Head Beagle wrote:
> Alright, this is sort of cooking, sort of dietary/nutrition, sort of a
> collection of other things, so I am putting it here and a couple other
> places to get a nice, wide ranging response.
>
> Allow me to explain my situation. I am a fifth year senior who is going
> to be living not in a dorm/not on a meal plan for the first time. As it
> turns out, I have no idea how to keep myself properly nourished. I
> REALLY REALLY want to avoid the ramen, pizza, and hot dogs menu route
> of many college students. So, to that end, I am collecting advice from
> cooks and other people who know a lot about food.
>
> Here is a bit about me so you can know what you are working with.
>
> 6 foot 4, 170 lbs.
> I play competitive club ultimate frisbee, so I engage in strenuous
> exercise 10-15 hours a week. I use a ton of energy, so it takes a lot
> of food to keep me going.
>
> 2 questions:
>
> #1
> what does a guy like me eat to keep my energy up and try to establish
> healthy eating habits for life?

Food? Basically eat a variety of foods, including lots of
carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables.

If you think you need to, check out a book or two on nutrition.
You can probably eat well on any number of diets as long as they are
reasonably balanced.

>From my personal preferences, potatoes are amazingly versatile. One
can nuke a potato in 4-7 minutes in the microwave or bake one for 45
minutes in the oven, make potato pancakes, scalloped potatoes, gnocci,
and the list goes on and on. Rice is also very nice and pasta is
always a good standby.


> #2
> How do I cook that?

If you can, watch someone do some cooking. It is a lot easier to learn
the techniques that way than by guess or from a book. That being said
there are good cook books and guides out there. As a handy reference
for North American cooking I would recommend the Joy of Cooking - this
however is not really an intro text.

It is probably worth while to invest in 1 or 2 good kitchen knives, a
cutting board and a few decent pots and pans, a strainer, steamer, a
cookie sheet & perhaps a wok. Don't go crazy but some basic tools will
make life a lot easier. You should also invest in some storage
containers (Tupperware or equivalent) for storing leftovers or things
that you want to prepare in advance. Saran wrap is good A blender or
food processor is not a necessity but it is handy.

Get some cook books to give yourself some ideas and experiment. I'd
recommend getting some from different cuisines, simple ones on North
American, Chinese, French, Italian. Indian, Arab are good ideas. I'm
sorry I don't have my examples to hand.

>From a purist's point of view I'd stay away from prepared foods, ie
frozen servings of foods or pre-stuffed chicken breasts, etc as they
tend to be expensive and you can usually make better yoursef although
pasta sauce in a jar is always handy for emgergencies.

One good idea if you are cooking for yourself is to plan on actually
sitting down and eating a meal rather than eating on the run. You will
enjoy the food more and it makes cooking a balanced diet more appealing
and easier to do.

John Kane
Kingston ON