Beans and rice & everything nice

InDepth by Betsy McAllister and Kelsey Sullivan

Welcome to life on your own.

Your high school days are over and you’re now a college freshman or a member of the work force. Here, you will learn about yourself and the boundaries of a tight budget. And if you’re lucky, you will learn how to cook — if not, you will starve.

“I’ll be cooking Top Ramen for breakfast, grabbing a juice for lunch and probably starving until I figure out a food plan,” said senior Stasia Wiggin, who will be attending college next fall.

Along with laundry and cleaning, cooking won’t be something that will automatically happen while you’re at class or work.

“Your mom isn’t there to cook for you,” said  FHS vocational teacher Donna Danz. “We all have to eat to survive.”

Some students will have the luxury of relying on college food their first year out of high school.

“I think college food is decent, but not the quality of a home-cooked meal,” said senior Pat Clary. “I can make waffles, and that’s about it. I’m hoping to room with someone who really knows how to cook.”

Many students are used to their parents’ cooking and will miss that as they venture out on their own. But those same students who have parents who cook well may learn cooking skills to take with them.

“My mom’s an excellent cook, but she’s taught me a lot,” said senior Emily Miller. “I make good cookies, so maybe I can just live off desserts. I’m not going to eat the college food, so I’ll probably just start out with Top Ramen soups.”

Top Ramen — along with Macaroni and Cheese and pizza — are popular staples for young adults. Though these foods might fill your stomach, they won’t meet your body’s complete nutritional needs.

“Keeping healthy foods around isn’t probably something that’s top on the agenda,” said FHS nurse Margie Piersall. “But it sure can make a difference. College students need some energy to run on and you need to keep your carbohydrates up. But the basic thing is keeping the healthier food groups around.”

Piersall suggests learning how to cook pasta, which can be much like Top Ramen but is lower in sodium. Adding parmesan cheese to pasta can make it tastier.

Meat eaters can eat healthier by purchasing meat that is not high in fat. Chicken, fish and other white meat can also substituted for red meat, according to Piersall. White meat is usually healthier than red meat and it cooks faster.

There are simple solutions for eating right in a short time, according to Piersall. Even putting a small amount of peanut butter on an apple is healthier than heading to the vending machine.

Students don’t have to be Martha Stewart to cook healthy meals. Just a few basic cooking skills can be learned on their own, according to Danz. These few skills, which include reading recipes and knowing cooking terms,  allow for a greater variety in making healthy meals.

It’s also important to know what you’re eating by reading labels as well as knowing what to buy to make the usual short supply of college cash stretch.

“Read the label,” said Danz. “It’s really important to know the nutritional content. Also, with the price of food being what it is ... learn to be a wise consumer.”

As with most other areas of life, cooking has been made quicker, easier and faster by technology.

“We cook so differently than in the past,” said Danz.

The use of kitchen tools such as microwaves and breadmakers allows foods to be prepared more quickly, according to Danz. This technology makes healthy cooking easier.

Said Wiggin:

“I don’t cook, but I’ve got a microwave and I’ll take it from there. And instead of gaining the freshmen 10, I’ll lose the freshmen 10.”

Junior Becca Mathison (right) serves ham casserole to sophomores Bobbiejo Dries and Emily Gronley.

TRY RICE

It’s healthy and easy, especially if you use brands like Minute rice which cooks in just 5 minutes. Try these quick rice recipes made with Minute rice.

Rice with Salsa and Beans

Prepare 2 cups uncooked Minute rice as directed on package. Stir in 1 cup salsa and 1 cup drained, canned or black or red beans

  Rice with Mushroom Soup

Boil 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup and 1 1/2 cups water

Stir in 2 cups uncooked Minute rice

Cover

Remove from heat

Let stand 5 minutes

Stir

Rice with Broccoli and Cheese

Boil 1 1/2 cups water and 1 cup fresh or frozen broccoli,

stir in 1 1/2 cups uncooked Minute rice and 8 oz. Velveeta cheese spread cut up. Cover

Cook on low heat 3 minutes

Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir

HEALTHY FOOD

Ten healthy must-haves for your food supply

• Baby carrots

• Breads

 bagels, tortillas wraps,

 pita pockets, breadsticks

• Canned beans (rinse to lower sodium)

• Frozen presliced chicken

• Grated low-fat cheese

• Instant grain dishes, boil-in-bag rice

• Instant soups

• Precut, bagged, fresh or frozen veggies

• Precut and whole fruit

• Sweet potatoes

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