Your new and exciting life on campus is your first shot at freedom. However, it may also be your first dose of reality. Without home cooking to sustain you, you’ll need some fresh ideas for easy meals to keep you going through those long nights of studying and socializing.
University dorm life can present some real food challenges, from less than appetizing cafeteria food to limited fridge space. What's more, you’ll likely find yourself dealing not only with a lack of cooking experience but also a serious lack of time
What you need is access to fresh groceries and great ideas for healthy, easy cook meals that don’t take forever to prepare. And you can also hit your parents up to make life easier with quick prep meals to keep you well-fed!
Here are our helpful tips for easy meals to sustain you through your first-year university experience.
Whether you’re a student or a parent sending their kid off to university, those first few months are a serious adjustment period. Parents, you want your kids to eat well and stay healthy, and students, you want to know you won’t starve without your parents cooking.
The simple answer is a balance of easy student meals designed for dorm cooking and ready-to-eat options to keep students well-fed.
Cooking for students doesn’t have to be impossible. It’s painless to prepare healthy, easy meals when you have fresh ingredients and easy-to-follow recipes that are ready in under 30 minutes.
From fried rice to pasta, eggs, and avocado toast, the right recipes leave plenty of time to catch up on your course reading, get in some studying and still find time to unwind with new friends. All on a full stomach!
Popular Recipes To Cook In The Dorms Based on Total Online and Youtube Searches | Total Searches |
---|---|
french toast | 29,200 |
tacos | 29,000 |
overnight oats | 28,800 |
nachos | 28,000 |
quesadilla | 28,000 |
hummus | 19,000 |
omelette | 16,800 |
quinoa salad | 15,500 |
scrambled eggs | 11,600 |
hard boiled eggs | 10,300 |
smoothies | 10,100 |
spring rolls | 8,250 |
egg salad | 6,950 |
chia pudding | 6,850 |
bean salad | 6,700 |
egg fried rice | 5,200 |
granola bars | 3650 |
pita pizza | 2,440 |
salmon salad | 1,910 |
instant ramen | 1,700 |
red beans and rice | 1,680 |
avocado toast | 1,030 |
It’s the little touches that help students feel less homesick during that first exciting but difficult year. Setting your dorm up with familiar and comfortable things is a great way to feel more at home.
Since home cooking plays a major role in the comforts of home, knowing some quick dorm cooking recipes definitely helps. From cheesy nachos to killer sandwiches, quick soups and ramen, you’d be surprised how easy it is to whip up a meal with only a microwave.
If you’re still feeling homesick, your parents can help you out. Parents of university students can check out the student-friendly discount codes from HelloFresh. A food box can make a perfect gift for students heading off to university.
It’s a perfect gift that keeps on giving for our HelloFresh customers.
Cooking in a dorm isn’t easy, but there are tons of no-cook or microwave-adaptable recipes you can use. Our cooking hacks are a great starting point, but there are tons of recipes for quick, easy meals using fresh ingredients that require limited kitchen tools.
Things like niçoise salad, gnocchi with a variety of sauces, sandwiches and even some rice dishes provide easy recipes for students with a taste of home.
If this seems too much work (or too much money), you can ask your parents to take a look at our current discount codes that's perfect for the university student budget!
Top Cooking Equipment For Canadian Dorm Life Based on Total Online Searches and YouTube Searches | Total Searches |
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blender | 68,300 |
instant pot | 55,900 |
microwave | 27,800 |
mini fridge | 27,180 |
rice cooker | 18,550 |
pots | 14,870 |
toaster oven | 12,180 |
kettle | 12,120 |
cutting board | 6,750 |
knives | 5,800 |
can opener | 5,480 |
popcorn maker | 4,460 |
pans | 4,410 |
tea kettle | 2,410 |
silverware | 1,910 |
glass jars | 1,900 |
Parents, we get this is a hard time for you too. How do you know your child is eating right? With limited space in the fridge, not to mention limited cooking skills, you know home-cooked meals are going to be a struggle.
Instead of letting them take their chances at the campus cafeteria, you can enjoy the peace of mind knowing they’re eating healthy meals more often by sending them some HelloFresh meals.
Whether it’s every day, a few times a week, or a few times a month, they’ll get a boost from real food they can prepare and eat fresh.
Learn more about our meal plans below, or check out the student discount we have available.
Yes, at HelloFresh we offer student discount to make our rookie-friendly recipes even more accessible. We know being a student can be expensive, that's why we provide them with great offers to ensure they can enjoy HelloFresh recipes at a cheaper price.