Cooking at College: An Easy Guide

When most students leave home to start college or university, it is their first time on their own. Either they move into student apartments, or dorms, and they have to start being responsible for their own lives. Whereas at home, Mom was always doing their washing, preparing their food and making sure that all bills were paid, it is now the turn of the student to handle these things.

One of the first things that becomes problematic is eating. Between the demands of classes, assignments, and exciting university social life, it is easy to forget about eating or not to feel bothered enough to cook. This is especially true if you are living in a single dorm room, as there is no one to cook with or eat with you. If you are not careful, you can find yourself living off packets of chips or biscuits and the odd takeaway, none of which is too healthy at the best of times.

A student therefore needs a way to cook for himself that is easy, cheap, and does not take up too much of his time. The best method from all of these points of view is to use a crock pot. As these come in various sizes, you would find a small one that would not take up too much space either in your bedsit or shared kitchen. The great advantage of crock pot meals is that they are easy to prepare. All you need to do is put the ingredients, together with the necessary spices, into the pot, switch it on, and leave it to cook on a low heat for several hours. Then, when you come home from your classes, you will have a readymade meal. This is also ideal at times of high pressure, when you need to learn and revise for tests.

You need not worry about the food being boring or repetitive. There are many crock pot recipes, from crock pot beef stew to pumpkin soup. You can even make enough food to invite a friend or two to share it with you. You can also make a little extra that can be reheated and eaten the following day, saving you the need to cook all over again. Some of the most healthy food can be prepared in this manner, which would also make you stay well and feel more likely to concentrate and do well in your studies.

This is not an expensive way of cooking either, because crock pots are relatively inexpensive. For all of the reasons mentioned above, it would be a good idea to include it on your list of basic kitchen items. Other utensils, depending on the amount of space you would have available are: a hot plate, basic silverware, cup, plate, bowl, can opener, small saucepan, frying pan, chopping board, sharp knife, kettle, toaster, and sandwich maker. None of these items take up too much space, and all of them are essential to your efforts to stay healthy at college.