The Columbia College Student Experience: Watcha eating?

I bring things to eat depending on my schedule and if I'm not broke, I but something from the vending machine or the plum cafes.

I usually step outside whatever building I'm in and sniff. That's what I'll have for lunch. It's usually Harold's that always smells good, but when there's construction outside, my strategy doesn't really work.

Can someone start a culinary arts curricula so we can have student chef runnng a cafeteria, please?

I get food from Jewel. Columbia's cafes are too over priced for what you get.

Yeah i'd brown bag it except for the fact that I commute and by the time I get it and all my supplies to class no matter what i'm eating its soup. :(

Mmmmmm! Soup! =D

NOT...

Coffee and a chocolate chip muffin. Thanks Maria!

It's getting harder and harder to be satisfied by whatever I can bring from home (and not cook, since microwaves on campus are hard to come by)- which is basically bananas and wheat thins. I run back and forth to Plymouth a few times a day to eat something legit. Exercise AND lunch.

packing lunch gives me the opportunity to experiment with making sandwiches. plus, i like the looks i get when i pull out a pesto grilled chicken and mozzarella sandwich before class

brown bag! i commute and i like to eat healthy. apple and and turkey sandwich does the trick. water in my sigg.

I usually alternate thai spoon and the potbelly's on dearborn. It would be nice to have an oncampus cafeteria of cafe of some kind (plum cafe is only halfway there).

I'm always searching for inexpensive ways to get protein into my mid-class break diet. String cheese is yummy and portable, but usually costs more than a dollar per string!! My friend enlightened me to her trick, she buys blocks of cheese (Jewel has a few good selections) and cuts them up into squares and brings a few in a ziploc bag to class with her. Inexpensive, healthy, tastes good, and portable! :)

[also, much less awkward than munching on loud carrot sticks in class... cheese is quiet food!]

Lately I just put a clif bar or two in my pocket and I'll make sure to hit up some plum cafe stuff... the green tea noodles are good. But seriously people, don't skip meals! It'll make you cranky and tired.

I mostly bring food from home. Usually a microwaveable dinner or snack foods.

I bring food from home most days, but half price maki at Thai Spoon is one of the reasons why Columbia is in such a perfect location.

Lunch consists of something quick and convenient that I can pack. Usually leftovers or a really fantastic microwaveable meal. If I'm feeling creative I may even make a salad with extra veggies...

At least once a month I can't stand what I packed, so I go buy some sushi at Osaka on Michigan. But then again, I can't get enough sushi in my diet, so it's become more of a habit now.

Buying a can of soup or chefboy from Jewel and then grabbing a bowl and spoon from the regular soup serving place is the cheapest meal I've found. Then it's only the microwave ya need.

three words... Mcdonalds dollar menu

I had four frees subs this week thanks to Quiznos Million free subs.
Other than that it's a PB&J and an orange.

Or any free food around campus.

I LOVE plum cafe, but it can be very expensive when you're visiting it 4 plus times a week. I always keep trail mix in my bag and buy a tea to stay awake.

I live, eat, and breathe Thai Spoon.

Usually just grab a coffee or head to the vending machines!

I bring doritos in those clear plastic sandwich bags everywhere I go.
Or I stock up on cookies from the UC.

Usually I'll just bring a Starbucks Frappucino from home so that I stay awake during class and munch on a granola bar....

I feel like crap from not eating properly when I get home, but at least I stay awake during class from the caffeine.

So what if I go do KFPizza for bread sticks every other day? They're only two dollars! Not even! It's like $1.98. And when I'm working all day in the 623 S Wabash building, I have to stare out the window at the KFPizza for EIGHT HOURS. Give me a break.

I'll switch it up with Plum and Harold's and DD, though.

I make my lunches for the week on Sunday night. Usually sandwiches and fruit. Grab in the morning and go. Its cheaper in the long run as I only go to Jewel every few weeks and I'm not tempted to go to restaurants or the vending machines.

I usually bring a container and a packet of otmeal, ramen or soup and heat it up in a microwave...I have gotten a pretty good idea where all the microwaves are in all the buildings! If i am running late, there is a drug store across from the wabash building that has ramen, chips, crackers and little snacks for pretty good prices!
i try to avoid subway and dunkin for food (i still get coffee everyday) just because it seems cheap at first but if you have class everyday it really adds up!

Usually, I'm too poor for groceries or to eat out. I'm stuck eating ramen noodles, toast with peanut butter, pancake mix (just add water), granola bars,and other things that are cheap and can last a little while.

It really depends on what my money situation is from day to day and how much time I have. Sometimes I don't eat at all either because time or dollar amount but other times I'll sit down to a nice meal when I have the time.

It depends what kind of a mood I'm in; if i feel rich it go to Tamarind or Bar Louie, but if i feel poor i take my box of captain crunch and carry it it with me around campus regardless of the stares. Then I always have enough to share.

I don't really like eating right after I wake up in the morning, I'm a coffee fiend so I'm usually running on a cup of coffee and an apple or something because my dad is a health nut and I'm too poor to go shopping for myself.

At least I wont be gaining that freshman fifteen they're all talking about.

It all depends on what building you're in. 623=Dunkin and Subway. 600=The underground cafe. 618/624=Starbucks.

I don't have any family that supports my descion to becoming a performing artist so I'm living off of $150 a month to survive college. I've eaten nothing but white rice and ramen noodles since school started. A friend of mine came and visited me and bought me a box of pancake mix and I cried with appreciation (my taste buds cried tears of joy as well, they don't like the ramen too much.) On the plus side, I can now proudly fit into a size 5/6 pants for the first time ever in my life so I can't bitterly complain too much I suppose. ;-)

Last semester I had a slight addiction to Panera and their tomato soup (I'm quite confident they put crack in the food there.)
This semester, I try and it before I leave my apartment if there's time. If not, oh well, I wait until I get home.

I am vegan...I am also quite poor. I don't really have any money to eat out and the little money that I could use to retrieve a vending machine snack is useless as most of the snacks contain dairy products.

Most of the time, I just don't eat and then make a huge stir-fry when I get back to apartment.

When I have time in the morning, I brown bag, but I'm usually running out the door with hardly enough time to finish a cup of coffee. If I don't happen to have enough change for the vending machine I usually don't eat 'till I get home at night.

I can't survive on a bag of chips, I've tried it and it doesn't work. I always make time in my schedule to eat otherwise I know I'm going to burn out. So I usually stop at Dunkin Donuts or Subway, someplace cheap, but sometimes I treat myself, but that's on a rare occasion.

Usually a vending machine lunch is all I have time for, but I don't generally have the coinage with me to afford anything but those little five-packs of gum they hide at the bottom of the machine. So I usually fish in all the coin-return slots and- I'm not ashamed to admit it- check under the machines for extra cash. Sometimes people drop change and leave it down there, figuring it's disappeared forever. Seems a bit desperate of me, but it's my own fault for forgetting to bring change in the first place.

I've got a super swift bright pink lunch box with butterflies and flowers sewn onto it that I carry with pride. granola bar and yogurt for breakfast, piece of fruit and a sandwich for lunch, left over caserole for dinner all in my pretty pink tote. Saves time and money and i get to eat decently healthy meals.

I live a few blocks from campus, so i have a tendency to run back home for food between classes or, occasionally, during breaks. The other day I ran home during my fifteen minute break and managed to cook a grilled cheese sandwich and some soup. Other than that, I usually carry a big bag of cheerios and a water bottle around in my backpack.

i think most students pack a lunch or do the vending machine for food. i know that what i do most the time.

I usually bring food from home, hit up Jewel, or go to Panozos (great Italian deli across from dance building).

A quick, freshly sliced Italian sandwich is the way to go, from a family owned place, instead of going to a chain restaurant.
Panozzo's Italian Market on S. Michigan and 13th has great sandwiches, and usually half of the sandwich is a meal, so the other half is good for the next day! The owners are great people, and they import a lot of great Italian treats, besides making great sandwiches. http://www.panozzos.com/
Fontano's Subs at 20 E. Jackson is a great place as well. It's a family place that started in Little Italy, and they are fast and again, enough food for 2 meals. http://fontanossubs.com/

To save money and try to eat healthy at the same time I bring food with me to class.

On occasion I break down and go out but I always feel bad about how much money one meal (sometimes not even a full meal) costs.

Those chocolate chip muffins from Plum Cafe in 1104 are incredible.

Peanuts and carrot juice from the bookstore is the best and healthiest snack around when you are running short on time. But if you don't mind the calories you can't beat the 1$-Mcchiken sandwich and 1$-fries - with less than five dollars you can get a full meal quickly.

South loop us outrageously priced to eat out every day. I usually bring my lunch to school.

I brown bag it, but get hungry on the train to school and sometimes eat my pb sandwich before 9 AM. :****(

I try to cook as much as I can, a home-cooked meal reminds me of home, and is generally healthier than the alternatives. As long as I don't get fancy with the ingredients, it is cheaper than eating out all the time.

I only have about 10 minutes in between my classes so I almost always bring a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a banana. They are quick and easy, won't spoil and can be eaten on the go.

jewel has pretty cheap food. my friends and i usually go there. their sushi is pretty good and relatively cheap.

I am poor, but sandwiches don't travel well, so lunch is generally brought from home in the form of Oreos and protein bars with water. Yum yum! If I'm lucky, I can float the $2.55 for a delicious Dunkin Donuts egg and cheese sandwich. But usually not.

Panera or underground cafe, or I just bring a lunch

I recommend scheduling out some time on Sundays to cook in bulk. I like doing this so that I have good food items to pack in tuppeware throughout the week to bring to eat. It's cheaper, healthier and fast!

I have a love/hate relationship with KFC/Pizza Hut. During J-Session I was on campus Mon-Fri for class in the Hokin. We only had a 15 min. break, so I had to rush for pizza or chicken EVERY day. Sadly, the staff got to know me and my standard order of the cheese pizza combo. Excessive quantity did not adjust my body though. My stomach aches a little after every meal. I can feel my arteries clogging! But it's oh so good going down...

Instead of the usual Subway sandwich or personal pan pizza, lately one of my friends and I decided to change it up a bit and go out around the South Loop and try different places within walking distance from the school. My favorite spot we discovered was Flaco's Tacos on Dearborn..check it out! :)

The occasional Jimmy Johns is incredible to the stomach.

Panozzo's Italian Market on S. Michigan and 13th is quick, cheap and delicious, and it's right across the street from the Dance Center.

Or I go to Jewel for $3 dollar lean cuisines!

It's Panera Bread or Subway for me, baby! Tuesdays are the only days I have two classes and I have to eat the same stuff because it's whats close to my classes. Usually a chicken teriyaki sandwhich or greek salad with tomato soup. Yum, Yum! Gotta love standards!

Oh Subway. It still sounds good at 12:20 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays...

Otherwise it's a variety of Plum Cafe convenience, random snacks from the homestead, and the occasional treat from Epic Burger. ;)