Student Fridge Life At It's Best
In many ways university is a huge lifestyle change for most students. Getting crammed into a small dorm or studio apartment is a big change from your spacious house at home, you need to do your own laundry, and most jarring: food is all up to you. No more moms and dads to prepare meals and stock the fridge, it's all on you to make sure you have things to eat. Some students luck out with a meal plan their first year, but you still gotta supply your mini fridge with some fairly standard essentials. While certain diets can cause some variations, there are certain food stuffs you'll find in every university student's fridge. In celebration of 'Clean Out Your Fridge Day" (Nov. 15th, Google it) take a look and see how embarrassingly guilty you were, or are, of these student fridge staples.
BEvERageS
Lets face it, (most) students like to drink. A hilarious byproduct is many student fridges always being stocked with beer, wine, biddy-drank, or liquor, yet mysteriously don't have milk, eggs, or anything green. And who's to blame them? Six pack > carton of eggs any day of the week, especially weekends. If you don't find any alcohol the next time you peer into a student's fridge, it's only because they drank it all the night before.
The Hottest Of Sauce
Oh Sriracha, what would the culinary world be without you? Sriracha isn't the only hot sauce to grace the fridges of students, but it sure as hell is the most popular, for good reason. No matter how awful your cooking may be, or bland, a solid squeeze of Sriracha will fix up the flavour levels. Honourable hot sauce mentions include: Franks Red Hot, Tobasco, and that Cholula stuff.
Amen to Ramen
Technically ramen is more of a pantry item, so don't get your panties in a jumble, but its so central to student cuisine I couldn't leave it out. At the uber lower price of $1 (or less!), ramen is the perfect food for students: cheap, easy, and filling. When you need some carbs to fuel your drunken adventures, or to sop up all the alcohol the next day, ramen is the answer to your food prayers. Super versatile, ramen also allows for some pretty creative variations once you get bored of the standard beef, chicken, and spicy kimchi flavours.
Freezer Friendly
Don't know how to cook? Of course not. Frozen meals to the rescue. Pizza is the classic favourite, but don't be surprised to see chicken fingers, pogos, or other processed re-heatables in a student's fridge. Granted, some students are actually very capable cooks, although even the best know how awesomly convenient a frozen pizza can be after a long day of class, or when you have to feed a bunch of friends with the munchies. Just never make a 'It's not delivery it's Delicissio" joke...ever.
Hung Up On Hangovers
Everyone has their own hangover cure or rituals, from downing a raw egg to just smoking some bud and wasting the day on Netflix. A very widespread aid during alcoholic aftermath is the sweet, nourishing, and neon coloured beverage Gatorade. Filled with electrolytes and other science-y sounding things that apparently re-hydrate you, Gatorade (or other sports beverages) have a reputation for helping hangovers. Is this really true? Who knows, but the placebo effect is working. Numbing the effects of alcohol everywhere, Gatorade can likely be found in a majority of student's fridges.
Give Us Some Hummus
No dip or spread is as widespread among student fridges as hummus is. Even beating out salsa, hummus is the go-to dip when entertaining friends in your dorm or when you cop-out at a potluck and just bring bread. No one can turn down the velvety richness of this chickpea spread. Vegetarians also go nuts for it. Seriously though, put some hummus and pita out in front of a few vegetarians and/or students and just watch the stuff disappear in minutes.
Keep the Juice Flowing
Even the most hardcore drinkers need something to mix/add to their beverages, and thats where juice comes in. Cheap and tasty, juice is the perfect chaser for hard liquor. The shelves of a student's fridge may be bare, but you can usually find a lonesome, half empty carton of Tropicana in there, kept just in case an impromptu screwdriver needs to be made. Juice also plays the dual role of hangover helper, giving nourishment without all the pesky chewing of real food. "Getting you drunk and saving you the next day: juice." That needs to be in a commercial.
Take Me Out
What's even easier than frozen food? Hot meals prepared and delivered right to your doorstep. Ranging from Lebanese to pizza to Chinese, the options students have when it comes to takeout in Montreal is pretty large. Smart students will order extra and keep a Styrofoam box of leftovers in the fridge, knowing they'll need a quick snack later on. Others will just consume it all (munchies, it happens) and you'll only find evidence of take out in the trash can, and not the fridge. Either way, ordering in is a staple for students.
Grabbing the Bull by the Horns
Midterms and exam seasons are a terrible time for students where they're overworked, underfed, and sleep deprived. A good sleep and a well-rounded meal are basically out of the question (unless you want to fail) so students turn to liquid energy, also known as Red Bull. Even outside of academically intense time periods, Red Bull is super useful as a quick pick-me-up before heading out for the night. A bit more refreshing than coffee, and essential during times of stress, Red Bull can always be found in a student's refrigerator.
So that's what we think is in all student fridges, but what about yours? We were painfully accurate, or totally off? Let us know your student food staples in the comments below.