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.

Clearly, date rape is wrong, people shouldn’t do it. But, counting on other people’s sense of right and wrong isn’t going to keep you safe. Making smart choices will.

Alcohol is often a factor. If you’re going to drink, make choices that will protect you. Don’t get outrageously drunk around strangers or acquaintances and let your control slip. Friends of friends are exactly that – not your friends. Stick with your trusted group. Don’t ride or wander off alone with people you don’t know you can trust.

Dress for the occasion. If you are going to be drinking, and do drink too much, would you rather be stumbling around or passing out in a dress that may accidentally reveal things you’d rather keep private, or clothes that offer a bit of protection?

Understand that people don’t always get the message you think you are presenting. Nor do some particularly care, being self-absorbed and into what they want or what they can get. Think twice about a late night visit to a dorm room of a guy you don’t know well enough to trust in all circumstances.

It’s up to you to make the best choices for yourself and your safety. Don’t count on others to make the right decision and live in the world that is, not in the one that should be.

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.

While we don’t recommend drugs at all, obviously, experimenting smartly can make the difference in how well you come through the experience. Use your brain; make smart choices.

Drugs in powder form can easily be adulterated. The average drug dealer is not about the experience the substance will provide, but the profit it will generate. Powdered drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, may contain other substances that can poison you, even kill you. Are you ready to bet your life on the integrity of the person looking to make a profit great enough to justify his business risks?

Many of the designer pills, Ecstasy, etc., are from powders that are compressed or put into capsules by the sellers. Thus, these too can still be adulterated. The same goes for the type of drugs that come from liquids, with doses absorbed into paper, like LSD. You don’t know what’s in it or how much is there. Kind of hard to make a smart choice of how much to take or if it is safe to take in such circumstances.

Make informed choices. Consider adulteration possibilities. Read up and learn about how much is too much. Know what to do if an emergency should arise. If you must experiment, try to choose the safest options and be in a safe place.

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.