Broadening Food Horizons – Trying Something New Every Day

How to develop new nutrition experiences, and have fun doing it, trying out something new every day. Thinking about the days of living on campus … Every day for a week, I tried out a new dish or drink at the dining commons on my college campus.  Talk about broadening your food horizons! Seriously, this is something everyone can do – you can start to develop a healthy and happy lifestyle being adventurous and trying out new types of foods, with an emphasis on having fun and being nutrition conscious.

The only rule was it had to be something new for me – something I had never had there before. If  you love trying new things like I do, you understand how fun this can be. Before I started, I had no idea what this week would bring, since there is not necessarily a fixed rotation of dishes in our dining hall.  

COVID-19 Note:

In the week before my university shut down due to COVID-19 coronavirus, I did all the research for this article. It is about the food at my university’s dining commons, which of course is closed now, but after the crisis will surely reopen. I look forward to enjoying some of these foods again when I go back to school. 

Pesto Pasta Dinner

For Saturday dinner I got a summer vegetable pesto pasta with tomatoes, beans, and corn. I have never gotten this particular pasta dish before so I was excited to try it. I usually prefer pasta with tomato sauce, so even though they served this before, I had never tried it. Now I have a new one I like for a bit of variety. There was not a lot of flavor in the pesto. The vegetables added flavor to the bland pasta. I liked it more and more as I ate it. The flavor just took a while to get used to. I did not like it at first but now I liked it. Surprisingly, this now is one of my favorite dining commons foods so far.     

Raisin Cake

For breakfast I got a raisin cake. It was moist and sweet, and tasted like a cinnamon roll. I tried it both cold and warmed up in a microwave, and recommend trying it warm.  Interestingly, the frosting melted into the cake in the microwave, making it even more moist. I have been wanting to try it for a while so I am glad I finally tried it.

Chicken With Chili

I got chicken and chili for lunch on Monday. I had never seen it before so I was excited to try it. The chicken was moist but a bit too chewy. The chili was not super spicy as some chilis are. The chili was super flavorful as well. The chicken tasted really good dipped in the chili. The cheese was good in it as well. This was not my favorite food but I would rate it as “OK”.

Deli Chicken Wrap

For dinner I went to the deli station and got a customized wrap. At this station you can get a wrap with anything you want on it. I love the quesadillas and get them all the time.  However, I never tried their wraps, until now. This was one thing I knew I wanted to try during this week. I was hoping to get a spinach wrap but unfortunately they were out. I got mine with honey mustard, turkey, and lettuce. Everything melted together when it was toasted. The tortilla was crunchy which I was super happy with. The honey mustard tasted sweet. I loved the melted cheese on it. The bottom of the tortilla was the best it was supper chewy and most of the cheese was there.  This was my favorite thing I ordered this week. When I go back to campus after the COVID-19 coronavirus shut-down I definitely will order this again.  

Oatmeal

For breakfast on Wednesday I decided to try oatmeal. I put cinnamon and cranberries in it to add flavor. I am not a huge fan of plain oatmeal. The cinnamon and cranberry added a lot of flavor. I would get this again. It makes a quick and healthy breakfast for you if you are in a rush. You can even take it to go in a coffee cup if you have to run to class or work.     

Green tea

For the drink I got green tea. I love tea. It is my favorite drink but green tea is not my favorite. I find the flavor kind of bland. I prefer fruit teas with a bit more flavor. I wanted to try it just to see if I would like it.  I will not be ordering this again since I did not like the flavor that much. I think I am going to stick to my favorite, which is passion tea. 

Cherry Chip Cupcake

For the last day of my one week dining hall experiment, I decided to get a cherry chip cupcake. It did not taste much like cherries. That was a bit disappointing. It tasted more like carrot cake than anything else! The frosting was really good though. It tasted like a buttercream which is one of my favorite frostings. 

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In conclusion I had a super fun week trying new foods, and planning out how to do it. Now I will have something to look forward to when I go back to campus. Sadly this was my last blog article before my university had its coronavirus shut down. I will still be writing articles during the social distancing period while I am home. It will just be different from the restaurant and college articles I have been writing recently. I am thinking of writing more lifestyle posts and some recipes as well. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Stay healthy and safe. See you next time.