College And Food?

[LisaK1114]

Hello everyone! I am 18 years old and i just got into this forum. I am excited to be talking to people who also have celiac disease. I have had celiac disease for 3 years now and I was just wondering if anyone has had to deal with the food situation at college. I am also allergic to corn, egg, soy, and nuts so it is really hard to find some easy to put together meals. Any suggestions??

[Carriefaith]

I am 24 and have been in university for 6 years now. I'm a professional student ie. I have a BSc and I'm getting a master's degree (lol). If you are spending a lot of time on campus, I highly recommend finding a microwave and bringing left overs from dinner ect to heat up in the microwave. Living in a place where you can cook your own food would be ideal, unless you are 100% sure that the cooks in the cafeteria will cook gluten-free for you.

I am also allergic to corn, egg, soy, and nuts so it is really hard to find some easy to put together meals. Any suggestions??

hmmm.

- Tinkyada rice noodles and ragu sauce

- garden salad with gluten-free kraft dressings

- fruit salad

- potato salad without eggs

- chicken soup (can last for a few days)

- stew

- quick fry steak with gluten-free kraft BBQ sauce and veggies stirfried in olive oil

- chili

- How about Modifying the recipes from this website to suit your diet: Open Original Shared Link

These recipes can be very quick and easy

[MySuicidalTurtle]

It really depends on your school. My University does not have a meal plan and I do not live on campus, so, I don't have to worry about anything. Some colleges have apartments while others have dorms. When you ar elooking at schools be sure to discuss this with them.

[LisaK1114]

Well thank you for your help and suggestions! Some of them sound delicious! I am living in an apartment style dorm so it should be a little easier. Good luck in school to both of you and thanks again!

Lisa

[Mahee34]

You can always contact your school's head of the cafeteria and explain your situation, my undergrad was very accomadating. good luck!

[soco601]

I'll be a sophomore in college this year and I found that it's easiest to keep a microwave and george forman (even though they aren't exactly welcomed by the schools) and heat up/cook your own meals, with supplements like salad or fruit from the dining halls if you're forced to have a meal plan like I am. Definately talk to your school about your problem, they'll probably freeze breads for you and keep stuff on hand if you don't have a place to store any gluten-free things you may have.

[SandraNinTO]

Hmmm....that's a picture of me trying to remember 20 years back to college. I commuted from my parent's home. I used to make pancakes, then slather them with PB & J and carry them in sandwich bags everywhere. Also granola bars (homemade or storebought at the local healthfood store). If you can get a microwave in your room, that would be great. I think a crockpot is the best thing of all 'cause you'll know there is food ready after class....it's easier to resist temptation that way. If you're wondering about the pub....strongbow cider or wine are fine. The food in pubs is difficult, but grilled fish can be OK if the chef cooks it on a clean grill. First rule of thumb? Never go out of your apartment without some kind of food in your backpack for between class. Also, carry a little spray bottle of Bragg's soya sauce in your pack for impromptu sushi outings with new friends. Have a great time!

[LisaK1114]

Thank you to everyone again! i really appreciate all of the suggestions. I believe my friend who i am rooming with is bringing a microwave so im all set with that and i am also going to get a george foreman now because of that suggestion! that would be an excellent thing to have in the dorms. it is an apartment style dorm so i think the girls should be okay with having a george foreman....who knows maybe they might like using it to. I am also thinking about emailing a store called the gluten free trading company in milwaukee and looking to see if they could send some food to the school. hopefully they are willing to do so. thanks again everyone!

~Lisa

[SandraNinTO]

Hey, if you're getting a microwave, check out my post under "My favorite recipes." I posted alot of recipes for microwave. Most of my recipes feed two people, so you and your room-mate can eat together. Also, I mention the crockpot because they only have the wattage of one light-bulb, so they're not at all dangerous to leave turned on all day. The food does reach a safe temperature though. The heat builds up in the stoneware to cook-it. Sandra

[ruddabega]

Not to be a party pooper, but I just thought I should warn those of you attempting the micro-wave plan.

I'm a senior in high school, and will be dealing with the college thing next year. YIKES! But, I reccommend a hot plate instead of a microwave, especially for those of us with Celiac.

As many of you know, Celiacs' guts aren't the best at absorbtion... absorbing many large, harmful chemicals, and not getting enough vitamins and good nutrients (like zinc.) Yes, our guts do heal, but if any one has further problems, stay away from microwaves!

The way a microwave heats its food is by sending out very small waves (microwaves... these are comprable to radiation.) The microwaves dive deep into the food, causing all the atoms to jiggle around like crazy. This does two things. First, it heats the food by way of friction from all the little atoms bouncing around like crazy. That's good! Hot food!

The bad part is, that the molecules that make up our food are made of very weakly bonded atoms. When the microwaves come in contact with the moleclues, they can actually break some of the bonds, turning wonderful things like vitamins into nothing.

So basically, although the food tastes good, the nutrition is zapped out of it. We Celiacs need all the nutrition we can get, so zapping our food isn't the best plan. Instead of nutritious broccoli, we are getting broccoli-flavored-cardboard (well, you get the picture.)

Natural heat, however, is completely safe! So, get a hot plate! And a spatula!

Sorry to ramble on... I hope this helps!

[tarnalberry]

The way a microwave heats its food is by sending out very small waves (microwaves... these are comprable to radiation.)  The microwaves dive deep into the food, causing all the atoms to jiggle around like crazy.  This does two things.  First, it heats the food by way of friction from all the little atoms bouncing around like crazy. That's good! Hot food!

The bad part is, that the molecules that make up our food are made of very weakly bonded atoms.  When the microwaves come in contact with the moleclues, they can actually break some of the bonds, turning wonderful things like vitamins into nothing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yep, microwaves use microwave radiation to heat your food. ("Microwaves" just tell you what part of the electromagnetic spectrum is being used. Visible light has less energy than microwaves, and X-rays have more.) But microwaves (the appliances) are tuned very specifically to emit radiation that carries exactly the amount of energy to excite water molecules. The amount of energy needed to give translational momentum to an atom is much lower than the amount of energy needed to break a chemical bond. Of course, the emitter in a microwave isn't perfect, and there is a distribution of many different actual frequencies put out, but it's a bell curve and it's tightly spaced around the frequency that excites water. There has not been shown to be significant nutrient loss in foods that are properly microwaved. (Ha! I can use my physics degree to understand how microwaves work, but can I use it in my work? No! )

You can break down vitamins by overheating them as well leaching out in a large volume of water, though.

(I will say that I certainly think things TASTE better cooked through convection or conduction heating (oven/stove) than in the microwave!)

[KaitiUSA]

Yes, my mom read in a book that if you put water in a microwave and then put it on seeds in soil they will not grow. I try to avoid the microwave whenever possible...its a nutrient sucker.

[Carriefaith]

I don't use the microwave all the time, but it is very convenient when you are on campus for 8-10 hours a day and can't get to a stove

[LisaK1114]

All of this microwave stuff is getting me thinking. I still think i am going to use it just because it is the fastest thing to heat up food, but it was really interesting looking at how a microwave works. Kudos to those of you who explained it! And we are very lucky and all of the apartment style dorms do have stoves in them which is a great feature to have. I know i will try to use that as often as possible. I have another quick question....I am getting my food shipped when i run out but i was just wondering how that is going to work with frozen foods???? I love pizza crusts and also amy's lasagna.

~Lisa