South Beach Diet - A blessing in disguise

So I had been worrying about sticking with the south beach lifestyle while away at school. I'm a senior in college this year, and every year previously we had been required to get a full meal plan, so I assumed that this year, if we didn't make the effort to opt out of it, the same would happen.

Not the case. I found out yesterday that I have no meal plan. I was annoyed at first, but then I called my parents and asked them to send me food money instead of buying the plan. My school has nearly doubled in size in the past couple of years, so the food has decreased significantly in quality *and* the cafeteria is always overcrowded and too warm. Not to mention that there is very little that is compatible with this diet!

If I hadn't been on this diet I probably would be freaking out right now, but I'm actually really happy about not feeling obligated to eat school food because my parents paid for it. Plus I'm a lousy cook; I need to hone my cooking skills ;) (Thankfully I live in apartment-style housing and we have a full kitchen).

Plus, it's cheaper for my parents.:carrot:

Great! You'll get lots of ideas and cooking hints hanging around with us. Maybe some of the other apartment dwellers will convert to the South Beach lifestyle.

Sounds like you've got a great attitude about things. Have fun honing your cooking skills!

Good for you! I remember when my oldest daughter was in college we called her food the "white food" diet...saltines, mashed potatoes, ramen noodles. Disgusting and very unhealthy.

I have always said that ramen noodles are little more than glue. Overcook them, and they certainly become the consistency of glue. Disgusting stuff.

My friend in college was asking me for SB related food tips since they have a big cafeteria and that's where she generally goes. I said DO NOT go the cafeteria, stay in the dorm and cook. I told her I would send her tons of delicious recipes. She said they don't even have kitchens! TinyC, you're lucky.

mel - dorms don't have kitchens......for the sole purpose of not burning them down. Imagine 3 a.m. drunken cooking.....

apartment style housing is usually more expensive and off campus, but so totally worth it. Ugh. 1 semester in a dorm was definitely enough for me - I rented an apartment with some girlfriends.

Tiny - learning to cook - especially that this is your senior year is going to be invaluable. I learned the hard way that eating out every meal on a new graduates salary was impossible. Ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese anybody?

Thankfully I took a cooking class or two and brushed up on my cookbook reading. My husband is a happy (and should be fat) man. ;)

mel - dorms don't have kitchens......for the sole purpose of not burning them down. Imagine 3 a.m. drunken cooking.....


I know my granddaughter's dorm has a fully equipped kitchen. There's also a dining hall, but they are on their own on weekends and any other time they don't want to eat in the cafeteria.

I know my granddaughter's dorm has a fully equipped kitchen. There's also a dining hall, but they are on their own on weekends and any other time they don't want to eat in the cafeteria.

IN THE DORM ROOM?!?!?!?! omg. Sign me up for that school - the dorm room that I lived in was about 10 square feet larger than my master bathroom - no lie....and I had to share with another girl.

Ah, how times have changed.

I still think I would have burned it down with an oven. I almost burned it down trying to cook pizza on a hotplate ;)

I ate in my son's dining hall a few weeks ago and it was actually quite good. Lots of options.....deli meats, fruit, veggies, several soup options. I had no problem staying on plan. Except for the cookies & cream FF frozen yogurt I had. :devil:

Zeffryn - you're right! Not in the dorm room.:nono:

For my son there was a kitchen on each floor. Plus microwaves were allowed in the rooms. You can do a lot of real cooking with a microwave if you want to/have to.

Oops! I'd better clarify that. There is a kitchen on the main floor of the dorms, not actually IN the rooms. Sorry, I thought you meant no kitchens in the dorms at all. :o

Oops! I'd better clarify that. There is a kitchen on the main floor of the dorms, not actually IN the rooms. Sorry, I thought you meant no kitchens in the dorms at all. :o

no...but the kitchen that we did have in our dorm was always SUPER messy and filled with kids. 100 people on each floor to one, small kitchen.

better just use a hotplate.

or, better yet....go out for pizza.

Hotplates were banned in my dorm - toaster ovens too. :( We got very creative with the microwave!! Zeff- my dorm room was smaller than any room in my house now (I had to share too!) We did have a place in the caf with "healthy" options but I am pretty sure it was steamed fish (or something like that) and the same veggies every day. - white rice......


Anyway- I'm glad it all worked out for you! We don't need any more roadblocks than necessary!

Murph. . .they gave you Patent food that's not what the kids get!
Tiny a great investment is a grill Pan! you can have dinner in under 10 min also if you just cook for you Individually package your lean meats before you freeze them. . .this way all you have to do is take out 1 zip top bag the night before and its thawed when you get home at night
If it's chicken breast pound it out with some thing heavy till it's flat and its Superfast to cook

Murph. . .they gave you Patent food that's not what the kids get!


Actually the dining halls at my son's university are very good. They just have so much food - all included for your room & board, so it really encourages you to stuff yourself. They have a pizza section, an Asian section, a Mexican area, deli area with sliced meat & cheeses, American fare with diner type food, salad bar, and on and on... It really is a smorgasbord of delight. I would totally eat too much if I was there. Guess that's why I gained about 25# in college. If you try to eat right it's possible to stay on plan well, but the temptation would be horrible for me. I wanted one of everything.