ahhh help me stay vegan
my school doesnt have a lot of vegan food. it's a lot of white rice and refried beans. every other wednesday they have like a stir fry thing where you can get tofu, and sometimes theyll have a couscous thing,once in awhile hummus, and red sauce for pasta, but other than that and the salad bar..nothing. and the server people kind of dont get it when i ask for rice only.
sample menu:
http://www.housing.k-state.edu/dining/kramermenu.php?year=2008&month=09&day=12
the vegetarian options are better-- theres always cheese pizza or like grilled cheese. i've only eaten in the hall twice (i had rice both times, sigh) partially because i dont have any friends haha and also because of the food. in my room, it's a lot of rice, quinoa, and pasta with peanut sauce. sometimes i'll throw some black beans in the rice too. i'm hungry, and i have dizzy spells sometimes, and i'm worried about like..iron deficiency and stuff. :( because of that, i've been thinking of going lacto veg while i'm here, but cooking vegan for myself and eating vegan as much as possible.
the problem is that i dont know if i actually want to do that. i'm scared that if i let cheese be ok again, i'll get fat (college is the land of pizza haha), and also i just feel like i fail if i dont stay vegan. :-\
advice peas?
aaaand sorry for being a complainer. :-\
send me your address and i will send you are care package.
also, have you talked to them about getting vegan options? i know you are required to have a meal-plan (which i know SUCKS) and i think i said this before but since you are required they should be required t provide for you. do you need/want a job? if so, get a job in the cafeteria. no joke, maybe even for a couple of hours a week, it makes it so you can read all of the labels and maybe even suggest dishes. i did this while in college and it helped when i had a meal plan, when i didn't i got free food, so that was cool, too. did you get in touch with the other vegan ever? have you tried to do any other networking with meetup.com, myspace, facebook, or maybe even dating sites/craigslist (bc those people would probably list if they are vegan)? do you have access to any grocery stores? is the only thing available w/ your meal plan cafeteria food or do you have a market on campus? i would say try to eat a lot of fruit, nuts and PB, salads, and then get back to me about my questions.
I'll send a care pkg too!
srsly, i think a lot of us will. you can pm me with your addy.
but yeah, i know you are on... answer us! i can't go to bed now!
vegan in your town?
http://veggiedate.org/fullad.cfm?memid=60684
http://ksu.craigslist.org/w4m/813233871.html
http://www.peoplesgrocery.biz/
http://www.myhuckleberry.com/Kansas/Manhattan_KS/Food_~_Drink/Vegetarian_Vegan_~_Raw_Food_Chefs.aspx
^really weird site, the fine print is what you want to look at...
ok, your off, i am going to bed.
I like kelsi's reply from the recipes for college people thread.
i made my own meals at the cafeteria! If they were having chicken wraps, I would walk right up to the front of the line and ask for a tortilla, I would fill it with all kinds of goodness from the salad bar, veggies, oil, vinegar, I would mash up some chickpeas, squirt some lemon juice (from the drinks section) and sprinkle some garlic in to make hummus, put that in the wrap too. If you are not super strict, you could make sandwiches too. Just ask them for two pieces of whole wheat bread, fill it with, whatever. You could even make a marinade for tofu and marinade it in your dorm room. that would be SUPER easy. get a bottle of italian dressing, keep a block of tofu marinading in it in the mini fridge and then slice off a couple of pieces, put it in a plastic baggie and take it to the caf to add to your sandwiches and wraps.
I would be careful about things like beans though. the beans in our vegetarian bar had lard in them. even after i asked the head chef to check the ingredients, he told me, and continued to serve them at the bar. i didnt even really eat at the veggie bar much. i liked making my own concoctions better : )
i lived like this for 2 years! you can do it! yay!
give your addy and I will send a care package also.
Care package frenzy!
how about cereal and oatmeal? i know sometimes you want more dinner-ish stuff but those are good standbys with either soymilk drinkboxes or a larger one you keep in your dorm fridge. its better than passing out! the idea of just getting a few of their items and then adding your own beans and canned veggies is a great one too. but you should definitely talk to them about adding options - what do the ppl with allergies do??
also - have you checked out that 'students go vegan' book? i think it's supposed to be helpfull with this situation..
and ill totally send a care package too - (we should stagger them though)
ahhhh you guysssss you dont have to send things!! i feel sorta bad haha. i can...send you quinoa? or some loose leaf paper, or a nice thank you card (:
if you REALLY want to it's
I DELETED IT for safety :p
if you didnt get it umm...you can message me? i dont have a subscription yet.
(thank you for reminding me to do that gesc (: )
i checked out people's grocery when i visited in june for orientation. it was a little pricey, but they did have a bunch of stuff. it's a little far for a walk though :( my mom and i kinda laughed because they have a deli in there, and we called it the people deli.
once i get comfortable with going to the dining place by myself, ill probably try to make little concoction things.. eee thanks for all the links!! the one girl from here never replied.. i might message her again or something. and eeek i didnt check back here for a little while and now i feel bad :(
eee thanks you guys. i've been feeling kinda bummed and stuff and eee you are all nice :)>>>
edit:
on the website for the dining stuff, theyre all like
"Food values are approximate and ingredient substitutions are possible. Please recognize that the ingredients and nutritional content of food items served in the dining centers may vary. Manufacturers may change their product formulation or consistency of ingredients without our knowledge, and product availability may fluctuate. While we make every effort to identify ingredients, we cannot assure against these contingencies. It is, therefore, ultimately the responsibility of the student or resident to judge whether or not to question ingredients or choose to eat selected foods."
which is pretty much telling people with brutal allergies that theyre screwed haha. maybe i'll write them an email or something..students go vegan is gonna go on my christmas list (: only problem is fresh stuff..i cant get fresh veggies or fruits easily since all the stores are too far to walk..the only close things are bars haha.
do you look at the daily menu before you go eat? i was looking through it and it actually labels the vegan options..in addition to the vegetarian ones. they had a veggie chili, a barley black bean salad, hummus, tofu etc on different days but it looks like everyday they always have refried beans at the very least with a couple more options, and have you checked out the gardenburger/black bean burger at the 'grillers' place? honestly - theres way more than i was expecting. you should look at the next days menu and plan your meals from there. i am suprised that they dont have soymilk though, you should definitely ask them for that.. lotsa non vegans do soymilk, too.
I looked at the menu website and I thought it said 'Salad Bar - Fail'. :-D
Sorry. :-X
I know in the UK you can ask to be put in either self catered accommodation or catered or you can even just make your own housing plans. I take it this is not an option or you'd be in the self catering, right. Again "Land of the Free" MY ASS!
It also makes my a little sad to hear you say you have no friends, but all I would say is to follow hespedal's advice and join some clubs, play some sport and then you'll meet people.
Good luck.
I would offer to send you a care package but being a man I am no good at that stuff and it looks like you'll be getting a tonne of stuff any how!
Ohh not to be an old nag or anything but it may be an idea to PM people your address and not post it on the boards, just in case. You can never be too carefull on the old interwebs. I had to tell my old Ma the same thing a few months back when she posted on a "school friends reunited" website that she was going to be going to America to visit her son for two week on December 19th and in the next post she gives out her home addres so people can send her old pictures from school!!!! Old people and the interwebs are a dangerous combo!
Take care!
GESC
Oh Cakes! *big hugs*
I feel you with the not wanting to eat alone. It upsets me and embarrasses me. BUT! You can do it. It is surmountable. I promise. If you cannot take food away from the cafeteria and you dont have any appliances in your room to cook with then you are going to have to do it. Not eating is not an option. Take a book. Take homework you have to do. Read ahead in one of your classes. Sit down and people watch. Smile, be friendly.
I would highly recommend not eating just what they give you. Ask for "a side of rice" and "steamed veggies before you sauce them". Be highly polite. Ask how the workers are doing. Cultivate them as friends and allies. Which takes a long time but it will help. Once you are friendly they can direct you to options that work best for you or set aside things for you.
Iron chef mixing up sides and such. I do this all the time in my work cafeteria. Grab a starch side. Mound up some veggies. Get a small container of salad dressing. Ask for just the seasoned tofu. OR grab spinach, beans and veggies from the salad bar, couscous from the hot entrees and a splash of salad dressing.
If you are on the meal plan just make it work until you can get off the meal plan. Look into public transportation to get you to a local grocery store. Invest in a (Goodwill find) crock pot, sandwich maker or electric griddle. Heck even without all that you can take a can of beans and salsa into the caf and add it to their rice.
Oh dear, dear, dear. Your story sounds a little familiar. In my first year of university, I ate almost... well... nothing. Fortunately there was a salad bar that sometimes had chickpeas. Hang in there, and take all this wonderful advice to heart.
pm me or wave to me if you want to send cakes a care pkg. i am going to make a list and we can stagger. i'll figure out what she can use best and send you her address if you didn't get it.
there's no public transportation here.
it's really weird since it's a college town...but there's no buses or anything. i think trains go through here..don't think they stop though :(
there's charter buses..haha "i'd like a bus please...for one person...to the walmart" ::)
wikipedia: "Manhattan has no internal mass transit system, and bus and train service to and from the city has been discontinued over the past several years."
oh kansas...
i sent hespedal a little list thing, but i forgot to say dill pickle relish. (: i found a jar of tj's vegan mayo in with my baking pans (thanks mom), i have one can of chickpeas, and if i get brave and go to the gas station convenience store across the street they probably have crappy white bread, and that means i can make chickpea salad samwiches! :>
what the heck is M, KS's problem? no public trans? do you have a bike?
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