Cooking isn't as hard as you think it is

Cooking is not easy if it is your first time living alone. You're probably used to having your parents around to help you out with meals.  Even though many of us are studying about different disease states, and benefits of living healthy in University, we as students neglect healthy eating. Students are known to have bad eating habits and low activity levels. University students do not consume the recommended amount of grains, vegetables and grains and they tend to select choices that are quick which has a lot of sodium and fat  (Warmin et al., 2012). There are long term effects to poor diet which may not be evident until later on in life. Research shows that nutrition education and learning to cook improves one's nutrition behaviour and the choices they make in their eating habits (Warmin et al., 2012). By learning to cook, you will get to appreciate the tastes of different ingredients and how they all come together to form a delicious meal. It also gives you more control over what you're putting in your body. It may seem impossible to be able to cook your own meals, but rest assured, by the end of your University life, you will be an expert cook. Here are some tips to learn how to cook!

1. Start out with an easy recipe that takes a short amount of time
There are many recipes that you can use to cook up a delicious meal in 15- 30 minutes. Start with something that involves low amount of ingredients so it is not overwhelming. Also, don't be threatened if your food does not look like the pictures posted on the recipe page. (Remember that they were taken professionally)

Check out Jamie Oliver's 129 Quick fixes recipe HERE

Hungover noodles can be prepared in 20 minutes! 

Appliances to invest in as a student living on campus

Do you find it hard to eat healthy on campus because there are more unhealthy food options to choose from? Why not make a healthy meal in your room? It’s easy; you will need to invest in a kitchen appliance. Did you just say that you don't have money as a student? This will depend on what you love making because there are many affordable appliances. If you have roommates, invest in kitchen appliances together as a house.  Some of these appliances and tools include a rice cooker, smoothie blender, electric kettle, fridge, paring knife and a can opener.

1. Smoothie Blender- If you love smoothies you might definitely want to consider getting a personal blender which makes it possible to make smoothies in little or no time. It is small, portable and can fit into your backpack. Smoothies are very filling and packed with nutrients. Taking a smoothie can carry you through your morning till you can finally make time to get lunch. Smoothie Blenders can cost $15 and up depending on its quality.

2. Rice Cooker- This appliance cooks rice, vegetables, oatmeal, sauces and stews. On average it takes 20-30 minutes but it doesn't require your attention so you can study while you cook. It has a thermostat that triggers when it’s done.Price for rice cookers range from $20 and up.

What's in your food environment?

Your food environment includes all the things around you that involve what you decide to put in your body (i.e. eat!). Of course the food environment that we first think of is the kitchen. What's in your kitchen was already discussed on a previous post.

What we choose to surround ourselves directly effects what we put in our bodies. If your dorm room is filled with munchies like potato chips and cookies – that’s what you will end up eating. If you fill your environment with healthy food then that’s what you will end up eating. Seems simple but here's where it gets complicated.