Food
continued from page 1A
students who want to make eating
and cooking at home more con
venient.
“Planning goes a really long
way in the kitchen, she said.
Planning two menus for the week
and cooking extra each time
leaves you with leftovers that can
become other lunches and din
ners.
“You can make a chicken breast
with rice and vegetables one day,
eat it with pasta another day of
the week, make it into a sandwich
for lunch another day. I call it re
cycling a meal,” she said.
This can save time because stu
dents will need fewer trips to the
grocery store.
Investing a few hours on one
day can save a lot of time over the
course of the week. Cleaning and
chopping fruits and vegetables
the day you bring them home
from the store and putting them
in the refrigerator makes them
available for quick use.
“If I had to chop vegetables
every night, I probably wouldn’t
eat enough of them,” Olmos said.
If you have more money than
time, buying pre-chopped, pack
aged vegetables is a good option.
There may be some loss of taste,
but the nutritional value is almost
the same as fresh vegetables, she
said.
Dinners at home can be a chal
lenge for students who lack the
time or the know-how to cook a
healthy meal.
“It’s hard to cook something for
the first time and make it quick
and easy,” said Tove Holmes, a
senior German major and peer
health educator. “Once you do it
a couple of times it becomes kind
of old hat and takes less time and
energy. ”
For many students, learning to
cook is a matter of experimenta
tion.
Adam Mougey, a senior biology
major, got a wok as a gift last year.
He started experimenting with
stir-fry sauces bought at the store.
“I found that if I kept a bag
frozen vegetables around my
house and some stir-fry sauce, I
could make a relatively healthy
dinner in about the same time it
takes to make mac and cheese,”
he said.
There are a variety of re
sources available for students
who want to learn how to
cook and eat healthier. A
dozen cookbooks are avail
able at the Peer Health Ed
ucation Office in the health
center that students can
check out. :
For those who want a
more hands-on approach,
a Vegetarian Cooking
Workshop is being held
tonight from 4:30 to 5 p.m.
and every Thursday
evening through Feb. 27.
The class, held in the
health center cafeteria, will
cook a new, vegetarian
menu each session, focusing
on cooking techniques, shop
ping for the right ingredients
and different nutrition topics
each week, said Holmes, who
came up with the idea for the
workshop.
“The Peer Health Education
program has offered cooking
workshops before and focused on
ethnic cooking,” she said.
This workshop will try to pro
vide students with some options
for cooking a variety of healthy
meals. To register for the workshop
call 346-4456 or sign-up on-line at
www.healthed.uoregon.edu.
Cook’s Pots and Tabletops, a
South Eugene area business, of
fers a Cooking 101 class focusing
on the basics of sauce-making that
would serve students, said store
owner Kathy Campbell.
Her goal is to establish a basic
cooking class geared towards stu
dents by next fall. The reason
there isn’t such a class now is the
lack of qualified instructors in the
area, she said.
For more information on the
classes call 338-4339.
Some cooking tips:
For an easy meal, throw fresh
chopped vegetables into a pot of
steamed rice when the rice is about
halfway cooked. Add a curry paste to
season it.
Add a scrambled egg and frozen veg
etables to ramen noodles to add pro
tein and nutrients.
Season foods to bring out flavor with
out adding extra sugar or fat:
Flavor meats, stews, pastas or
casseroles with basil, garlic, oregano
or rosemary.
Enhance naturally sweet foods with
cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg.
Add spice to any dish with black, red
or cayenne pepper.
Poppyseeds or sesame seeds im
prove texture and crunch.
SOURCE: Peer Health Education, American Di
etetic Association
Pasta with greens and ricotta
Cooking time: 20 minutes
4 to 6 servings
1 bunch watercress (1 cup chopped)
1 bunch Swiss chard (4 cups chopped)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 pound pasta
grated Pa rmesa n cheese
chopped fresh tomatoes
toasted walnuts or pine nuts
Bring a large, covered pot of water to a boil. While the water
heats, rinse the watercress and chard well; chop coarsely.
Saute the garlic in the oil for a minute, until soft and golden
but not scorched. Add the greens and saute, stirring often,
until they are wilted but still bright green. Sprinkle with salt,
pepper and nutmeg and remove from heat. In a blender,
puree the cooked greens with the ricotta until smooth and
evenly colored. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
When the water is boiled, add pasta, stir and replace cover.
Cook until the pasta is at dente. Drain the pasta and immedi
ately toss4t with the sauce. Top with Parmesan, tomatoes and
toasted nuts.
SOURCE: Health Education Program Vegetarian Cooking Workshop, Moosewood
Restaurant Cookbook
Spicy chicken stir-fry
Cooking time: 20 minutes
5 to 6 servings
1 bag frozen oriental vegetables
3 chicken breasts (or substitute pork chops)
1/2 bottle stir-fry sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, chopped (optional)
Slice chicken into 1/4 inch strips diagonally across the grain.
Heat oil in a medium frying pan or wok, then add chicken.
Add soy sauce, cayenne pepper and chopped garlic. Cook un
til chicken is nearly done. Add frozen vegetables and stir-fry
sauce and continue to cook until vegetables are hot. Serve
with rice.
For a spicier Spicy Chicken Stir-fry, add ginger when heating
the oil.
SOURCE: Adam Mougey, peer health educator
North African couscous paella
Cooking time: 20 minutes
2 servings
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 /2 cup chopped red bell pepper
4 scallions, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
pinch of cayenne
2 cups hot vegetable stock or hot water
3/4 pound tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, or 1/2 pound shelled
shrimp
1 cup fresh or frozen green peas
1 cup quick-cooking couscous
1 tablespoon margarine or butter
salt and pepper
coarsely chopped toasted almonds
chopped fresh parsley
lemon wedges
Heat the oil in a 2-quart saucepan. Add the peppers, scallions,
garlic, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and saute in medium
heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the stock
or water. Add the tofu or shrimp and cook for another 3 to 4
minutes, until the tofu is hot or the shrimp are pink. Stir in
the peas and cook for another minute Mix in the couscous
and the margarine or butter. Cover, remove from heat and let
stand for 5 minutes.
Uncover the pan and using a fork, stir thoroughly to fluff up
the couscous and break up any lumps. Add salt and pepper to
taste. Serve on a platter, topped with toasted almonds, pars
ley and lemon wedges.
SOURCE: Health education Program Vegetarian Cooking Workshop, Moosewood
Restaurant Cookbook