Cooking can be a hassle for college students. After a long day of walking across campus, going to classes, finishing assignments and completing whatever other tasks you may have, the last thing many people want to do is deal with gathering the materials necessary for a tasty meal and then putting forth the effort to actually prepare it. However, if done right, cooking in college can be a major player in your physical, social and personal development.
When I lived at home in high school, I used to have a balanced meal three times a day. Eating a home-cooked dinner that consisted of a meat, a vegetable and a starch was about as sure of a thing as the sun setting that evening. Once I was off to college and taking care of myself, the balanced meals became fewer and fewer as I began to realize that Presidential Court Cafe had all-you-can-eat pizza every day. Once I got off of a meal plan, I took it upon myself to recommit to eating healthier meals. There are many cheap and tasty food options that also help to serve a balanced diet. A personal favorite of mine is stir fry, in which I combine chicken, snow peas, red peppers, broccoli, water chestnuts, peanuts and rice to formulate a well-rounded meal.
However, eating is not all about nutrition. All around the world, people join with friends and family to eat for the social experience. Cooking is tasty, but it should also be fun. For the sake of convenience, I commonly cook with my girlfriend, roommates, or brother. However, this also doubles as a way to socialize and re-hash the day’s happenings. I know that some of my most lasting memories of college will be learning to cook with my friends and family. Two of my best friends are Chinese graduate students, and on more than one occasion we have gone out to authentic Chinese restaurants to experience the food of their homeland. This allows a connecting point where there may not otherwise be one. In fact, because of these outings, I am in the process of getting one of my international friends to teach me to make sushi so that I can continue passing that gift on to others. While sushi and other meals can be complex, the food you prepare for friends does not always have to be fancy. After many of my URHC meetings, my roommate and I invite other executive board members over for hot chocolate. Two minutes in the microwave can easily buy you two hours of bonding time.
Another benefit to cooking in college is the educational aspect. The college experience is meant to prepare you for life. A basic part of life is knowing how to take care of yourself. Therefore, it just goes to stand that being a healthy and responsible adult encompasses the ability to prepare meals for you and (possibly someday) your family. My life would have been drastically changed without my grandmother’s mashed potatoes, my papaw’s friend chicken, my mom’s home-made lasagna and pork tenderloin, or my dad’s burgers; pancakes and birthday cakes. I was blessed to be able to live with individuals who could express their love through cooking, and one of my goals in college is to become a step closer to being able to do so for my family.
My cookbook is already growing in size, and I am saving recipes to try out when I get a chance. If anyone has any of their own personal recipes, feel free to email them to me and I’ll recreate them and let you know how it goes. If you’d like, I’ll even send you a few of my own!
Shameless Plug of the Week: If you are having issues coming up with dishes to fix, hit up allrecipes.com. They have hundreds of recipes that you can find broken down by ingredients, meals, lifestyles, etc. It’s impossible to not find something you like!
— Hunter Tipton is a senior in microbiology. He can be reached at [email protected].
