By Nadely Requena, VRG Intern

During my first-year as an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin, my sole-focus was on finding my place and becoming accustomed to “adult” life. I was coming from Houston, Texas where I had previously attended a boarding school, already gaining a sense of independence and control of my eating choices. At that beginning of the school year, I had been vegetarian for over three years and the end goal had always been to become fully vegan.

As I lived in the university dorms my first-year, I often switched between a vegetarian and vegan diet, just depending on the foods that were present in the dining halls each day. However, if you are completely vegan, it is totally possible to survive in the dining halls.

Here, you will find a full week’s worth of meals that I had during my first-year at UT. My diet was mostly vegan and the ingredients that were not could easily be removed and are specified in this meal plan. If you have certain dietary restrictions, the dining hall is also willing to make meals that accommodate your needs.

The menu constantly changed every single day, so I was always having to get creative and combine things to make a full meal. If you are someone with an alternative diet, I encourage you to experiment with foods and to also be realistic with your diet while seeing the options your school offers. Food can always be combined and there’s always going to be a way to make it more delicious, as long as you’re willing to try.

I ate breakfast and lunch in the dining hall, plus a snack after a workout or during some late night studying. After I moved out of the dorms, I became fully vegan, now being more familiar with all sorts of ingredients. I won’t be living in the dorms next semester, but needless to say, dorm life provides incoming students with a support group, introduction to life as an adult, and most importantly, a place where you can experiment with food endlessly.

• Monday:
  • Breakfast: 1 biscuit, 1 veggie patty, veggie mix (of squash, bell pepper onion, and eggplant), diced potatoes, refried pinto beans
    • Exclude biscuit & veggie patty
  • Lunch:
    • Main: black bean burger (topped w/ lettuce, tomato, & cheese)
      • Exclude cheese
    • Sides: straight cut fries, jalapeños, broccoli
  • Snack: Clif Bar (white chocolate macadamia)
• Tuesday:
  • Breakfast: yogurt (topped w/ blueberries), chocolate scone
    • Swap chocolate scone for a vegan brownie
    • Check to see if they have vegan yogurt
  • Lunch:
    • Main: 2 flour tortillas w/ veggie fajita
    • Sides: mashed potatoes, veggie mix (of broccoli & green beans), sriracha
      • Check ingredients of sriracha
      • Check to see if mashed potatoes are vegan
    • Snack: peanuts
  • Wednesday:
    • Breakfast: 2 tacos
      • Flour tortillas
      • Smash brown beans
      • 1 veggie patty (cut into pieces)
      • Diced potatoes
      • Toppings: cheese, pico de gallo, red salsa
        • *Pico de gallo: tomato, onion, cilantro mixed together
        • Exclude veggie patty & cheese
      • Lunch:
        • Main: 2 tofu (cooked) slices w/ a Jamaican sauce
        • Side: yellow rice, sautéed mushrooms, curly fries, salad (of spring mix, shredded cheese, bean salad, vegan ranch)
          • *Bean salad: black beans, corn, green beans
          • Exclude shredded cheese
        • Snack: sunflower seeds
      • Thursday:
        • Breakfast: yogurt w/ blueberries, strawberry & goat cheese scone
          • Exclude strawberry & goat cheese scone for vegan snickerdoodle
          • Check to see if vegan yogurt
        • Lunch:
          • Main: 2 slices of pizza
            • *Pizza: available are cheese or veggie
            • Request vegan pizza
          • Side: curly fries, jalapeños, Brussels sprouts, Spanish rice
        • Snack: Clif Bar (chocolate brownie)
      • Friday:
        • Breakfast: 1 biscuit, 1 veggie patty, veggie mix (of squash, bell pepper, onion, and eggplant), tater tots, refried pinto beans
          • Exclude biscuit & veggie patty
        • Lunch:
          • Main: Indian chickpea curry
          • Sides: white rice, cauliflower, jalapeños, tater tots, mozzarella sticks, vegan brownie
            • Exclude mozzarella sticks
          • Snack: veggie chips
        • Saturday:
          • Breakfast: yogurt w/ blueberries, carrot scone
            • Change carrot scone with vegan brownie
            • Check to see if vegan yogurt
          • Lunch:
            • Main: Chinese noodles w/ sautéed tofu
            • Side: fried rice, sweet potato fries, salad (of spring mix, shredded cheese, mango salad/salsa, chickpeas, black beans, vegan ranch)
              • *Mango salad/salsa: mango, onion, cilantro, tomato
              • Exclude shredded cheese
            • Snack: sunflower seeds
          • Sunday:
            • Breakfast: 1 biscuit, 1 veggie patty, black beans, hash brown, veggie mix (of squash, bell pepper, onion, and eggplant)
              • Exclude biscuit & veggie patty
            • Lunch:
              • Main: salad (of spring mix, shredded cheese, chickpeas, beans, vegan ranch)
                • Exclude shredded cheese
              • Sides: corn bread, mozzarella sticks, potato wedges, mac & cheese, jalapeños
                • Exclude mozzarella sticks & mac & cheese
              • Snack: Clif Bar (blueberry crisp)

Note from the editor: Often food services serve fortified plant milks, which you may want to add to your meals.

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.