College Happenings

Sick of eating mac and cheese, ramen noodles or what have you? We know students often eat poorly either due to lack of time or lack of funds. Also, many of us while in college spend a lot of our time eating alone, or if with others, then take out or cafeteria food. Even if you live off-campus and cook for yourself, single people know how often food spoils. Meals during college are hardly like eating mom’s home cooking.

Well, if you live somewhere where there’s a fridge, stove and a set of pots and pans, there’s a solution for some of you, if you’re willing to put in a bit of effort:

1. Collect a few college mates that are in this situation and pool your funds for foodstuffs.
2. Designate a different cook each night for a shared meal.
3. If there aren’t enough takers, maybe there’s an opportunity for you: personal chef. Each participant puts in $X per day towards the budget, and you collect the groceries once a week and make the shared meals. You get to keep the extra money. Charge a bit extra for delivery if someone lives in another dwelling. They help with dishes and prep.
4. If there’s a Farmers’ Market in town, check it out. You can often get deals at the end of the day, as some vendors will reduce their prices, to not have to store items again. Even if you go early, you’ll often find that your grocery bill goes down. What’s more, you’ll find some nice local produce, depending on the season.
5. I find that some Oriental grocery stores have certain food items far cheaper than in chainstore supermarkets.
6. Bulk quantities of meat and other items are often cheaper per unit because of reduced packaging. Single person quantities are more expensive, and sometimes spoil. As long as there are a few people participating,
7. Certain types of items such as lasagne, meatloaf, cabbage rolls freeze quite well. [Tip: meatloaf is moister if you use grated zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture. This actually works for homemade burgers and even carrot or chocolate cake.]

Overall, you enjoy healthier meals for a reasonable price, in the company of college mates who are hopefully not your enemies. Who knows, cooking might even become your next hobby.

It’s not at all uncommon to experience a period of feeling down or blue, stress, anxiety, and even depression during college. However, there are things you can do for yourself to help protect you from these feelings. Here are 3 important ones:

1. Eat well. Many common nutrients, such as the B-complex vitamins, have a powerful effect on mood and mental functioning. Your physical energy and endurance relies on the quality of what you consume.
2. Don’t procrastinate tasks. It only leads to stress, a surefire way to stoke the blues, increase anxiety and even contribute to depression.
3. Get enough sleep . As simple as it sounds, this is a big deal. Exhaustion affects mental mood and functioning. Furthermore, if you’re tired all the time, you’re probably not going to make the effort to eat well and you will be more prone to procrastination. An ugly and vicious cycle can easily occur, one hard to break out of.

With serious or ongoing symptoms, always seek help from the mental health staff. That’s what they’re there for and it can help you get right back on the path to college success.

College Ramen, cheap, fast and easy, fairly palatable – at first – with a few additions, but perhaps it’s not the best nutritional choice for a steady diet. It’s high in sodium and often has a lot of MSG. Fortunately, there are lots of other simple and affordable options.

Rice and Beans:
Chop an onion, a little garlic, some olives, favorite spices, sauté in oil for a few minutes in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add two cups rice, a 16-ounce can of cooked beans, drained and rinsed, or the equivalent amount of cooked dry beans, sauté a few minutes. Add 3 cups of water and bring to boil. Cover tightly, reduce heat, cook 35 to 40 minutes. Inexpensive, taste and reheats perfectly in the microwave. Fry up a couple plantains (banana family), heat up some spinach or other deep green vegetables and you have a cheap, well-balanced meal.

Pasta:
Pasta doesn’t have to be dull, there are countless fast and easy ways to make a great meal. Seasonal vegetables, like summer squash, broccoli, eggplant, sautéed in oil and butter with a bit of garlic, onion, and a few spices, served on pasta with olive oil or butter and sprinkled with Parmesan or Romano makes a great fast and healthy meal.

You can eat fast, affordably and well in college, even if you have to do one pot meals on a smuggled in hotplate. A little food research goes a long way.

At college, it’s all too easy to slip into sloppy eating habits. Cafeteria food, convenience food, junk food – they feed the body, but do they really nourish? Is your brain getting what it needs to perform its best? Here are 3 nutrients that your brain will appreciate:

1. Most people know what the B complex vitamins do for the body, but not everyone is aware of just how much they do for the brain. Not only do B vitamins enhance brain function, such as memory and acuity, but they also affect mental health and mood.
2. Vitamin C is well-known for its antioxidant effects and its benefits to the immune system. However, there is also evidence that it has much to offer the brain as well, aiding in motivation, as well as other aspects of mental health and functioning.
3. Zinc can help keep your brain sharp and your thoughts focused. Deficiencies of this nutrient can result in mental confusion and depression.

Recent research indicates that getting nutrients through the foods you consume is better than popping supplements. As essential as these nutrients are, too much can do as much harm as too little, so if supplementing, use as directed and seek a health care professional’s advice for any questions.