The dining hall has it all, from a made-to-order station and a grill to salad and ice cream. But seriously, how much of it do you still eat? Sure, it may have been somewhat good back in fall quarter because of the novelty of it all, but now that it’s the beginning of June, it’s easy to notice when meals get repeated. This leaves you with days when cereal seems like the only safe option.

But there are ways around this problem. Just pair things together that you wouldn’t have considered pairing when you’re not otherwise bored with the food selection. After you design a delicious dining hall sandwich, head over to the cereal station for a new, crunchy take on your favorite dining hall desserts.

IMPROVISED PUPPY CHOW

Ingredients:
Chex Mix
A generous amount of peanut butter (crunchy, creamy, organic – take your pick!)
Nutella
Marshmallows

Directions:
1. Pour a little less than a cup of Chex Mix into a cereal bowl.
2. Mix in enough peanut butter to coat the Chex Mix. Tip: I used organic peanut butter because it’s a little runnier than normal peanut butter so it was easier to stir.
3. Mix in as much Nutella as you desire.
4. Toss in some marshmallows. (The dining hall doesn’t have powdered sugar, so marshmallows are a fair alternative, right?)
5. Garnish with a Saltine cracker from the soup bar.

FRIED ICE CREAM

Ingredients:
Cookies and cream ice cream
Corn flakes
Chocolate syrup

Directions:
1. Dish up a few scoops of ice cream.
2. Coat well with corn flakes.
3. Cover the entire thing in chocolate syrup.

RICE KRISPIES PARFAIT

Ingredients:
Vanilla yogurt
Strawberry yogurt
Pineapple (or an equally tangy fruit)
Rice Krispies

Directions:
1. Carefully spoon a layer of vanilla yogurt into a cup.
2. Add a layer of strawberry yogurt over that.
3. Heap in a generous serving of pineapple or other fruit over the yogurt.
4. Top the parfait with Rice Krispies.

BANANA CRUNCH

Ingredients:
Banana
Chunky peanut butter
Cereal

Directions:
1. Unpeel the banana and remove any strings that might get in the way.
2. Slather plenty of chunky peanut butter over the entire banana.
3. Coat with the cereal of your choosing. (I used Trix, but a great variation is the “Cinnabonana” made with Cinnabon cereal.)