Wednesday, October 9, 2013

What are some other ways to "hack" college student "go-to" foods to make them healthier, such as easy- mac?

After hearing the interesting ways you could change up ramen noodles to make them healthier, I set out to see if there were other college go to foods that could be made a little bit healthier. College dorms and even apartments or house can be a little cramped on space. Lets be honest, no college housing has kitchens fit to make a gourmet meal. Trying to be healthy requires a little bit of creativity. One of the first college go to foods I can think of is easy mac. Its awesome it comes in the little personal size blue bowl you can just add water and whatever that powered stuff is in the bag and pop in the microwave. But, if you ever thought about the amount of chemicals is in that little bowl you wouldn't think it was so awesome. After looking around for a few alternatives I found this recipe from http://dashingdish.com/recipe/skinny-easy-mac/:

"Combine  the pasta noodles, water, and salt in a large microwave safe bowl (i used a 4 cup pyrex glass measuring cup). Microwave for 6 minutes total, taking the bowl out and stirring every 2 minutes. (Water should be almost completely absorbed at this point, and pasta al dente). 
      
Add 2 tbs of the cheddar cheese, the milk, and cottage cheese, (and pepper and mustard powder if desired.) Stir, and microwave another 2 minutes, or until cheese and cottage cheese are melted. Stir once more after removing from microwave, add the additional 1 tbs cheddar, and stir until everything is combined. "

The recipe cuts out all the processed junk that is in the box or microwavable bowl. It takes a little bit more time and attention but still only requires a microwave, which is sometimes all a college kid has access to.

When looking into things further I found that there are a lot of fun blogs that post about how to make college food easier and healthy.  A lot of them focus on having a few staple items at all times and being able to make multiple, fast and easy meals from those.

Eating healthy in college is about finding quick recipes that we can throw together on the way to our next class or event. 'Hacking" college go to foods is all about finding different and creative ways to cut down on the processed foods or add healthier ingredients to them to create a fast wholesome meal. Unfortunately, its always going to take a few extra minutes to make things a healthier way, but what's a few extra minutes when it could be making major changes to the way you feel.

Here are some fun blogs that always have great tips on staying healthy in college:
http://fit-personality.com/
http://stronglikemycoffee.com/2012/12/29/college-girls-meal-plan/
 

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