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!

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

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.

Iron Board Grilled Cheese

This week is the first time I have experienced something that is very common among college freshman… Homesickness. Unlike many of the students in my dorm, the first quarter was a breeze for me. I never found myself missing home or my old friends because I was having such a great time at school. While I am still loving college, I can’t shake the constant feeling of sadness whenever I think about my hometown or pets and find in increasingly difficult to hold back tear every time I talk to my family.

While going home to ease the homesickness isn’t really an option right now, I thought that making some good ol’ fashion comfort food may do the trick.

“The food you eat can actually change the chemical composition of your brain. Carbohydrates like pasta and breads can trigger the release of serotonin which can actually make you feel happier and less stressed,”  Susan Greenwood, a psychologist specializing in eating disorders, from San Diego, CA, said.

Microwave Denver Omelet in a Mug

When I was a kid, my family and I went on vacation to Disneyland. We spent hours and hours going on the rides, walking around the park, and meeting all the characters, but oddly enough being at the actual park wasn’t my favorite part of the trip. We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel and each morning we got up and ate at Mickey’s Kitchen and my most vivid memory of this trip was… the omelet bar.

I can remember walking up to a counter full of different vegetables, cheeses, and meats and being able to put whatever I wanted onto a fluffy bed of eggs. From that moment on I was obsessed. I would beg my mom each morning to make me one before school or if I was really craving it for a breakfast for dinner type of thing. As you can imagine, I got really sick of omelets after having them every morning for about a year.

Recently, my love for omelets has returned and I have been craving them all the time. However, unlike some schools that are lucky enough to have one of these magical omelet bars, mine does not. So I have come up with a solution! This omelet can be made in about 5 minutes in the comfort of your own dorm room. Click through the pictures to see how!

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Eggcellent Denver Omelet in a Mug

(yes, the egg pun was necessary)

• 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 ounce (about a handful) of ham
• 2 tablespoons shredded fat-free cheddar cheese

Serving suggestion: Whole-wheat English muffin

Skinny Muddy Buddies

I’m just going to come out and say it. I am by no means a gourmet chef. I have just recently started to really like cooking. In the past, I think my lack of patience combined with the mindset that directions are beneath me has been my downfall. However, there has always been one thing that I love to make. My friends and I call it Muddy Buddies, but it also goes by the name of Monkey Munch, Puppy Chow, or that really good chocolate Chex Mix stuff.

To make Muddy Buddies basically all you do is throw a bunch of melted chocolate, some Chex cereal, peanut butter, melted butter, a little bit of vanilla, and some powdered sugar in a huge bowl and mix it all together. Put it in the fridge for a little while and boom. You’ve got the best thing you’ll ever taste. Seriously. Not exaggerating.

However, as you can tell by the ingredients Muddy Buddies aren’t necessarily considered a health food. So I present to you Skinny Muddy Buddies. In addition to substituting some ingredients to make this mouth full of goodness regret free, these ingredients can all be found either in dining halls or campus grocery stores. It also only require a bowl and a spoon, so it is ideal for the dorms.

What you will need…

SKINNY MUDDY BUDDIES:

    2 cup whole grain Chex cereal

2 TBSP of peanut butter

1 dark chocolate pudding cup

1 Pack of vanilla pudding mix (unprepared)

1/2 cup raw almonds

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

1 pack of Truvia or other sweetener

Direction (you should really use them even though they are annoying):

 1. Pour the cereal into a mixing bowl. Add the chocolate pudding to the cereal and stir together.

2. After the pudding is evenly covering the cereal add the peanut butter and mix again.

The finished product!

3. Once the peanut butter is mixed in, add the dried cranberries and the almonds and stir once again.

4. Add the vanilla pudding mix and the Truvia to mixture and lightly stir. Put the mix in the fridge for a little and it’s ready to eat!

“Those were the muddiest buddies I’ve ever had,” said Kennedy Gilbert, a freshman in college (as she finished off the bowl).

This mix tastes just as good as the original but the addition of almonds and cranberries improves the taste and the nutritional value. The substitution of chocolate pudding for the melted chocolate reduces the calories to make it a lighter treat that won’t result in the emergence of a food baby.

“I really like the contrast between the chewiness of the cranberries and the crunchiness of the almonds and Chex,” said Tiffany Miller, also a college freshman.

The combination of the almonds and the peanut butter make this a great mix to eat before going to the gym… or to just enjoy. “Almonds contain phytochemicals, which have been proven to help prevent cancer and heart diseases, and lower cholesterol. They are also high in protein, which makes them a long lasting source of energy,” said Carol Ross, owner of Personally Fit, a health and fitness center in Rancho Santa Fe, CA.

Whether you are looking for something that will supplement your attempt to get swoll at the gym or just something that tastes great and has some nutritional value, this recipe is great for the starving college student.

Adapted from Undressed Skeleton.

The Ultimate College Grocery List

Lately, I have found myself really missing one thing about home… My pantry. Looking back I realized how often I took advantage of the fact that I constantly had unlimited access to whatever I was craving. Seriously, it was the Narnia of pantries. However, it is apparent that this magic was restricted to my house because the food supply I have at school pales in comparison.

Let’s face it; no matter how good your dining hall food may be it is essential to have food in your dorm. Whether it be that it’s way to hard to get yourself out of bed to walk all the way to the cafeteria, or you just really need some midnight munchies, it’s convenient to have something more than a pack of Skittles and some questionable milk in your fridge.

Now, the problem is: What to buy? “The most popular foods that college students buy are frozen dinners, cereal, and chips… and beer,” said Jessica Majors, manager of Albertson’s in San Luis Obispo. These foods may be good choices for conveniency (and parties) but they are not necessarily the healthiest picks. Some students have somewhat of an idea of what to buy, “I always have Easy Mac, peanut butter, bread, and popcorn in my room,” said Janelle Coccimiglio, a freshman at Cal Poly. However, many others don’t have the slightest idea of what they should have in their room, “I usually have some peanut butter, and that’s about it,” said Daniel Sweeny, freshman at Cal Poly. So, here’s a list to give you an idea of what types of food you may want to stock your room with.