The college years are forever remembered fondly—frat parties, movie nights with your roommates, spring break trips, still having time in your life for naps, it’s all a blast. But one thing you don’t hear about people missing is the dreaded dining hall food. Yes, speak for myself, I know. Maybe some of you out there are lucky enough to have great dining halls, but even then, you can’t tell me it doesn’t get old sometimes.
I find myself in the middle of Boston, surrounded by all kinds of adventurous and amazing food, which I get to indulge in every so often, but at the end of the day, I’m broke. So as much as I wish I wasn’t stuck eating “Sunday brunch” in the dining hall, I am.
However, bring (by bring I mean sneak) in an avocado, and things aren’t lookin’ so bad anymore. No more “what now” after doing a loop around the entire dining hall twice or yet again sitting at the table post-meal, complaining with your friends about how unsatisfied you are. I’ll warn you, it takes a little extra work. But as long as you’re OK with the weird looks and envious glares shot your way as you casually de-pit or mash your avocado, I swear this is the end to all your problems. (Well…your dining hall blues at least).
Mash your avocado onto some toast and suddenly you have a meal that didn’t require waiting in any lines at all. I like to add salt, pepper, and some feta to my avocado mash. Try adding some lemon juice or some of the pre-cut tomatoes from the salad bar too.
A photo posted by Ellen Bartolino (@extraginger_please) on
Now put your eggs on top. I know this is not anything new, but I bet you never realized how easy it was to do it in your dining hall. Do you have eggs of some sort? Some kind of bread? A toaster? Forks? Thought so…Looks like you’ll be all set!
A photo posted by Ellen Bartolino (@extraginger_please) on
Put avocado, either sliced or mashed, on your dining hall sandwiches so you can admit that your lunch was actually satisfying.
Photo by Christina Chu
Put it on top of salads and trick yourself into thinking you’re eating at a restaurant. (It’s actually even cheaper to buy full avocados to use than adding avocado to your meal at a restaurant).
Photo by Christina Chu
Just be prepared, once again, for the looks you’ll get when your dining hall table looks like an avocado murder scene…
Photo by Christina Chu
Get creative. Remember, the dining hall is your canvas.
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