We all know the problems of eating at college. From the freshman fifteen to unlimited access of pizza and ice cream in the cafeteria, no one comes into college eating as healthy as they probably should. But what about those of us who can’t walk into the cafeteria every day and grab a slice of pizza or a grilled cheese? People with issues like gluten intolerance have to constantly worry about what may or may not be in their food wherever they get it from. So what do we do?

It wasn’t until my sophomore year that I learned I couldn’t eat wheat anymore. Suddenly I went from eating whatever I wanted to eating pretty much nothing the school provided. Of course, any chef would make food for the large student population as cheaply and quickly as possible; it wasn’t their fault but I was forced to make sandwiches and gluten free mac and cheese in my room. What was I supposed to do? I suddenly couldn’t even go out to eat or get fast food with my friends. Life at college went from being pretty fun and easy to difficult. I was sure other people had the same problem too and it could be worse. For me, my only problem was not actually eating wheat, barley or rye, but form others, their food couldn’t even touch any of those products. The average kitchen wasn’t set up or prepared to make that kind accommodation, and yet I didn’t want to have a salad every day for lunch and dinner.

I discovered that, like most college experiences, this would have to be a learning process. So I filled out some forms with the school, gave up my card swipes in the cafeteria for more Panther Bucks, and began to experiment with making gluten free food for myself to keep in the fridge and either make or reheat in the microwave. I made sure to go to restaurants where there was food that I could eat. After several failed attempts at making a large box of gluten free mac and cheese in the microwave (because the individual packets are significantly harder to find at Walmart) and scouring Pintrest boards for microwaveable recipes, I got the hang of eating what was good for me. Now, I live in an apartment with my own kitchen and with the help of really understanding friends who are totally open to trying (and failing) to make gluten free pancakes, I can cook gluten free while in college.

So, my advice? Always take anything in college as a learning experience. Try things and maybe fail sometimes, but you will always learn something new.