For breakfasts:
- If you have a pot/pan with big enough surface area you can use it to toast bread, or just cut bread into smaller pieces and toast. From there you can have it with peanut butter. Peanut butter is very high calorie so that's a very efficient meal since you don't need to eat much to feel full.
- pair it with some easy to prep fruit that you like (not sure if you have a fridge).
- if you have a fridge:
- overnight oats (you can look up how you can make this interesting, lots of easy, no cooking required recipes out there).
- cereal + plant milk of choice! the ultimate no effort breakfast.
Lunch and dinners are more complicated and really depends on what you like and what equipment you have access to. But there are a lot of easy, cheap, low effort vegan recipes on youtube. Depending on how pressed for time you are, I recommend meal prep if possible, it saves time and money.
Snacks:
When you don't have a good set up for cooking, it's very likely a significant portion of your calories will come from snacks. I recommend having this sorted and be a part of your planning, remember to shop for snacks always. Good options are nuts, dried fruit, etc. But you don't have to be 100% healthy it's nice to have a tub of ice cream in the freezer and some chips. Something you can carry around and eat when you get hungry is very useful while you're figuring things out in the first couple of weeks.
I would prioritize eating enough over eating healthy the first few weeks, it takes a while to figure out how much you should be eating when changing eating habits. If you're comfortable with it tracking calories really takes the guess work out and worked very well for me, I only had to do it for about a month to figure out my habits.
It would be really helpful to know what types of things you have access to - fridge, microwave, instapot, stovetop, hot plate?
But before all that, research what is vegan and available in your surroundings. Check if your dining hall or restaurants nearby have vegan options.
Without a kitchen, if you can buy a hot plate stove + pot + pan, I would really recommend it as it would allow you to eat so much better! Any type of cooking setup would be very helpful if you don't expect to be able to find ready made vegan foods. If you don't have a microwave, you can reheat food in pots and pans no problem at all, I lived without a microwave for a year. So any type of cooking setup is more versatile than a microwave. Kettles aren't very necessary either I still don't have one and I'm just boiling water with my pot.
Another option is getting a blender and getting used to smoothies. I personally have never tried this but it's very easy to pack a lot of food and nutrients into smoothies, put it into a tumbler that preserves the cold temperature and drink it throughout the day. It's a nice option for lunches or busy days.
For breakfasts:
- If you have a pot/pan with big enough surface area you can use it to toast bread, or just cut bread into smaller pieces and toast. From there you can have it with peanut butter. Peanut butter is very high calorie so that's a very efficient meal since you don't need to eat much to feel full.
- pair it with some easy to prep fruit that you like (not sure if you have a fridge).
- if you have a fridge:
- overnight oats (you can look up how you can make this interesting, lots of easy, no cooking required recipes out there).
- cereal + plant milk of choice! the ultimate no effort breakfast.
Lunch and dinners are more complicated and really depends on what you like and what equipment you have access to. But there are a lot of easy, cheap, low effort vegan recipes on youtube. Depending on how pressed for time you are, I recommend meal prep if possible, it saves time and money.
Snacks:
When you don't have a good set up for cooking, it's very likely a significant portion of your calories will come from snacks. I recommend having this sorted and be a part of your planning, remember to shop for snacks always. Good options are nuts, dried fruit, etc. But you don't have to be 100% healthy it's nice to have a tub of ice cream in the freezer and some chips. Something you can carry around and eat when you get hungry is very useful while you're figuring things out in the first couple of weeks.
I would prioritize eating enough over eating healthy the first few weeks, it takes a while to figure out how much you should be eating when changing eating habits. If you're comfortable with it tracking calories really takes the guess work out and worked very well for me, I only had to do it for about a month to figure out my habits.
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Activist Hub
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Hey Kathryn! Looks like you got some nice replies, I just wanted to say welcome and good luck! 
Thank you to everyone for the kind words and welcome into the community! I'm officially five days free of all animal products, which I know is not a lot comparatively, but I'm really excited about it! (To copy the general format I've seen other people use... five days down, a lifetime to go!)
My college provides me with... okay vegan food. There aren't enough vegans here to be worth offering us options apparently, so as long as you're fine with the same entirely flavorless breakfast every day and a single rotating option for dinner, it's alright. I only have two meals a day though, and I'm a bit underweight so that's not fantastic.
The bright side is that the vegan food has really unexpectedly stepped up its game in the past three days, for some reason. Tonight there was a vegan meatloaf using Impossible meat, and the smell + the taste... I was ready to ascend. I went back for four servings for the first time in my life, as far as I can remember.
I have a small fridge and intermittent access to a microwave (it keeps breaking for some reason) if I'm willing to walk a fair distance to use it, but sadly all personal cooking appliances of any sort are banned in our rooms, because they pose a fire hazard. The blender is a good idea though — I'll have to check if it's allowed, but I don't see why it wouldn't be!
Thank you so much for the recipes, links, and general advice. I really appreciate the warm welcome I've received here, and I look forward to continuing to work on making the world a slightly better place, one decision at a time! :-)
My college provides me with... okay vegan food. There aren't enough vegans here to be worth offering us options apparently, so as long as you're fine with the same entirely flavorless breakfast every day and a single rotating option for dinner, it's alright. I only have two meals a day though, and I'm a bit underweight so that's not fantastic.
The bright side is that the vegan food has really unexpectedly stepped up its game in the past three days, for some reason. Tonight there was a vegan meatloaf using Impossible meat, and the smell + the taste... I was ready to ascend. I went back for four servings for the first time in my life, as far as I can remember.
I have a small fridge and intermittent access to a microwave (it keeps breaking for some reason) if I'm willing to walk a fair distance to use it, but sadly all personal cooking appliances of any sort are banned in our rooms, because they pose a fire hazard. The blender is a good idea though — I'll have to check if it's allowed, but I don't see why it wouldn't be!
Thank you so much for the recipes, links, and general advice. I really appreciate the warm welcome I've received here, and I look forward to continuing to work on making the world a slightly better place, one decision at a time! :-)
Yay! Congrats on your 5 days!
Maybe there's some way to give them feed back so they know to use Impossible meat more lol.
Glad to hear you have access to a fridge and microwave, I think several suggestions above can work for that combo.
Wanted to comment on the being underweight thing. So I, too, have the tendency to be underweight and I lose weight rapidly if I don't watch what I eat (this was true pre-vegan as well). The only way to get around this is to build habits that allow you to eat more. I highly highly recommend taking snacking seriously and always having something ready to eat near you that is preferably high calorie. Don't put off eating when you're hungry, just grab something and eat. People who tend to lose weight are usually people who like to put off eating because they can't be bothered, lol, also they tend to not be able to eat much in one sitting. So if you're the same way, then snacking would be the way to go.
Once you get on top of this habit you'll be able to maintain/gain weight :).
Maybe there's some way to give them feed back so they know to use Impossible meat more lol.
Glad to hear you have access to a fridge and microwave, I think several suggestions above can work for that combo.
Wanted to comment on the being underweight thing. So I, too, have the tendency to be underweight and I lose weight rapidly if I don't watch what I eat (this was true pre-vegan as well). The only way to get around this is to build habits that allow you to eat more. I highly highly recommend taking snacking seriously and always having something ready to eat near you that is preferably high calorie. Don't put off eating when you're hungry, just grab something and eat. People who tend to lose weight are usually people who like to put off eating because they can't be bothered, lol, also they tend to not be able to eat much in one sitting. So if you're the same way, then snacking would be the way to go.
Once you get on top of this habit you'll be able to maintain/gain weight :).