Living on campus and eating low carb

[mom31257]

Have any of you lived on campus, or had kids living on campus, and successfully eaten low carb? Were you able to manage it well?

 

Dd wants to go off the meal plan next year because she's tired of the food. The cafeteria food isn't good. There are restaurants, but two years of the same stuff is boring. 

 

She has a refrigerator and a microwave. We're going to get her a small crockpot. There is a kitchen on another floor. The campus has a food pantry that local stores donate food to, and she can shop in it if she's not on a meal plan. 

 

I would appreciate any ideas that helped you. She needs to eat begin eating low carb due to a health issue. So this will be new for her. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2017 by mom31257

[Gwen in VA]

Good luck!

 

Low-carb is very doable with a frig and a microwave IF she is willing to cook.

 

DD2 eats low-carb because of a health issue (nothing to do with gluten -- the issue really is just the carbss!).

 

For breakfast she often has crustless veggie quiches. She'll make one about once a week, divides it up into serving sizes, and eats those for breakfast -- quick and painless and healthy.

 

For lunches she does the standard luncheon meats (tuna or cold cuts), just without the bread. If she is on-campus and feels like eating with someone, the cafe will usually let her in without charging her. If she has to pay, she will add a salad from the salad bar.

 

For dinner she often makes homemade soups, since these freeze really well and she can just divvy them up into meal-size portions. Mostly she eats "normally" but just cuts out the pasta/bread/rice and adds lots of salads on the side. Again, if she has to eat on campus or she wants to eat at the cafe for social reasons, she usually sticks with the salad bar. She has found that the food in the caeteria is LOADED with carbs -- eating normal portions of food that would normally not contain any sweeteners or extra unpredictable carbs of any kind can send the blood sugar through the roof.

 

So basically dd cooks one or twice a week and then mostly lives off fresh veggies, cold cuts, and "leftovers".

[OnMyOwn]

I don't have any experience with living on campus and eating low carb, but I eat very low carb on a daily basis and my number one convenience food is almonds. That's pretty much what I eat for breakfast every day -- one serving is 170 calories and 2 carbs. I was so glad to finally realize I could do that for breakfast because I'm not big on eggs or meat for that meal. I buy the big bag at Costco most of the time, though sometimes I buy the Blue Diamond flavored ones at the regular grocery store for a little variety.

[TwoEdgedSword]

I'd send her along with a really good blender like a blendtec, so she can make quick veggie smoothies on the go, say with count or almond milk if that's preferable to dairy.

[Guest2]

Maybe check to see if instant pots are ok? My son is trying this out without doing the quick release. Cooks well and only one pan.

[Arcadia]

I had a single university hostel room while in college. A medium size (about 5 quart) crockpot for me to slow cook lamb or beef stew was great for me to eat and study on cold evenings. There are many low carb recipes for crockpot. I am a night owl so a heavy protein dinner works for me. My hostel served eggs sunnyside up and half-boiled for breakfast so that was what I would go for and skip the bread.

 

For lunch, I had meat heavy meals and passed the fries, rice, pasta to my classmates.

[Lori D.]

DO be sure to check if the crockpot or an instant pots are okay to have in a dorm room. Many schools are very strict about what appliances are allowed/not allowed to prevent fires or other accidents.

 

Here are some recipe sources:

 

Low Carb Yum website: Low Carb Crockpot Recipes

Peace Love and Low Carb website: 50 Low Carb and Paleo Slow Cooker Recipes

Microwave Low Carb Recipes -- pdf booklet, by Wetex Kang and Bernadette Han

 

Good luck! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.