Let’s face it. If you are a freshman, you are still enamored with the dwindling options at the Danforth University Center and Bear’s Den. If you are rounding out your junior or senior year, or follow a special diet, you know the feeling all too well of campus food no longer being appealing—but if you fall into the latter category, you’re in luck. I’ve concocted vegan recipes that can be created in the comfort of your residential hall’s kitchen with the use of on-campus eatery ingredients. You know you’ve always wanted to go vegan, so why not start now?

Even though vegan options are sometimes hard to come by in regular day to day eating, it isn’t hard to make a delicious vegan dish using ingredients from Paw’s n Go or the Village Market.

French Toast

Ingredients:

Bread Slices (Paws & Go)
Silk Almond Milk (Paws & Go)
Cinnamon and Sugar (Kaldi’s Coffee or Starbucks)
Frozen Berries (Paws & Go)
Blueberry Syrup (The Village Grill)
Banana (Paws & Go, Kaldi’s)
Peanut Butter (Paws & Go)

Steps:

In a small bowl, mix together a quarter cup of almond milk, 3 tablespoons peanut butter and a quarter cup of blueberry syrup. The mixture should be thick. Dip bread slices into mixture. Mix together sugar and cinnamon in a plate. Coat liquid-dipped bread slices in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Cook bread in a pan on a stovetop, set to medium heat. Be careful not to burn cinnamon. After toast has been cooked, put onto plate and top with sliced bananas. In the same pan the French toast was cooked in, add the frozen berries. While the water from the frozen berries begins to bubble, begin mashing berries with a fork. As the berries heat, they will thicken and resemble a compote. After berries are thoroughly mashed and heated, pour onto your French toast. Top your toast with a drizzle of peanut butter.

‘Chipotle-Who?’ Mexican Bowl

Ingredients:

Steamed Brown Rice (Bear’s Den Sizzle and Stir)
Mexican Salsa (Paws & Go)
Lettuce, Corn and Black Beans (Law Cafe)
Sliced Fajita Veggies (Law Cafe)
Lime (Paws and Go)
Hot Sauce (DUC Condiment Station)
Guacamole (Subway)

Steps:

Gather ingredients. Place steamed rice into bowl and stir in a few tablespoons of salsa. Add a squeeze of lime. Mix the rice and fluff with a fork. Next, add the black beans, fajita veggies and corn. Top the bowl with your guacamole, a squeeze of lime and some hot sauce. There you have it: all the fun of Chipotle without the salmonella.

No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:

Dry oats (Paws & Go)
Banana (Paws & Go)
Fresh Strawberries (The Village Grill)
Peanut Butter (Paws & Go)
Craisins (any on-campus salad bar)

Steps:

In a bowl, mix together dry oats, half of a mashed banana and a handful of strawberry chunks. Add in a few spoonfuls of peanut butter and add Craisins to taste. Mix all of your ingredients well. If the batter is too thin, add more oats. The final consistency should be doughy. Roll your cookies into balls, and leave them in the fridge for a minimum of two hours.

‘Super Size Me’ Burger

Ingredients:

Frozen Veggie Burger (Paws & Go)
Salad Bar Fixings: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickles, Spinach (Paws & Go or Holmes Lounge)
Tater Tots (Bear’s Den Grizzly Grill)
Lay’s Potato Chips (Subway)
Ciabatta Roll (Holmes Lounge)

Steps:

Gather ingredients. Warm up the frozen burger in the microwave. While the burger is still warm, press crumbled potato chips onto the burger. Add your fixings to the roll, followed by your chip-battered burger. Mash some tater tots on top of the burger, and stick the top of the roll over your mountain of food.

Buffalo ‘Wing Dings’

Ingredients:

Cauliflower (Paws & Go Salad Bar, Law Cafe Salad Bar)
Hot Sauce (DUC Condiment Bar)
Chili Garlic Sauce (The Village Grill)

Steps:

Preheat oven in residential hall kitchen to 350 degrees. In a bowl, throw your cauliflower and hot sauce together, and coat pieces of cauliflower thoroughly using clean hands. Throw cauliflower onto baking sheet (from resident adviser) and top with dollops of chili garlic sauce. Roast for 20 minutes. Then flip pieces, and roast for another 10 minutes. Ta-da! Buffalo wings, minus decapitating animals.