Healthy Carb Loading

If there's one thing you need to know about me as a person, I'm a huge concert-goer. I've been to upwards of 25 concerts in the past 3 years, and tonight is probably the most important one. Twenty One Pilots is playing at the Tower Theater and, after seeing them twice already, I know how intense their shows tend to be. Being at one of their concerts is more like a workout than a relaxing experience. I've been extra careful these past couple of days to be healthy, drinking lots of water and eating well-balanced meals.

Tonight, being probably the concert equivalent of the Super Bowl, I am making a simple pasta dish for my late lunch/early dinner.

Orzo with Spinach and Peppers
For this dish, you will need exactly what it says in the title above. Orzo, chicken, baby spinach leaves, a bell pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

It's easiest to multitask while preparing this dish. While waiting for the water to boil for the orzo, start cutting up the bell pepper into small bits and pieces.

Grab a small pan and add oil to the bottom. Add the pepper pieces and baby spinach leaves and start to saute them. The peppers don't need to be well-cooked. The point of adding the peppers and spinach to this pan is to warm them up more than anything. Adding cold peppers and spinach to pasta is not as tasty or pleasant to eat unless you are a fan of the different temperatures in one dish.

The orzo should cook for about 9 minutes, and by the end of this time the rest of the meal should be finished cooking also. Drain the orzo and add the cooked spinach and peppers into the empty pot. After the orzo is drained well, add it back into the pot and stir together all of the ingredients.

Add cheese to the top of the dish once served onto the plate or bowl if desired.

This meal takes less than 15 minutes and is a good meal to incorporate different vegetables. My personal choice is to just stick to spinach and peppers, but adding tomatoes and zucchini or any other vegetable is good also.

Now that I'm loaded up on carbs, I'm ready for the best workout I'm ever going to have. Wish me luck!

Salmon

So obviously I have not posted about the recipes that I said I would from this past week. I've been extremely overwhelmed with work, school, and I've been extremely sick, as well.

Tonight I decided to make salmon with rice and spinach since I had some extra time tonight.
Salmon is a great source of potassium, vitamin b-6 and b-12. It's not difficult to prepare and only takes about 15 minutes to finish the entire meal.

I lack the patience to wait for Jasmine rice to cook for 20 minutes, so my roommates and I always buy Minute White Rice. This brand also offers brown rice, which is a healthier choice. Minute white rice is also available as a microwavable food, like Easy Mac. These take only a minute to cook (as the name suggests). They're great for the dorm room.






 Cooking salmon is a lot simpler than many people believe it to be. It's typically avoided to eat because people believe it's too difficult to make.
To cook salmon:
1. Put 1 tbsp of either oil or butter in a frying pan and keep at a medium heat.
2. Lightly season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper. If you want some more flavoring it's better to add it after so that you don't over-season it
3. Lay the salmon into the pan for about 5-7 minutes and then flip it over.
4. The salmon should cook for about 10-12 minutes total.
5. If desired, drip lemon juice over the salmon to add some extra flavor.
6. Seasoning the salmon in teriyaki sauce or soy sauce prior to cooking the salmon will add some more flavor, but in increases the sodium content drastically.

Be careful not to under cook the salmon, though, because it could potentially cause mercury poisoning if your mercury levels are too high. However, fresh water fish typically have less mercury in them than their salt water kin.

In regards to the rice, the instructions are on the box, but to cook rice:
1. Boil water. (the amount of water should equal the amount of rice, ie. 1/2 cup of water for 1/2 cup of rice).
2. Add the rice and keep on heat for 1 minute.
3. Remove from heat and cover; let simmer for about 5 minutes


Sauteing spinach is also extremely easy. Spinach is a good snack to eat even without a meal. To saute baby spinach leaves:
1. add 1-2 tbsp of oil to a pan
2. add spinach to the pan. Don't be deceived by how much spinach is in the pan, it shrinks up. A couple of handfuls is about the right serving size.
3. When you hear the spinach start to sizzle, move it around in the pan so that every leaf hits the bottom of the pan and is being cooked. The consistency of the spinach varies from person to person
4. If desired, add salt and pepper, or garlic salt, to the pan to add a little bit of extra flavor.





This meal is fairly simple and really not unhealthy. It is not as difficult as some people make it out to be. Both rice and spinach are great as sides, but also great as individual meals or snacks!

Grocery List

Most of the problems that I have found with making my decisions on what to eat stem from my lack of organization. If I write out a menu for the upcoming week and then go grocery shopping with that menu, chances are I will be more likely to stick to my food schedule for the week, not making random unbalanced meals.

My grocery list for the rest of this week is going to be based on my "Menu"

(just a quick side note: I've been very sick for the past couple of days so the meals on my menu may not be as satisfying or filling to others as they are to me. They will also probably not use as much energy because I need to rest)

Wednesday: Chicken and Rice Soup

What I will need:
1 can of chicken broth
3 carrots
1 onion
3 stalks of celery
2 cubes of chicken bouillon
1/3 cup of uncooked rice
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast

Thursday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
(this is not homemade)
What I will need:
1 can of tomato soup (either Campbell's or Progresso)
Bread
Cheese slices (cheddar, American, provolone, pepper jack...whatever floats your boat)
Margarine or butter

Friday: Chicken Caesar Salad

What I will need:
Romaine Lettuce
Chicken (I usually buy a bag of frozen chicken tenders and cook them as I need them)
1 Bell pepper
1 cucumber
1 tomato
Caesar dressing
Croutons
Baby spinach leaves

Saturday: Orzo with Chicken and Vegetables

What I will need:
1 box of orzo
Chicken
1 bell pepper
Baby spinach leaves
Parmesan cheese

I know this menu seems pretty bland, but my palette is sensitive right now. Maybe one of these nights I'll have my roommate make me one of these meals so I can lay in bed instead.
Later, I'll expand on each of these recipes and how to make them (they are pretty self-explanatory though).

Welcome To My Blog!

Hello, and welcome to my blog!

College Level Cookbook is a blog that will compile recipes and tips to help a college student survive in the kitchen. From personal experience, I stick to many of the same foods because they've always proven to be quick and easy when I'm in a time crunch. However, not all of the foods that I've limited myself to are the healthiest. As you will see, there are many recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for those library study sessions that are quick, easy, and healthy.

Although most of this blog will be aimed towards the population of college students who live in apartments or houses and have access to a real kitchen, I will try to include some posts and ideas for the dorm room diet because I know how difficult it is to survive on just dining hall food and EasyMac.

My hope is for this blog to help all of those struggling with nutrition and diet to find some simple solutions. Even if you are not in college, this blog is for the inept cook and can benefit anybody who needs some help.