I have been on an SMU meal plan for the past three years and I can genuinely say there are some undeniable perks involved with eating on campus. First and foremost, there is absolutely no required cooking. SMU offers all the home cooked meals a student could want in both dining hall locations, Umphrey Lee and Arnold. Their convenient locations allow students to easily walk in and grab food to go or sit down and enjoy a meal with friends. The best part of eating in the dining halls is that you will never have to wash a single dish.
I love to eat, and over the years I have spent countless hours in the dining halls, picking up some skills and tricks that help me to make the most of SMU’s dining hall offerings, so here’s a list of my top three favorite Umph/Arnold hacks.
VEGGIE WRAP I love a good veggie wrap, and with a little initiative, you upgrade the typical sandwich station offerings to make your perfect veggie combo. Just take a bowl and grab whatever vegetables you enjoy from the salad bar. If you make your way over to the sandwich station and ask very nicely, SMU Dining staff will take the bowl of vegetables and wrap them up for you, adding whatever sandwich condiments you’d like. Bonus tip: add hummus.
SWEET POTATO BOWL Sweet potatoes are my favorite food and you can find them in the grill section at any time of the day. Grab a sweet potato and cut it open then head over to the salad and fruit stations. I like to put a little Greek yogurt and peanut butter into my sweet potatoes. Bonus tip: add granola, bananas, and cinnamon for a sweet and savory combo.
BROWNIE SUNDAE Take a brownie from the dessert section (stressed spelled backward is dessert) and pop it in the microwave. Heat it up for 45 secs. then take it straight to the frozen yogurt machine. Take as much frozen yogurt as you please and then enjoy! Bonus tip: sprinkles.
Susie Kim
