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Col­lege Cook­ing 101: Meat Nu­tri­tional Needs With Meal Prep

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Col­lege is hard enough with ex­ams, pa­pers, end­less study­ing, room­mate drama and 8 a.m. classes. Wor­ry­ing about what to eat, while hav­ing to cook with lim­ited ap­pli­ances can def­i­nitely add to the stress. Hav­ing dining hall food, takeout and PB&J day after day can get boring.

At Maryville, Mou­ton Hall has a kitchen with a mi­crowave, stove and re­frig­er­a­tor. The Hill­top apart­ments each in­clude a garbage dis­posal, dish­washer, stove/​oven and a mi­crowave. Learn how to get the best use the ba­sic ap­pli­ances in dorm rooms and apart­ments with this crash course in cam­pus cook­ing.

Healthy Meal Prep

Meal prepping involves cooking and preparing meals ahead of time and portioning them into grab and go containers. This is beneficial, because it saves time and helps eliminate unhealthy foods convenient to college students.

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The most common meal prep combinations include a protein source, a carbohydrate and a vegetable. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Jacquin.

“One of the things I love about the idea of meal prep­ping is al­ways hav­ing a meal ready to go when life gets crazy with school. It keeps you from be­ing tempted to stop and get fast food,” Kait­lyn Fessler, se­nior, said. “I also pack my lunch the night be­fore school and keep pro­tein bars and shakes in my car in case I get hun­gry.”

Choos­ing your Meat

Protein is an essential part of a daily diet, especially when looking to gain muscle. Sirloin steak is the healthiest type of steak since it is the most lean. Ribeye steak is the most flavorful, however, this is due to the marbling of the fat throughout, making it the unhealthiest.

Grilled chicken is ex­tremely healthy, be­cause it is high in pro­tein and low in fat. White meat, bone­less, skin­less chicken breasts are one of the most healthy cuts of chicken. Dark meat chicken has slightly higher fat con­tent, more iron and twice as much zinc as white meat chicken.

Let’s Get Cook­in’

Believe it or not, these meats can actually be cooked without using a grill, which makes them campus friendly. 

How to cook steak on the stove top:

  1. This step is optional, but for more flavor, season the steak for the best browning. Kosher salt, pepper and garlic are commonly used as seasonings.
  2. Brush a skillet lightly with vegetable or olive oil, use high heat and place the steak in the center and flip the steak over every few minutes.
  3. Once the desired temperature is reached, remove the steak from the skillet and let it sit for five to ten minutes, depending on the size of the cut. This creates a juicy steak.

How to cook chicken in the oven:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Season the chicken breasts, (Common options to use include salt, pepper, lemon juice, minced garlic or Italian seasoning). For the most flavor, allow it to marinate for at least an hour before cooking.
  2. Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet a few inches apart. Place the sheet on the middle rack and set the timer for 20 minutes.
  3. Start checking the chicken after 20 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and let it cool. Eat it immediately, refrigerate it in the meal prep containers for up to a week or freeze them for up to a month.

If your appliances are truly limited and you do not have access to an oven, you can still cook chicken breasts with a microwave. Grocery stores sell chicken that has already been grilled so all you have to do is microwave it to your desired temperature.

Healthy carbohydrate options to meal prep with include brown rice and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are high in vitamin A, vitamin B5 and B6. They’re fat-free, relatively low in sodium and have fewer calories than russet potatoes. Brown rice is rich in antioxidants, manganese and fiber so it is great for weight loss.

How to cook sweet potatoes in the oven:

  1. Pre­heat oven to 500 de­grees Fahren­heit.
  2. Wash pota­toes thor­oughly.
  3. With a fork, pierce sweet potato skin five to six times evenly through­out.
  4. Wrap pota­toes with alu­minum foil.
  5. Place on bak­ing sheet and bake 45 min­utes to one hour or un­til ten­der.

How to cook sweet pota­toes in the mi­crowave:

  1. Wash pota­toes thor­oughly. Pierce potato six to eight times. This will pre­vent it from over­heat­ing and ex­plod­ing in the mi­crowave.
  2. Microwave the potato for approximately six minutes, flipping once halfway through.

How to cook brown rice in the mi­crowave:

  1. Wash rice un­til wa­ter runs clear to re­move starch.
  2. Put rice in a large bowl and add 4 cups wa­ter for every 1 cup of rice.
  3. Cover and mi­crowave un­til wa­ter boils (eight to 10 min­utes de­pend­ing on mi­crowave).
  4. Care­fully re­move cover.
  5. Mi­crowave un­cov­ered 20 min­utes or un­til most of wa­ter is ab­sorbed.
  6. Re­move from mi­crowave, cover and let sit un­til re­main­ing wa­ter is ab­sorbed.

How to cook sautéed zuc­chini on the stove top:

  1. Wash and slice 3 zuc­chini into 1/​4 inch slices.

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    Sautéeing zucchini over medium heat on a skillet. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Jacquin.
  2. Heat skil­let over stove top with 1 ta­ble­spoon of olive oil.
  3. Add the sliced zuc­chini, 1/​4 tea­spoon of salt, 1/​4 tea­spoon of pep­per and 1/​2 tea­spoon of minced gar­lic.
  4. Cook on medium heat 5 to 7 min­utes or un­til slightly crisp.
  5. Trans­fer zuc­chini to serv­ing dish and sprin­kle with parme­san cheese.

How to cook as­para­gus in the oven:

  1.  Pre­heat the oven to 425 de­grees Fahren­heit. Snap off the dry ends of the as­para­gus.
  2. Spread the as­para­gus in a sin­gle layer on a bak­ing sheet and driz­zle lightly with olive oil. Toss the as­para­gus to evenly dis­trib­ute oil.
  3. Sprin­kle with salt and pep­per.
  4. Bake for 15 to 20 min­utes on the top rack of the oven.

Ac­cord­ing to Pot­ter Hall res­i­dent, El­lie Siech, sopho­more, “cook­ing at Maryville while liv­ing on cam­pus is easy as long as you use your re­sources, such as the new lounges.”

Cook­ing nu­tri­tious meals does not have to be dif­fi­cult while liv­ing in a dorm or apart­ment. Any Maryville stu­dent can learn how to cook with min­i­mal ap­pli­ances by fol­low­ing these recipes.

For more in­for­ma­tion about the kitchen ameni­ties avail­able in Maryville’s hous­ing, click here. What is your fa­vorite way to cook while liv­ing on cam­pus? Com­ment be­low.

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