Seeing your kid go off to college brings up a lot of mixed emotions. It’s exciting, of course, but you can’t help but worry about them venturing off alone.
Luckily one thing you won’t have to worry about is making sure they’re well fed — at least, not if you share these handy college dorm room cooking hacks with them.
1. Use your coffeemaker for way more than coffee
Couscous, hot dogs, even grilled cheese — it turns out the coffeemaker is a real dormitory workhorse.
2. Make grilled cheese with an iron
Some aluminum foil, an iron and some basic ingredients are all your kid will need to crank out melty and delicious grilled cheese sandwiches in their dorm room. You can bet they’ll be the most popular person on their floor around 2 a.m. on Saturday nights with this skill.
3. Make no-bake treats
Image: Chocolate Covered Katie
With a mini fridge and a mixing bowl, college kids can whip up all manner of no-bake desserts in their dorm. These fudge bars will cheer them up when they’re missing the ones Grandma makes at home.
More:18 Awesome food hacks you haven’t seen before (VIDEO)
4. Grow fresh herbs
Cheap takeout and smuggled cafeteria food reach new heights of flavor with a sprig of fresh herbs — and a windowsill herb garden goes a long way to livening up those cinder block dorm walls too.
5. Make mug meals your best friend
Image: Cooking Classy
With a mug and a microwave, the culinary world is at any dorm dweller’s fingertips. Try these unique recipes for a truly impressive college meal.
6. Class up that ramen
Cheap noodles are a staple of the college diet, but the seasoning packet is just the first step in creating an easy and delicious meal. From adding frozen wontons to extra vegetables, these 10 ramen hacks will keep them satisfied.
More:6 Genius microwave hacks you need in your life (VIDEO)
7. Add (microwaved) poached eggs to everything
Did you know you can make perfect poached eggs in the microwave? Cooking them is a cinch, and suddenly your college student has a way to jazz up all of their meals, from takeout salads to coffeemaker ramen.
8. Use that waffle iron
From cinnamon buns to hash browns, a simple waffle iron is the key to unlocking culinary greatness in your dorm-bound offspring. Try these recipes for starters.
9. Make movie night popcorn in a paper bag
Image: Taste Love & Nourish
Acrid fake butter and a month’s worth of sodium? Um, no. Your future college student can do much better with a brown paper lunch bag and some corn kernels. Just pop ’em in the microwave, season to taste, and voilà — popcorn worth scheduling a movie night for.
More: 10 Cooking hacks that will make your life much easier
10. Make super-easy on-the-go snacks
Image: Simply Tara Lynn
Prepackaged cereal bars can cost a fortune, but with a couple of inexpensive groceries and some smuggled dining hall cereal, you’re on your way to inexpensive microwave-made cereal bars. When your child inevitably misses the dining hall breakfast, at least they’ll be prepared.
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