Saying goodbye to the Freshman 15

I have made it clear that I have great ethos when it comes to living in the dorms and having to deal with campus dining and the lack of healthy/ good tasting food. As a freshman at Cal Poly, a university with the policy of “learn by doing”, this blog was actually an assignment for my journal class.

So, as the quarter comes to an end, so will this blog for the most part. I have really enjoyed exploring different way to make the food we are required to get edible and hope that I have inspired you to think outside the cafeteria and be creative with food so you can avoid the freshman 15.

I have learned so much from this blog. It has been so interesting seeing what types of posts get the most views and how to advertise  in order to get the biggest audience. As mush as I loved blogging about this topic, is was very difficult finding people to interview for my posts. I think that the criteria that makes a “good blog” differs from blog to blog. The necessity for expert sources may be crucial for a blog about political news while it may just seem irrelevant for one about surviving college food.

In the end, I have learned that it is all about satisfying your readers. Based on the feedback I have received and the amount of views I have, I think that I have succeeded in this goal.

Thank you for being such an awesome audience.

 – The “Freshman 15” Team

Guilt-Free Pizza

When my mom used to tell me about her college days, she would describe the themed parties, experience living in her sorority house, the big lecture halls filled with hundreds of students, and of course the 2 am pizza runs in the dorms. Now sadly, and she will admit, my mom fell victim to the freshman 15. While looking back on her first year of college, she decided that the late night pizza deliveries on a regular basis were probably not a good idea.

While it may not come as a surprise to most, delivery pizza and the pizza served on campus isn’t very nutritionally beneficial. But there is nothing like biting into a steaming gooey slice of pizza while pulling an all night study session. So, here is the freshman 15 version of this wonderful Italian delicacy. We used all fresh ingredients from the campus dining salad bar to make this dish.

We decided that the best way to get the full effect of the deliciousness of this recipe was to show you how to make it in a video. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Brownie in a Mug

The yummy end result. Photo by Carly Cady

I know that the purpose of this blog is to come up with creative and easy ways to create healthy meals in a college dorm setting, but let’s be honest… Sometimes we just need a little chocolate.

My mom has always taught me that when you’re craving some chocolate its better to indulge in your cravings rather than starving yourself. She always used the logic that if you try to substitute your cravings with something like fruit, veggies, or something more healthy you’ll be more likely to eat more of this “healthy” food causing a higher caloric intact and will probably end up eating the thing you crave in the end.

Now I doubt that there is any scientific evidence supporting this theory, but decided to accept my mom’s logic because I was really feeling like a warm, gooey brownie last night. This recipe is awesome because it allows you to make a personal sized brownie in less than two minutes. What I love is that you can indulge your sweet tooth without going overboard and compromising your whole diet.