Living in a dorm room comes with unique challenges. If you are in a traditional college dorm, you don’t have a kitchen and your bathroom is down the hall and communal. If you hop in the shower and realize you forgot your razor, there’s no hopping out real quick to grab it, you’re just out of luck in regards to shaving this time!

Ok, so that might be a small inconvenience, but if you are trying to save money on your meals, being without a kitchen is a real challenge! You probably grew up watching (maybe helping) your mom cook on a stove top, with a crock pot, in the oven and with any number of other tools and appliances. You probably don’t have most (or any) of those things in your dorm room, so what’s a college student to do?

Well my friend, you have come to the right place! In my own quest for a healthier lifestyle in college, and my study of nutrition and diet, I came up with several recipes that are super simple and can be put together in a dorm room! And YES they are healthy meals and snacks!

All you need is a mini fridge, a microwave, some food storage containers, and the will to make it work!

6 Best Dorm Room Recipes

First thing, try to avoid the typical “broke college kid food” like Ramen noodles, Easy Mac and Chef Boyardee. They are highly processed and high calorie and carbohydrate foods. Second thing, use the following recipes as a starting point for some delicious, dorm room recipes.

1. Everything Tuna and Carrots

Ingredients:

• 1 can tuna

• 1 TBSP mayo

• Everything But the Bagel seasoning, to taste

• 2 cups baby carrots

Instructions:

1. Drain tuna and mix with mayo.

2. Add seasoning, as much as you want!

3. Dip carrots in tuna mixture and enjoy!

2. PB & J Box

Ingredients: 

• 1 egg, hard-boiled (in the microwave!)

• 1 cup red grapes

• 1 oz full fat cheese, sliced

• 2 TBPS Peanut Butter

Instructions:

1. This one doesn’t take much to explain. Eat the hard boiled egg and cheese on their own

2. Dip your grapes in the peanut butter (or don’t, you do you!)

3. Raspberry Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup raspberries

• 1/2 cup 2% milk

• 1 TBPS Peanut Butter

• 1/2 cup dry oats, uncooked

• Dash of cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Combine oats, PB, raspberries, and cinnamon in a jar (like a Ball jar)

2. Top with milk

3. Let sit in container with lid overnight

4. Can’t have dairy? Substitute with soy or almond milk. Feel free to substitute your fruit with another type as well, and any nut butter works if you don’t like or are allergic to peanut butter.

4. Pita Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 Pita pocket

• 1/4 cup lettuce

• 1/4 cup chickpeas

• 1 TBSP sunflower seeds (no shells) Red bell pepper slices

• 1 TBSP Tzatziki sauce

Instructions:

1. Fill the inside of the pita pocket with lettuce, chickpeas, seeds and bell pepper

2. Drizzle tzatziki sauce across the top.

3. Tip: If you are taking the pita to-go, leave the sauce on the side until ready to eat.

5. Turkey Roll Ups

Ingredients:

• 4-6 slices of deli turkey

• 4-6 long, thick chunks of cheese, any variety

• 4-6 slices of veggies, any you choose. I like to use bell pepper or carrot slices.

• 1 Tbsp Avocado mayo

Instructions:

1. Spread a small amount of avocado mayo on turkey slices.

2. Wrap turkey around cheese and veggie slices

3. Tip: Use a toothpick to hold it together.

6. PB & Banana Roll Up

Ingredients:

• Soft taco size tortillas

• Peanut Butter

• Bananas

Instructions:

1. Spread peanut butter on one side of tortilla

2. Place banana on top of peanut butter on one side of tortilla

3. Roll banana up inside tortilla and peanut butter

Feel free to take these ideas and run with them! If a recipe calls for something you don’t like or can’t eat, switch it up. These are my favorite easy meals that you can make in your dorm room that are easy to grab and go when you need to. 

7. Bagel & Cream Cheese

Ingredients

1 Bagel, mini, whole wheat

3 Tbsp Cream cheese, whipped

½ cup Strawberries, fresh

½ cup Blueberries, fresh

Instructions

1. Slice strawberries
2. Spread cream cheese on bagels
3. No dairy? Use a nut or seed butter (calorie equivalent amount)
4. No mini bagel? Use 1 slice thick bread, or 1/2 regular sized bagel, or 1 bagel thin. Gluten free? Use gluten free bagel or bread.

8. Chicken & Chickpea Burrito Bowls

Ingredients

6 oz Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw (Can’t cook? Get a Rotisserie chicken!)

½ cup Salsa 

2 cups Leafy greens, lettuce, raw 

½ cup Beans & legumes, garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cooked 

⅓ cup Cheese, shredded, cheddar 

¼ tsp Salt 

⅛ tsp Red pepper flakes 

Instructions

1. Spray a pan with an oil spray
2. Dice chicken, cook chicken for ~8 minutes, until cooked through
3. Mix all ingredients
4. No dairy? Use oil. No chicken? Use tofu or extra beans.

9. Greek Salad in a Jar

Ingredients

6 oz Chicken thigh, boneless, skinless, raw (Can’t cook? Get a Rotisserie chicken!)

½ Cucumber, medium 

½ cup Tomatoes, grape 

½ cup Artichoke hearts 

⅓ cup Cheese, crumbled, feta 

½ oz Olives, sliced 

1 tsp Avocado oil (tsp) 

2 Tbsp Red wine vinegar (Tbsp) 

1 tsp Thyme, dried 

¼ tsp Oregano 

¼ tsp Basil, dried 

⅛ tsp Garlic salt 

Instructions

1. Season chicken well on both sides with garlic salt, basil, oregano, and thyme
2. Add avocado oil to a pan
3. Cook chicken for ~5 minutes on both sides, until cooked through
4. Slice into small pieces
5. Slice cucumber and artichoke hearts into small pieces, and tomatoes in halves
6. In a large bowl mix cucumber, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, and more garlic salt, basil, oregano, and thyme
7. In a large mason jar, add (in order): red wine vinegar, cucumber & tomato salad, chicken, feta, and olives
8. Add a lid to your jar, and enjoy whenever you’re ready (don’t exceed 3 days)
9. No chicken? Use beans. No dairy? Use oil with your red wine vinegar for a dressing.

10. BT Wraps

Ingredients

4 oz Deli slices, turkey 

4 Uncured bacon, slice 

2 cups Celery stalks, chopped in half 

Instructions

1. Fry bacon on stove top by cooking on low heat & turning every few minutes. Alternatively, you can cook bacon in the microwave or in the oven (~20 minutes at 400 degrees) if you prefer.
2. Wrap turkey slices around bacon and spear with toothpick to hold together.
3. Chop celery into slices & serve on the side.
4. No bacon? Use turkey bacon or soy bacon. No turkey slices? Use tofurkey slices.

Looking for some more snacks? Here are some excellent options:

• Nuts or nut butters (in single-serving amounts): Throw them in a baggie, or opt for readily-made single-servings packs – roasted & salted is generally fine by me. Choose a variety of nuts to get all the benefits – no one nut is better than another. 

• Hard Boiled Eggs: Did you know hard boiled eggs last a whole week? Make a dozen on the weekend (only peel them when you’re ready to eat them). Just be aware of the smell haha! Top them with Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning or grated Parmesan cheese. 

• Single-serving Cheeses: I LOVE string cheese and other single-serving cheeses like slices of cheese or round cheese in wax. So filling and tasty! 

• Jerky: Seriously one of my favorite filling snacks. So tasty and great protein. I love Trader Joe’s regular (not teriyaki flavored) turkey jerky and Epic “Strips”.

• Chocolate Chips: I know, chocolate isn’t what first comes to mind when you think “healthy snack”, but chocolate has many health benefits, and just a few morsels will help curb your sugar cravings.

AND because I believe that everybody needs dessert sometimes, here are some delicious treats you can make in your dorm room as well!

*Tip: unless you have an actual freezer, avoid trying to store ice cream in your dorm room. It will not end well. Not that I know from personal experience or anything!

Dessert

Chocolate chips & milk: toss a handful of chocolate chips in a glass of milk and grab a spoon!

Mug cakes: You can buy them in individual serving packs at most grocery stores and “bake” them in your microwave!

Greek yogurt: This is more of a healthy option, but greek yogurt is sweet enough to feel like dessert and it doesn’t require a freezer!

Dining Hall: I know, we’ve been talking about what you can make in your dorm room, but every once in a while you might just feel like running over to the dining hall for your ice cream fix! Just don’t go too crazy on the desserts while you’re there!

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