Cooking in Dorms

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
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<p>Okay, this may seem like a silly question, so please don't laugh XD</p>

<p>Premise: I'm not planning to buy the meal plan for a few reasons: one being that I'd probably get tired of cafeteria/fast food after a while, and another being that it would be a waste of my money because I don't eat that much. If I'm misguided, please tell me.</p>

<p>So I want to know, what is cooking like in dorms? Would I seem like the odd one out? Is there going to be a crowd? For the record, I'm rooming in Jennings in a triple room. I've already obtained a small fridge (2.5 cubic feet) and several cooking items (like oils, knives, spices etc.). Do they provide pots/pans/baking sheets? Microwave?? D:</p>

<p>Don't be fooled, I'm not a gourmet or anything! Most of the foods I cook are very simple. I'm also concerned about transportation to the publix nearby, since bus riding is fairly foreign to me.</p>

<p>Eh...am I way in over my head? XD</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

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<p>I’m interested in this too…</p>

<p>^All I know is that even with the cheapest meal plan, if you spend less than $100/week on food, then you’ll be saving money. ($1755/17weeks = $103)</p>

<p>It’s easy to spend less than $100/week on food, right? I mean, $100 is a lot of money for food…</p>

<p>But yeah, sorry for piggybacking on this thread, but if anyone can say if there is a kitchen on every floor in Riker Hall? Or at least what a general kitchen in the residence halls is like/equipped with and what would be essential to bring…</p>

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<p>there is a kitchen in every residence hall, you don’t have to ask about each individual hall. it’s just a microwave, stove, sink, and toaster. you need to bring anything you think your cooking requires: pots, pans, baking sheets, etc.</p>

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<p>Hi there! I’m not staying at a dorm, and never have, but I’m bored at work so I looked up the answer for you… If you check this link [Recommended</a> Packing List - UF | Housing & Residence Education](<a href=“http://www.housing.ufl.edu/prospective/packinglist.php]Recommended”>http://www.housing.ufl.edu/prospective/packinglist.php)</p>

<p>You will see that you DO need to bring all your cooking utensils, pots, pans, etc… as well as your own microwave for your room if you’d like the commodity of having one, just make sure you get one under 1500 watts or you’ll blow up the panel in your floor.</p>

<p>Regarding your concerned about being the weird one for cooking, don’t be worried about it! The only etiquette suggestion I have for that is to not cook smelly things, avoid all those indian and chinese spices because they smell A LOT and it takes a while for those scents to disipate, and a lot of people can be bothered by it. At my old apartment I had a chinese lady living next door and I knew when she was cooking and what she was cooking, and to be honest it was annoying after a while. Also, unless you’re eating tuna or salmon out of a can, do not cook fish because you get the same problem: it smells very strong and the entire floor will be covered in a fishy scent (yuck)</p>

<p>About the money thing, $100 week is a little on the higher end. If you can manage to survive on ramen noodles, canned tuna, cereal, oatmeal, boxed mashed potatoes and mac and cheese during the week, and have some decent meals only the weekends, then you can definitely save some good money on this end. Not familiar with grocery prices in Gainesville but I’m thinking $60/week. Remember that the food at school is marked up: they need to make profit on the raw food they purchase, they have to pay the guy that cooks it, the guy that washes the dishes, the guy that takes your order, plus all other expenses associated with the business (typical food industry markup is around 300-400%) </p>

<p>If you’re not very familiar with dealing with a budget and menu planning and all that stuff, (don’t laugh at me) but I would suggest going online and looking for Sandra Lee’s money saving meals; she has plenty of recipes and ideas with cost breakdown per serving. Also, Melissa D’Arabian $10 dinners is a good one to look up to ($10 for 4 servings, so you’re looking at $2.5 a serving) They’re both on food network, so just go to their website. </p>

<p>Hope this helped out!</p>

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<p>As others have said, you do have to bring your own pots/pans/etc and there is a microwave in the kitchen. </p>

<p>I’ve lived in two different dorms, and I didn’t have a meal plan for either year. I found that I was much more likely to actually cook when my room was 2 doors down from the kitchen, as opposed to when it was all the way down the hall. I think on average I saved around $500~ a semester by not having a meal plan, so I think you’ve made the right choice, especially if you don’t eat a lot. Be sure, however, to put some money into your declining balance, because there will always be times when you’re running late or have 10 minutes between class where you need to eat but just don’t have the time to run back to the dorm to get something and it’s much easier to just stop by the union or hub.</p>

<p>I think Jennings is much like my first dorm where I actually cooked on a semi-regular basis, and so I don’t think you’re likely to find much of a crowd in the kitchen. I can’t recall a single time where there was someone using the kitchen when I wanted to cook. And as for the odd one out thing, it’s a total non-issue. You’ll find that most people won’t know or care, and if anything you’ll make friends in the kitchen while you cook.</p>

<p>Looking back I think the biggest thing you can do to make sure that this is a success is set aside like an hour once or twice a week that you dedicate solely to cooking. College is a busy time and there will be a lot of things you’d rather being doing (or maybe should be doing) rather than cooking, so you need to use your time efficiently. If you get in the habit of always cooking at a certain time you’ll be able to prepare enough food to last the week, or the next few days, or whatever.</p>

<p>Edit: Just wanted to add that if you find cooking is too much of a hassle, it is possible to live without a meal plan while also not cooking. I think my second year I cooked in the kitchen maybe a grand total of 3 times. You can live off stuff that is cooked via microwave or toaster. It’s probably a bit more expensive and a bit less healthy this way, depending on what all you eat.</p>

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<p>I’ve lived in Gainesville for the past year attending Santa Fe, and I don’t think I EVER spend $100 per week on food. When I think about it, I spend probably $20-40 a week, depending on what I’m buying. However, my roommates and I take turns cooking sometimes, and I do buy mainly whatever is BOGO at Publix, instead of buying what I feel like I want that week (besides things like deli meat, bread, and meats to cook with - I don’t usually change what I get, unless if something’s on sale). I eat a lot of sandwiches. I buy like, half a pound of deli meat and that’ll last me about 4 days. I also make a lot of quesadillas. I have a quesadilla maker, which really expedites the process of making a quesadilla (however, you definitely don’t need one of these, I just got it for Christmas and use it A LOT). That’s really cheap and easy to make, and I am kind of boring, so I don’t mind eating the same thing every day for awhile. And of course, sometimes, you WILL be too lazy to cook, or too busy, or whatever, and you’ll want to run to Chick Fil A or Moe’s or something and you’ll just grab food to go. I do this, too (which is another reason I try not to spend a ton at the grocery, I know sometimes I’ll want to just grab something, and I hate the idea of wasting food and letting it sit around when I won’t be eating it).</p>

<p>Easy, cheap ideas are things like mac and cheese, chicken and hamburger helper (these are literally SOO easy, and you can even cheat and buy the Purdue already cooked chicken, and just throw it in the skillet last minute since it’s already cooked), quesadillas, sandwiches, buying a whole rotisserie chicken, storing it, and eating it for the week or however long it lasts you (if you can handle eating the same thing for that long), skillet meals (if you have a freezer… they make some really good skillet meals in the freezer section!), oven pizzas that are on sale (Tombstone brand are usually like $3 at Publix)… you catch my drift. The buses run often enough that you should be able to get to Butler Plaza without a problem. I just advise you to not buy too much food, since you have a small fridge, and you may end up wanting to grab food out more than you think (especially if your friends are doing it a lot).</p>

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<p>Wow! Thank you for the really awesome answers and tips! I think that not cooking indian and chinese foods might be a problem for me, since most of my diet consists of that, but I can adjust to be courteous :P</p>

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<p>Well put, ufhopeful24. To add a bit to the above: I would usually go grocery shopping once every 2 weeks and spend about $60-$80 (usually bought on sale and buy1 get1). I made the mistake of buying too much food my first time grocery shopping. Spent somewhere in the range of $110 dollars and ended up never touching half the food. </p>

<p>I would also highly recommend spaghetti (or any pasta for that matter) if you like it. The noodles are about $1.35 per pound and it’s easy to prepare. Add some tomato sauce and you’ve got 3-5 days worth of dinner.</p>

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<p>I’m also not getting a meal plan. But if I want to eat at the Broward Dining or anywhere else on campus can I pay in cash or with my debit card or do they only accept declining balance?</p>

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<p>data is right - pasta is definitely a cheap and easy meal. Very quick, and filling. You can do a lot with it, too. And yes, definitely do not overspend at the grocery store. You may end up being surprised at how often you might want to just grab food while you’re out. I know everyone is different when it comes to this, but a lot of my friends do this, so I know it’s not just me.</p>

<p>I’m pretty sure you can pay with cash or debit card at the dining halls when you want to - I think I’ve done it before.</p>

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<p>Keep in mind that storage isn’t something that you will have a lot of so don’t over due it with pots, pans and such. (I’m not sure if you are in a late application triple or a permanent triple.) You can always shop for more items after you have moved in and see what kind of space you have.</p>