COLLEGE STUDENT HELP!!!

[Guest guest]

Hey Jazmin,

As a grad student, I feel your pain. Especially regarding the limited

time. I'm SUPER lucky to live at home with my mom (AWESOME kitchen)

right now and NOT in a dorm, but since I'm only home and awake for

about 30 hours a week (not kidding), I don't have a lot of time to cook.

Buy yourself a good set of tupperware/plasticware to pack up stuff so

you can prep and store a lot of things at once, and then grab a few

things when you're on your way out the door. Do this AT LEAST on

Sundays so you're ready for the week.

I personally LOVE applesauce or baked apples for breakfast and

midmorning, I'll have a snack of cheese.

Lunch is leftovers (if I have some) or chicken broth or chicken and

some fruit and veggies. Stuff like bananas are easy to pack and quick

to eat. Same with avocados - I LOVE to eat an avocado mushed up with

the juice from half a lime and some salt - also the fat in an avocado

helps you feel fuller for a while and gives you some much needed energy.

Take advantage of the time you DO have to cook - when you're cooking

dinner, at least double or triple your recipes (i.e. instead of one

chicken breast, cook 3 or 4) so that you can eat the leftovers for

lunch.

And try to dedicate a block of time (at least 3 hours) to cooking on

your weekends or when you've got the time. I know it seems difficult

to block out that much time, but trust me, IT IS SO WORTH IT. It is

great because you can cook a massive amount of food, pack it up, freeze

it or stick it in the fridge, and then it's ready for you. It cuts

down on SO much stress - nothing is worse than standing in front of the

fridge with 30 minutes and nothing fast to eat. That will be the

biggest thing to prevent you from straying out of desperation, at least

it was for me. Especially in school, time is at SUCH a premium and you

need to face your time limitations with a rational point of view.

Regarding spices, find one or two that you LOVE and use them in

everything. My personal current favorites are the California Pepper

and Greek Seasoning blends from Penzeys - and I literally use them in

everything, from soups to omelettes, to chicken to stew. It really

helps.

Good luck with everything!! If you need any more advice, feel free to

ask!

Leah

[Guest guest]

Just realized I spelled your name wrong. Sorry Jasmin, I get that

often so I'm sensitive to it, but obviously not so much this morning.

I guess the 8 am Biostats class is getting to me.

A few more ideas - stock up on frozen veggies that you like/can eat.

One of my favorite things to eat is veggies with cheese melted on top.

SO great and you get the protein. Or sautee some veggies (squash,

zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, onions, spinach, whatever you can) and

then pour some scrambled eggs on it and cook it up - TADA fake

omelette! If you add cheese at the end and let it melt quickly, it's

even better and with calcium and more protein! Or if you let it cook

on super low heat (so it doesn't burn on the bottom) and then either

put it in a broiler or flip it over (to cook the other side), it makes

a frittata type thing that is FABULOUS either hot or cold and great

when you're on the run (wrap it in foil and go!)

Some of my favorite veg and egg combos are:

Peppers, mushrooms, Spinach, swiss cheese

Zucchini, onion, peppers, greek seasoning and feta, if you can handle it

Peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, avocado, cheddar cheese (if you like

spicy, add some chilis, it's a great faux migas!)

Also, Marilyn's suggestion about a crockpot is stellar, crockpots are A

GODSEND. Seriously, nothing is better than throwing in meat, carrots,

onions if you can, tomatoes, etc. and then walking away for a day and

coming home to a hot delicious meal. Invest in a large enough crockpot

to cook a pound of meat at a time. It will save your life, especially

in winter, and you can use it to make baked fruit, soups, etc.

Again, good luck!