Vitamins

The right multivitamin is the key to health and energy during college. I take Alive! multivitamin after every meal and there is a noticeable difference in my energy level when i take it verses not. Lately I have been slacking on my vitamins and I feel more worn down and (as odd as it sounds), less able to fight sickness.
Multivitamins give you an extra boost of the vitamins you might not be getting now that you are not being fed a regular, balanced meal by your parents. In college, salads and other raw veggies are substituted for French fries, milk is substituted for soda, and fruit by Sour Patch Kids.
I cannot stress enough the importance of a multivitamin. At least once a day. I take my vitamin after every meal because I need to take it that often for the vitamin to have a noticeable effect on me. But people who haven't taken vitamins their whole life, like I have, can see a difference with one pill a day.
Go to your local health food store (Whole Foods is a great place to get a large selection of vitamins) and ask the person working in the vitamin section which multivitamin they would recommend. (Vitamin B gives a GREAT energy boost so look for one with vitamin B)

Until next time,
~~Lucy

Coupons!

Shopping tip #3

CUT COUPONS!

Here is a website to print off coupons in your area:
http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/offers.aspx?pid=13306&zid=iq37&nid=10

ALSO the local Pennysaver sometimes has coupons

but the best place to get coupons is the Sunday paper. There are so many coupons in there that i dont know what to do with them sometimes! you can save so much money long term with coupons.

Get an envelope and keep them in there and DONT forget to bring them to the store!

Until next time,
~~Lucy

Late Night Snackin'

We all know that while we are up late "studying" - lets get real here, people. I KNOW you are on facebook and YouTube. but for the sake of this blog, lets pretend you're up studying - so, back to what i was saying. While up late studying, we get hungry and need something to calm our nerves or keep up up for some more YouTube clips math problems.
Instead of reaching for the oreos, here are some healthy alternatives for your late night snacks!

If you are stressing about your midterm tomorrow........
Try almonds. Chewing releases stress (hence why some people eat when they are stressed) and almonds have some great vitamins to get you through the night and fill you up

Cant sleep.......
Have some instant rice (nothing flavored), an english muffin, toast, or a potato (not chips. those are mostly grease. french fries -thick cut- are fine). Starchy foods may raise your blood sugar slightly, but it also raises the levels of tryptophan in your body, helping you fall asleep.

Just hungry.....
try a cheese stick or scrambled eggs. The protein keeps off hunger longer than sugary foods.

______________________________________________________

Basically what I am saying here is that sugary foods may be on hand, but they will not help you sleep and will eventually put on the pounds if you keep it up. 

Keep up the studying but remember, SLEEP IS GOOD!! Your body heals itself while you sleep. Without the proper amount of sleep, your body has a difficult time fighting of sickness and your brain stops functioning as well as it might if you had gotten those extra hours of sleep you spent staying up watching movies with your roommate. 

Be smart and be healthy.

Until next time

~~Lucy

**The tips for today came from http://food.yahoo.com**

Stew

One thing that is smart to invest in is a crock-pot. In the morning, you throw in some beef (or whatever meat you like), vegetables, and some seasoning, set it to high, and when you are back for lunch, you have a whole meal waiting for you!

Here is a simple, tasty recipe for beef stew

•  1/2 lbs - 1 lbs of beef (you can get it already cut into "stew" chunks. But you can just go to the store and get the cheapest beef)
• 2 or 3 large potatoes
• celery
• large carrots
• onion
• beef stew seasoning (in most every grocery store, there is an aisle with packets of powder to make taco sauce and gravy and things like that. Mixed in there somewhere should be a packet of seasoning for beef stew. On the back it will tell you how much water to put into the pot -it wont be as much as you think- and a recommendations of vegetables. You can put in whatever vegetables you want, but the ones I have listed and the ones the packet will list are perfect for crock-pot cooking)

If you make this at night, set the temperature at LOW so that the stew wont overcook by morning or lunch. If you make it in the morning and want it for lunch, set the heat to HIGH. If you make the stew in the morning and want it for dinner, set the temperature at LOW. You can always start it on HIGH, then change your mind and put it back on LOW.

If you have any other questions, leave a comment or send me a message! I love making stew and it is ALWAYS delicious.

Have fun cooking!

Until next time

~~Lucy

My Favorite Snack

Every time I go grocery shopping, I always buy the ingredients for this delicious snack. 
Vanilla Yogurt
Granola
Fruit (it depends what is in season, but my favorites are strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and bananas)


I usually get the Nature's Valley granola bars. Then i just crush it up and its perfect for putting on yogurt!
Cut up your fruit into bite size pieces and combine with the granola and vanilla yogurt. I put a bit of honey on top to give it another layer of flavor. Its healthy, and fills you up. 


Until next time
~~Lucy

Mom Tip of the Week

Check back every weekend for my Mom Tip of the Week!!


This weeks tip comes from MY mom! and she has a few things to say.


"I'd like to suggest a weekly activity - shopping followed by prep to make your life easier for the rest of the week. For example, cooking up large amounts of chicken and rice and then (when cooled) putting meal sized portions into baggies and freezing them. You can then pull them out of the freezer when you get home after a long day at school and voila! you have a wonderful home cooked meal! 
You can also chop up onions and freeze them in baggies for quick cooking.

Also, put together a big bowl of salad - make sure that the bowl had a lid!! Then you have fresh salad available whenever you come home hungry. And cut up fresh veggies (carrots into carrot stix, peppers into strips) so that when you want a snack you can reach for something healthy and that won't add those pounds. Make sure to have a supply of ranch dressing on hand to dip them. Also, when they are on sale, grab a BIG bag of cheese stix - again, quick and easy to either take with you to class or to have for a wonderful snack.

And when you do cook a meal, cook enough for at least 2 meals - if you are going to go to all that trouble you might as well spread it out over a few meals.

Oh, pancakes can be frozen!! So when you want some for breakfast make up a huge batch. Cool them and then freeze.
Love you!"


So there you have it! My mom tip of the week. 


If you're a mom (or parent/guardian) and have a tip for us college kids, or you are a college kid with a tip from your parent, send it along and I will include it on the blog!


Until next time, 
~~Lucy

Eat Before You Shop

Shopping Tip #2
Eat BEFORE you shop.
If you go grocery shopping on an empty stomach, you WILL buy more food, and, most likely, more junk food.

I should mention the goals of this blog and now seems like a good enough time to do it. 
Goal #1: Shop well on a budget
Goal #2: Learn quick and easy recipes
Goal #3: Learn how to cook
and the hidden goal....
Goal#4: avoid the freshman 15.
- This may be something common for freshman, but it is something that ALL college students are susceptible to during their ENTIRE time at college! The sugary, fatty food is the cheapest, and there are no parents to tell us "No". This is a place to try avoiding the temptations of 7/11 and learn to fend for ourselves in the real world. 


I like to have crackers in my cabinet so that i can put some in a ziplock bag and nibble on them while shopping.

Until next time,
~~Lucy

Food That is Handy to Have

This is a list of foods that are handy to have and easy to make.

1) Frozen Chicken Breasts ($10.00)*
- You can get them from any grocery store for a reasonable price. Keep them in the freezer and pull them out when needed. The large ones easily feed 2 people and are simple to prepare

Easy Chicken recipe #1

**Place the chicken breast on a microwavable plate and defrost it in the microwave. Make sure you hit the "defrost" button or else you will COOK your chicken instead of DEFROSTing it. Flip the breast about halfway through and check on it about every 3 minutes to make sure it doesn't start cooking. 

**Once its defrosted, spice it up! I prefer to use Italian Spices. You can get a grinder of LOTS of different spices from the 99 cent store. Put some olive oil in a pan and heat up the pan. Sprinkle your spices on one side of the chicken and place that side DOWN on the pan. (smaller pieces of chicken cook faster and more evenly). Spice the other side of the chicken and turn the heat down to medium. Its an art cooking your chicken at the right temperature, but cutting your chicken into smaller pieces makes it easier. Flip your chicken every now and again to ensure it doesn't burn. The chicken SHOULD cook and brown up, but not turn black. 

**WATCH FOR SMOKE! this could mean the oil is burning or your chicken is burning. turn down the heat IMMEDIATELY and remove the pan until the smoking stops. There IS a difference between steam and smoke. your chicken WILL steam. 

**Cut open the larger pieces to check that it is cooked all the way through. 

**Remove from heat and enjoy!

2) Rice ($3.00/ 2 lbs)*

- Rice is cheap. its tasty. there are HUNDREDS of different kinds. 

- White is the most common, but brown rice is healthier (and i think, more tasty)

- I prefer rice pilaf. The brand Rice-A-Roni makes cheap, delicious rice pilaf as well as all kinds of different kinds of rice! In my cabinets I currently have rice pilaf and "Mexican Style". The Rice-A-Roni instructions are also easy to follow. 

3) Frozen Vegetables ($3.00)*

- Yes, fresh vegetables are more tasty. But we are on a budget here, people! and there is NOTHING wrong with frozen veggies. In my freezer i currently have 2 bags of frozen veggies, a peas and carrots blend, and a something else blend with lima beans and string beans and peas and corn and something else. 

I am going somewhere with this seemingly random list of food. You all have just read an entire meal. 

**Start cooking the rice first. If it gets cold by the time you have finished cooking everything else, you can always heat it up

**Cook the chicken. Keep an eye on the rice

**Once the chicken is done or almost done, put your vegetables in the microwave. Pour the amount needed into a microwavable container. Place a cover on top. Make sure it has some sort of ventilation! Your container will explode if it doesn't! The way I solve this problem is by putting my vegetables in a coffee mug and simply placing a plate on top. The lid keeps the steam in and lets the steam aid in cooking the vegetables. The amount of vegetables determines the amount of time to leave them in the microwave. Start with no more than a minute and stir your vegetables after that amount of time. from there you can gauge the rest of the time they need to cook. 

**Put everything onto a plate, and ENJOY!

Until next time,

~~Lucy

* indicates estimated cost of food from grocery store.

"Do I REALLY Need This?"

As much as we HATE to admit it, our parents were right in telling us not to have sugary cereals and ice cream for breakfast. In fact, cutting down on your sugar intake is not only a healthy thing to do, its also better for your wallet. Sugar might fill you up for the moment, but it will only leave you hungry in a little while. You end up eating more and burning through your food. 

So here is my blog's first tip:

When grocery shopping, ask yourself, "Do i REALLY need this?" and if your honest with yourself, you will find yourself saying "No" more often than you used to. 

Once, when I was grocery shopping, I was about to check out when I did a final look over at my basket and at every item, I asked "Do I REALLY need this?" without realizing I had even picked up this much junk food, I put back:

2 boxes of brownie mix

1 six-pack of pudding cups

1 twelve-pack of ice cream sandwiches

half  gallon of juice

and a twix bar

I was shocked! not only did I save about $20, but i saved myself a lot of calories and time running off all those calories! The "Do I REALLY Need This" technique has been a proven money saver time and time again. 

Until next time,

~~Lucy

Welcome!!

Hello readers!! And welcome to my blog, "College Cooking for the Poor and Inexperienced"! Written by a college student, for the college student. 

Before we begin our delicious journey, here is a bit about me and what I hope to accomplish with this blog. 

My name is Lucy. I am currently studying Musical Theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Hollywood, California. I am in my 3rd semester and loving every minute of it. I am from Carlsbad, California, where my family still lives. I have two brothers, Mac and Sam, a dog, Joey, a rabbit, Stewert, and two wonderful parents, Merryn and David. 

Before I came to college, I did not know how to cook. I was terrible at it. I had difficulties making rice! But, luckily, my school houses their students in rooms with full kitchens and no meal plans. I was forced to know how to successfully grocery shop and cook for me and my roommates. But I have friends who are 20 years old, and still cannot make a decent meal beyond Macaroni and Cheese (which is DELICIOUS, but not nutritious). 

So one day, I was sitting on my bed and decided to help all the college students, who are on a tight budget and still need to eat. So congratulations for taking the first step toward a happy and healthy meal!

Please do not hesitate to contact me with specific questions or recipes and shopping tips. This is a place not only for me to help you, but for us all to help each other. I am not interested in stealing someone's ideas. If you send me a recipe, I will put it on my blog and credit you for it. We are all in this together! (Sorry for the accidental High School Musical reference....)

At least once a week I will post new recipes for cheap, healthy, and delicious meals as well as shopping tips! So keep checking back and I cant wait to hear from you!

Until next time,

~~Lucy