Welcome back Veggie Lovers,

For this week’s blog post I will be discussing some tips and tricks on how to live a plant based lifestyle while in college.

This could be an especially hard thing for first year students who will be living on their own for the first time.

I know this was a hard transition for myself as well when first coming to SUNY Fredonia.

To make the transition easier it is important to tailor your college search to include the criteria most important to you and

remember to investigate the dining options thoroughly.

Even if your school does not offer many vegan/vegetarian options there are still ways students can get creative and live a plant based lifestyle while away from home.

Be Creative

When eating at dining halls it helps to keep an open mind, a little creativity can and will go a long way.

This helped me when I was a first year student looking for plant based options at my dining hall.

Try mixing and matching items from different food stations, swapping out food from the dining hall with items from the grocery store and trying items that you’ve never tasted before.

Fortunately for myself, my on campus dining halls offered some plant based options but a lot of the time I was doing this as well.

Dorm Cooking

For students who might be living in a dorm, check out your communal kitchen.

If access is limited, there are still some easy vegan foods that you can store in your dorm room that are super easy and quick to make.

It is a good idea to stock up on foods that do not require cooking, such as pita chips, hummus, and fruit. Some other easy snack ideas include granola mix, bagels, peanut butter, and dried fruits.

I also highly recommend investing in a mini fridge or microwave if you do not have one already.

This is so you can store some refrigerated food in your dorm room.

Connect with other vegans/vegetarians 

College is where diverse groups of individuals come together, making it the perfect time and place to find people who share common interests and goals.

Check with your school to see if there are any vegan clubs or groups.

In addition, if you see other students in the dining hall eating vegan food, sit down next to them and start a conversation.

During my first year at school I met many other students who were also plant based and it was nice to know that I was not the only one.