Cooking in the confines of a college kitchen
Jenna Darling
Issue date: 3/19/08 Section: Lifestyle
Every day college students have the choice of going out to eat or cooking meals. Whether the appliances are available or not to cook meals, it's easy for students to lean towards fast food and unhealthy meal options.
There are different pros and cons to cooking meals. Cooking can be cost efficient and lead to healthy meal options. At the same time cooking is time consuming and might take away from a college student's regular activities and school work.
Many college students would like to cook, but are faced with a problem: lack of appliances or space to cook their meals. Dorm life and school work can make it hard for students to spend time cooking meals.
Junior, Leon White lives on campus and usually eats the campus food provided by Chartwells. White said he would rather cook his own meals, but due to residence hall safety restrictions and lack of space, appliances and time, he usually gets food on campus.
"Because of time constraints, working two jobs and going to class it's hard to find a healthy snack on the go," White said. "Students would rather have quick and fast service over healthy food options."
Freshman Carlton Chestnut lives off campus and takes the time to cook his own meals. Chestnut said he usually cooks meals according to what he is hungry for or what he would like to eat as leftovers.
"I try to make what I want and don't really think about what is healthy," Chestnut said. "Sometimes I'll make pancakes for dinner."
Chestnut thinks cooking his own meals is better all around and college students who have the proper appliances should cook also.
"Everyone is going to have to learn at some point in their life to cook," Chestnut said. "I don't think time is an issue because I have time to cook my meals."
Sophomore, Heather Murray thinks students have the time to cook their own meals but they choose to eat out.
"If I had what I needed to cook available I would make the time," Murray said. "College students just don't think they have enough time, so they eat out instead of cooking."
Whether a student lives on or off campus, cooking meals is always an option when there is time.
Freshman, Kate Barr lives on campus in Bigelow. Barr usually eats at Drumlin and when she is sick of campus food goes out to eat. Barr said although the residence halls have limited resources for cooking, a group of her friends had a spaghetti night. Barr said they bought the ingredients to make spaghetti and cooked it in the basement of Bigelow.
Barr, who likes to cook but is more of a baker, thinks multi-tasking makes it possible to cook meals.
"I think college students have time to cook," Barr said. "While the water is boiling, you could be starting flashcards or other homework." Barr said depending on the day and if the appliances were available, she would rather cook.
Easy Microwaveable Spaghetti
Ingredients:
-1 lb. Ground Beef or Italian Sausage
-1 taplespoon dried onions
-26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
-20 oz. water
-4 oz. mushrooms
-2 T italian seasoning
-1/4 lb. spaghetti
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
1.) Crumble ground beef into a microwave-safe casserole dish. Add onion.
2.) Microwave on high until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir once.
3.) Drain. Stir to break meat into little pieces.
4.) Add tomato sauce, water, mushrooms, seasoning and spaghetti.
5.) Cover with casserole lid. Microwave for 10 to 12 minutes or until spaghetti gets tender, stir twice.
6.) Let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4 Sevings.
Nutrition Facts (per serving):
Calories: 541
Total Fat: 24.6 g
Cholesterol: 84 mg
Sodium: 1437 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 45.8 g
Protein: 32.8 g
Fiber: 2.2 g
There are different pros and cons to cooking meals. Cooking can be cost efficient and lead to healthy meal options. At the same time cooking is time consuming and might take away from a college student's regular activities and school work.
Many college students would like to cook, but are faced with a problem: lack of appliances or space to cook their meals. Dorm life and school work can make it hard for students to spend time cooking meals.
Junior, Leon White lives on campus and usually eats the campus food provided by Chartwells. White said he would rather cook his own meals, but due to residence hall safety restrictions and lack of space, appliances and time, he usually gets food on campus.
"Because of time constraints, working two jobs and going to class it's hard to find a healthy snack on the go," White said. "Students would rather have quick and fast service over healthy food options."
Freshman Carlton Chestnut lives off campus and takes the time to cook his own meals. Chestnut said he usually cooks meals according to what he is hungry for or what he would like to eat as leftovers.
"I try to make what I want and don't really think about what is healthy," Chestnut said. "Sometimes I'll make pancakes for dinner."
Chestnut thinks cooking his own meals is better all around and college students who have the proper appliances should cook also.
"Everyone is going to have to learn at some point in their life to cook," Chestnut said. "I don't think time is an issue because I have time to cook my meals."
Sophomore, Heather Murray thinks students have the time to cook their own meals but they choose to eat out.
"If I had what I needed to cook available I would make the time," Murray said. "College students just don't think they have enough time, so they eat out instead of cooking."
Whether a student lives on or off campus, cooking meals is always an option when there is time.
Freshman, Kate Barr lives on campus in Bigelow. Barr usually eats at Drumlin and when she is sick of campus food goes out to eat. Barr said although the residence halls have limited resources for cooking, a group of her friends had a spaghetti night. Barr said they bought the ingredients to make spaghetti and cooked it in the basement of Bigelow.
Barr, who likes to cook but is more of a baker, thinks multi-tasking makes it possible to cook meals.
"I think college students have time to cook," Barr said. "While the water is boiling, you could be starting flashcards or other homework." Barr said depending on the day and if the appliances were available, she would rather cook.
Easy Microwaveable Spaghetti
Ingredients:
-1 lb. Ground Beef or Italian Sausage
-1 taplespoon dried onions
-26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
-20 oz. water
-4 oz. mushrooms
-2 T italian seasoning
-1/4 lb. spaghetti
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Directions
1.) Crumble ground beef into a microwave-safe casserole dish. Add onion.
2.) Microwave on high until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir once.
3.) Drain. Stir to break meat into little pieces.
4.) Add tomato sauce, water, mushrooms, seasoning and spaghetti.
5.) Cover with casserole lid. Microwave for 10 to 12 minutes or until spaghetti gets tender, stir twice.
6.) Let stand for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Makes 4 Sevings.
Nutrition Facts (per serving):
Calories: 541
Total Fat: 24.6 g
Cholesterol: 84 mg
Sodium: 1437 mg
Total Carbohydrate: 45.8 g
Protein: 32.8 g
Fiber: 2.2 g
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Whirlpool parts
posted 10/08/08 @ 1:39 PM CST
I am a student and I always have this dilemma: cooking or going out to eat. My option would be cooking but we are not allowed with our own appliances in the campus and it's really frustrating because the campus doesn't provide much appliances facilities either. (Continued…)
Julie Kratz
posted 10/09/08 @ 11:09 AM CST
While I lived in the dorms I was plagued with the difficulty of cooking and the lack of appliances. Chartwell's food is poor quality at best and quite unhealthy in most cases. (Continued…)
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