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We didn't really eat too badly in college. Our dining commons did a strangely adequate job with food, and we were always loaded up with our own eats - lots of gourmet S. S. Pierce stuff (this was a long time ago), but when we needed something different, or didn't make it to the dining commons in time, or were living in our own houses or apartments (we still snuck into the commons and ate lunches there), and were broke (yes, it all went for beer and dope), we'd shoplift.

There.

I admitted it.

We lifted steaks and lobster tails (we were in New England) and paid for the minimal salad fixings. In our big bulky coats, no one ever suspected we were carrying out some really nice beef.

Years later, at a reunion, a group of us threw cash together, and our appointed representative bought a money order to send to the owner of the market where we used to steal, because it was a local place in a small village, and we really needed to make it right.

But, there were the days when all we had on hand was boxed spaghetti, tomato sauce and Velveeta. It's better not to think about those days.

I wasn't too poor to eat well, but a combination of unhealthy stress and the unhealthy lazy habits that ensued resulted in some really, really bad food. I stretched myself too thin, pulling 12-15 hour days all week between school, working, internships, and running the outdoors club (followed by starting a relationship long distance where I was traveling across the country every month while planning an independent field study abroad - nothing ever stopped).

I was getting home at 11:30 every night, and dinner was ramen with a scrambled egg in it. Every day. For at least a month. Lots of fish sticks. Lots of eggs. Not that many vegetables. And a whole lot of McDonalds. I could get a double cheeseburger and a parfait and be full for $2.12.

I've come a long way.

It's still pretty recent for me, seeing as how I'm in grad school two years out of college. I'd have to say my worst meal ideas were variations of powdered sachets of soup and whatever I could nick from the dining hall. I think I once ate a big tall plate of bacon that I begged off the line cooks for dinner. Cereal for dinner also happened more frequently than I care to admit.

I always ate pretty decant in college, but when money was tight, getting Zatterans New Orleans mixes. You can get em at your local grocery store, I don't know if New Orleans is the only place to have it. Usually you can get 3 or 4 boxes for 4 dollars... Its red beans and rice and many new orleans dishes.!!!!

there used to be a special at Burger King that was 2 whoppers for 2 dollars. $.29 hambugers at McDonalds were good too.

When I was in college, I lived in an apartment with my best friend from high school (sadly now deceased) and worked 2 part-time jobs, with no outside help.

Hamburger helper with no hamburger, canned soup, tuna, blue box mac and cheese, pop tarts, dry toast, cream of wheat for dinner.

@pumpkinbear, LOL...onion sandwiches with mayo and ketchup!! I couldn't afford cheese. Instant mashed potatoes with ketchup. Saltines dipped in a blend of ketchup, mustard and mayo.

it depends on which time we're talking about. The first time I went to uni (when I studied linguistics), I was definitely a poor student. I was also addicted to books and reading, and It wasn't unusual for me to buy, say, a couple of Cortázar's or Márquez's books instead of food some days, so I do remember eating bread and Colman's mustard "sandwiches" for supper...washing them down with some gin and tonic:-). Or I'd forget to eat altogether. During my second year, a friend moved in with me (she ended up staying for a year), and we spent lots of time in the kitchen, cooking (she was mostly on the prep:-)), drinking, eating, talking...basically, when I have company, I cook more, and as a result, eat better (or at least, don't forget to).

When I studied for my second degree, several years later, I wasn't poor any more, but I didn't have much time to eat, as I worked a full-time job, had a small business and and took three-four courses a semester. I was single and lived alone (bad news for me food-wise), but thankfully, we had a habit of eating lunch together at work (some days we'd order in, some days we'd coordinate what we brought from home), so I was guaranteed at least one good meal a day. And I made sure I always had good artisan bread, cheese, pistachio ice cream, lox and Sauvignon Blanc on hand...no, I didn't eat all of that together:-).

lot's of ramen and cheap-assed beer.... the kind of beer you would see if you have ever watched the movie "Repo Man" where the label on the side of the can says "BEER". I remember eating a lobster once .... but alas it was raw and had been thrown around at a party for a couple hours... I ate it on a dare to get more..... you guessed it..... "BEER" I'd say it was gross but I happened to be drinking vodka out of a plastic bottle beforehand.

I also seem to remember doing a lot with minute rice, canned veggies and tobasco... perhaps those were gourmet nights!

The whole not being allowed to really eat in the computer labs that I pretty much lived in during college meant that most of my breakfasts and lunches came from the lunch truck right outside. I've eaten more "sausage egg cheese on a long roll, salt pepper ketchup" than I think I'd like to admit. When it was too cold to go outside or I couldn't bring myself to pay in nickels and dimes at the truck (art supplies are expensive yo) the fallback was peanut butter crackers and a diet coke from the vending machine. That's nutritious right there.

I ate an amazing amount of carbohydrates in college, and little else - at least for the first two years I lived in a dorm. Once I moved off campus, it was a different story, and I cooked well-balanced (and often "from scratch") meals often. But before that....the cafeteria was not the greatest (very little fresh produce, and hot meals I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole), and so I basically lived off of cereal, bagels, and PB&J. Add boxed mac & cheese, instant mashed potato flakes (ugh), oatmeal, and rice-a-roni/pasta-roni - basically anything that can be cooked in a microwave in a dorm room, and there you have it. It wasn't that I necessarily wanted to eat this way....my cooking options were just very limited, and I didn't have the money to eat out that often. What's really amazing is that I didn't even remotely gain weight - chalk it up to a young adult's metabolism....

The last two years of college were pretty rough food wise. Although at the time, I didn't realize it becuase all of my friends were in the same boat. We would always have money for cheap beer -- hit the twofer happy hours, quarter beer night etc. for food, I remember eating a lot of ramen -- Generic mac and cheese with the cheapest margerine there was and water mixed in -- no milk. We also ate a lot of instant cup of soup -- chicken with noodle Os was my favorite. As a splurge we would buy hotdogs and a bag of marshmallows -- we would spear the hot dogs with a fork and cook it over the gas flame on our stove. We would do the same with the marshmallows. I still remember how long it took us to get that stove really clean -- I shudder at the memory but at the time it seemed right.

I lived on blue box mac n chesse with tuna stirred in, bologna sandwiches, and ramen. And of course, trips to the food bank every week. I didn't learn to cook until after college and it astouds me the wonders of what I could do now with all that stuff. I used to hope to be lucky enough to get canned chili or ramen from the food bank!

There weren't really long stretches of badness, but there were some bad times. Minute Rice with Ragu jar sauce wasn't great. At one time, meals would consist of half a frozen bagel and half a can of tomato veg soup. I'd eat this once or twice a day.

I managed to eat pretty well in college, due to already knowing how to cook and access to a credit card paid by my parents (don't call me spoiled, I still came out of it with nearly $40K in student loans, they just wanted me to be well fed.)
That said, i ate some pretty crappy meals due to intoxication and/or laziness, including: freezer size baggies full of Lucky Charms stolen from the dining hall, an insane amount of microwave Easy Mac my freshman year, Super Cheesy bacon melts w/ deep fried homefries from Friendly's for breakfast, bagels in every incarnation, various sandwiches from Louie's Lunch and Hot Truck (food trucks parked on campus)- I think the worst being a pizzaburger sub. Yes, all 3 rolled into one. With a milkshake on the side. Also, some really scary stir-fried leftovers served in the employee cafeteria of the hotel where I worked.

Lizy- I hear ya. I'm in the Franceland. How I crave tacos...

our dining commons are bad, and i only ate there last year because it was part of my dorm package. My stomach hurt so bad every day.

But now, I cook, and while my roommate likes to mix it up, I am cheap and asian, so I cook rice, mix in some vegetable and soy or just rice and pickled asian veggies or fermented tofu. my food smells...