A New Appreciation for Meal Plans

Hey Everyone!

As of last week, I have a newfound appreciation for meal plans. Why? Because it’s not possible to live off of Ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Well, it might be possible, but it’s certainly not preferred. This summer, I am living in an off-campus house and do not have a meal plan. So, as far as breakfast, lunch, and dinner are concerned, I’m on my own. I started the summer off by stocking up on bread, peanut butter, jelly, lunch meat, pasta, and marinara sauce. But that got old fast. With the help of my housemates, I discovered what other students have been raving about for
months-Trader Joe’s. While Bloom is only a minute or so down the street, Trader Joe’s has a lot of healthy food, and it usually comes at a pretty cheap price. I’m sticking to turkey and roast beef sandwiches for lunch, but I have now stepped up my dinner to microwaveable Indian and Asian food and the occasional pizza. My mom was also kind enough to throw Olive Garden and Carrabba’s gift cards in the mail, which I of course used within two days (I’m a big fan of Olive Garden breadsticks and salad).

Through my recent struggles to come up with meals, I have learned a lot about cooking. Last week, I dared to cook my own pasta. When I asked my housemate if the water was boiling enough for me to pour in the noodles, she laughed in my face. Over the next several days, she proceeded to tell everyone in the Admission Office that I didn’t know how to boil water. Needless to say, I’ve been hesitant to ask for any help after that incident. You’ll be happy to know that I do in fact know how to boil water, and I am now familiar with how to cook pasta and pizza, scramble eggs, and make cookies (watch out Emeril). After dinner, there is usually a point where my three housemates and I look around at each other and ask if we have any sort of dessert in the house. The answer is typically no, so we have become frequent customers of Sno-to-Go, a popular ice cream restaurant that’s only minutes from our campus. We usually order their famous Stuffed Snoballs (shaved ice with ice cream in the middle). I definitely recommend stopping by if you’re in Williamsburg–it’s an unwritten rule for all W&M students.

As you can probably guess, I will be very relieved when school starts in August and I’m able to stop in one of the three dining halls on campus and pick up a meal without any preparation. Yes, I realize that I’ve only been microwaving bowls of Asian food, but the trips to the grocery store are enough of a deterrent. I’ve had the Gold 14 meal plan for the last three years, and it has worked out pretty well. With this plan, I have 14 meals a week (about 2 a day) and $175 in Flex Points, which students can use at Quiznos, the Student Exchange, and Dominos (VERY popular for ordering pizza). I haven’t decided on which meal plan I should choose for next year, but I can promise you that I will be the first student in line for lunch at the Sadler Center.

That’s all for now. Have a good one!

Ryan