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

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.

What Causes the Freshman 15?

The answer to this question seems quite obvious: overeating. However, there are actually many different components that contribute to students gaining weight during their college years. I sat down with Stephanie Teaford, the Community Liaison for STRIDE, a research organization at Cal Poly dealing with causes and prevention of obesity, to discuss what really causes the dreaded “Freshman 15.”

– The “Freshman 15″ Team

Get this app: Neighbor Favor

Craving In-and-Out? Wanna go downtown but don’t have a ride? Too lazy to go grocery shopping? The new app Neighbor Favor, created by a Cal Poly alumni, is an ingenious invention that solves all of these problems. Neighbor Favor is based off of a system of favors and “runners” responding to these favors with the motivation of being tipped a few bucks when they make the delivery. Here are the top 4 reasons you should have this app as a college student:

1. Get Food Delivered to the Dorms

Whether you don’t have time or a way to go to the grocery store, or you’re just really craving a Chipotle burrito, this app allows you to have whatever you want delivered right to you. Just request you favor and wait for a runner to complete the task.

2. Hitch rides 

People post when they are headed downtown, to the beach, or where ever they may be headed. If you want to go with them you can contact them and get a ride with them.

3. Easy Checkout

The payments are secure and cashless. You can pay with your credit or debit card after your runner has purchased your item.

4.  Make some extra cash

If you volunteer to be a “runner,” each time you do someone else a favor you not only get good karma, you get paid in tips! Who wouldn’t love a little extra cash?

Spice Up Your Ramen

Chilled Spicy Thai Peanut Ramen. Photo by Carly Cady

I love my school, don’t get me wrong, but I think I have made it very clear that the food is not my favorite part about college life. I listen to my friends at other schools talk about their smoothie bars, crepe stations, and whole made desserts, and die a little inside when I realize the most exciting thing we have is a salad bar that rarely has any vegetables.

One type of food that is especially horrible is the asian food. I have heard of multiple students getting food poisoning from eating the “Orange Chicken” or “Teriyaki Pork” and am constantly told to avoid it at all costs. So, in order to satisfy my asian cuisine cravings, I have created a Chilled Spicy Thai Peanut Ramen.

Creating different dishes out of Ramen has become a new culture in the cooking community in recent years. Books like 101 Things to do with Ramen Noodles by Toni Patrick and blogs like The Ramen Rater explore ways to upgrade regular old ramen noodles by adding easy but delicious sauces and spices.

Hans Lienesch, creator of The Ramen Rater, has boiled the art of making ramen down to a fine science. While preparing the noodles Lienesch has a few rules that he sticks to. “I try my best to cook the noodles as directed on the packaging. I also try to never crush the block of noodles,” Lienesch said.

Ramen is one of the easiest things to make in the dorms and with a little effort it can also be the tastiest. “So good! I love the spicy kick that offsets the sweetness of the peanut butter,” Emily Cantwell, freshman at Cal Poly, said of the Spicy Thai Ramen.

Once you try it, you won’t be able to get enough! “Do you have anymore?” Lauren Deitch, Cal Poly student, said as she finished off the bowl.

What you’ll need to make this dish. Photo by Carly Cady

Chilled Spicy Thai Peanut Ramen

1 package of Chicken Top Ramen noodles

3/4 bag of the Top Ramen flavoring

3 tablespoons of peanut butter

2 teaspoon or one package of soy sauce

2 tablespoons of chili-garlic sauce (Sriracha works)

1/3 cup water

Directions

1. Start by placing the whole block of ramen in a microwave safe bowl. Do not crush or break the ramen up.

2. Pour hot water into the bowl so it covers the noodle and put it in the microwave for two minutes.

3. Stir the noodles gently until the start to break up. Place back into the microwave for about two and a half minutes, or until the noodles are complete soft and break up easily.

4.Drain any excess water from the noodles and replace it with cold water.

5. Drain the cold water out and place the noodles in the refrigerator.

6. In a separate bowl, combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, hot sauce, and the ramen flavoring.

7. Mix together and add enough water to give the sauce a thinner consistency.

8. Add sauce to the noodles and stir in.

9. Add green peppers and peanuts to top it off.

Adapted from Serious Eats.

Behind Every Motivated Person is a Cup of Coffee

It’s that time of year again… Midterms. The smell of coffee fills the campus and the lines for Starbucks are longer than the lines at Disneyland, as students attempt to suppress their severe sleep deprivation.Every essay, project, and test that has been put off all quarter is now suddenly due, making the idea of the famous college all-nighter seems increasingly necessary.

I will be first to admit that coffee is a great thing for perfectionists and procrastinators alike, but the time it takes and the cost of any coffee shop is hard to justify. For those of us that don’t want to waste any of our precious cramming time waiting for coffee, becoming your own barista is the best way to go! There are three super easy ways to make a delicious cup of Jo in the comfort of your own room!

1. The Keurig

While the actual machine may be a little expensive ($99.95), it will actually save you money and a trip to Starbucks in the morning. The “K-cups” come in a ton of different flavors and strength allowing you to get exactly what you want in a single cup of coffee in less than 2 minutes.

The Keurig single serving coffee maker. Photo by Carly Cady

Eating in San Luis Obispo on a Budget

No matter how great the on campus food may be, it is occasionally necessary to get off campus and explore the different restaurants offered in the area. San Luis Obispo, being the great college town it is, has an abundance of restaurants, bakeries, and bars for the students of Cal Poly. However, while many of these places offer delicious menus, the prices may cause you to lose your appetite. Here is a map showing some of the restaurants with great prices and special deals that can help out the broke college kid.

How are we doing?

So far I am loving doing this blog! It’s really fun to be able to have a more conversational style of writing and it seems like the audience is relating to my experiences with the transition for home cooking to dorm food. All of the people I have talked to said that the tone in my blogs made them want to keep reading and were encouraged by the recipe ideas because they were easy to follow. I have made it clear that I am a college freshman too and am going through the same things as my readers which builds my credibility because I am living what I write about. I think that by including a personal story in each of my blogs I make my blogs engaging and interesting to read. The people I talked to said that my blog different from anything they’ve ever seen. They said that the recipes are really practical and inventive. The only complaint that I got was that I need to have more recipes because once people check out my blog they want a wide variety of recipes and ideas but so far I only have a few available. I am hoping to continue to grow my blog to create a archive with a variety of recipes to try. One site that I’ve been really inspired by is Serious Eats.  It has a very wide variety of recipes for any level of chefs that I am hoping to achieve one day.

If there are any recipes that you would like to see by made dorm cooking style comment or email us at freshman15minutemeals@gmail.com

 

– The “Freshman 15” Team 

Tweeting about Eating

Freshman 15 Minute Meals now has a twitter!

 

Follow us to stay up to date on everything that’s going on with “Freshman 15.” We want to hear what you have to say. From horrific stories of what your college tries to pass off as food, to what kind of recipes you want to be featured, feel free to tweet at us! Check it out and spread the word.

 

 

Better Food, Better College Experience?

As college students, we are given the same piece of advice over and over again: “Enjoy the next four year. They’ll be the best of your life.” While I am in no way saying that this is false (because frankly college is pretty great), I’ve been thinking about what exactly makes college such an amazing “experience.” I decided that a very small amount of it had to do the academic aspect of college, but mostly comes from the ability to do whatever you want whenever you want, the abundance of new people to meet, and the way there is most likely alway a party to go to.

However, there was one thing that I failed to consider until reading this article on USA TODAY.com: the food. According to studies conducted by The Daily Meal and The Daily Beast, there is a visible relationship between the universities with the best food  and the happiest schools in America.