Cooking and eating healthy is worth the effort
One of the hardest things about moving away from home has been finding ways of eating healthy meals while being on a budget.
As a freshman and sophomore, getting food wasn’t such a big issue for me because I was on a meal plan that covered everything I could possibly need each week. Even though I wasn’t necessarily lacking food, I was lacking nutritional value in each of my meals.
Now that I’m a junior, I’ve decided to not purchase a meal plan. The experience gained from making my own healthy food on a budget is very valuable now and later in life.
The first year of having a meal plan is great for freshmen to make the most out of their first year experience without worrying about scheduling time around cooking and making meals. It’s pretty easy to just stop by the residence-dining hall for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Flex money also makes it easy to get food at almost any time of the day.
Even though a first year on a meal plan is usually better than most college students’ expectations, the second year might not be so great. Personally, I would constantly use my flex more than my meals because it was more convenient. Even though the residential dining area does try to vary its meals throughout the week, it’s tiring to eat the same meals every week.
The sacrifice in convenience of a meal plan is worth the greater options to fresh food. I’ve found that after transitioning to preparing my own meals at home, I’ve begun to eat healthier foods. The difference between eating with and without a meal plan is very noticeable.
Learning to cook can be quite an experimental process. When in doubt, I’ve taken recipes from friends and family and also from popular websites like Pinterest and YouTube.
Cooking should be something that everyone learns at one point. Eventually, most people will have to live independently and know how to cook a few meals.
This is why it’s important to start learning early so by the time graduation rolls around, take out and microwaveable dinners won’t have to be a go-to option every night.
Also, contrary to what many people think, cooking healthy food doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s not like cooking for a family of four and having endless amounts of food in the kitchen. It’s not difficult to spend less each week than the price of a university meal plan.
Cooking takes extra time to prepare, and there are things like groceries and cooking time to keep in mind. In the end, it’s worth the learning curve, especially for those who are conscious of their daily diets and want to make the best out of every meal.
