Winter is over (according to the calendar), and it’s time for Eastern Michigan University’s student body to start getting back into shape. While exercise is a necessary evil for any healthy body, a proper diet is of equal importance.
Not sure your diet regimen is up to snuff? Then you should sign up now for EMU Cooks!, a free 90 minute cooking class being held this Wednesday from 6:30-8 p.m. in Room 5 of Roosevelt Hall.
The class, headed by EMU student and registered dietician Heather Anderson, aims to do more than merely feed a man a fish for a day. Anderson wants to metaphorically teach students to catch fish, and then literally bake them instead of frying them.
With Anderson’s help, students will be able to comfortably redesign their diets without having to omit their favorite foods from their meal rotation.
“Students will be provided with instruction on how to prepare healthier versions of three popular meals,” she said. “Students will then have the opportunity to prepare grilled chicken and pepper pizza, lightened-up fettuccine Alfredo and chocolate chip, chickpea cookies.”
Some people may want to reread that last quote because it suggests that cookies and pizza can be part of a regular healthy person’s diet. The idea here is to encourage healthier dieting without turning your taste buds into martyrs for your new lifestyle.
“These three recipes were selected because they are popular foods eaten by college students: pizza, pasta and cookies,” Anderson said. “They have the potential to be made much healthier than their traditionally served versions, and the modifications are relatively simple. For example, the pizza will be made using a whole-grain crust, lean grilled chicken breast, low-fat cheeses and lots of veggies. We are substituting plain, non-fat Greek yogurt for heavy cream to make an Alfredo sauce, as well as using high fiber, whole wheat pasta. The cookies will get an extra fiber boost from the addition of chickpeas. Each recipe is significantly higher in dietary fiber, lower in total fat, saturated fat and lower in sodium.”
Both the minds and stomachs of attendees of the class will be satisfied, so arrive hungry. Though students will be cooking, you shouldn’t worry about needing a culinary arts degree because Anderson assured that the menu can be feasibly prepared by any amateur.
Besides benefiting your body, Anderson’s class is sure to induce a collective sigh of relief from the wallets of EMU students everywhere.
She understands eating healthy can sometimes be expensive, and that on a student’s priority list, eating healthy can easily take a backseat to paying for tuition and the cost of living.
Thankfully, Anderson’s concoctions round out to a very manageable $5 a serving. She suggests that the most cost-effective way for a student to feed themselves is by doing it at home from scratch.
“Limit restaurant meals and eating out—it’s much less expensive to prepare your own meals,” she said. “EMU Cooks! will show students that healthy and tasty meals can be prepared using a few basic ingredients.”
Since Anderson still wants people to attend, she didn’t give away all the tricks of the trade, but she alluded to some pretty surprising discussion points regarding misconceptions about food. One particular example that should stand out for any health conscience consumer is that students should proudly nestle both canned and frozen foods next to the fresh produce in their shopping carts.
She talked about canned foods (assuming that there aren’t a ton of added sugars and salts) being healthy and cheap alternatives to fresh produce and well worth your money. In addition, the nutritional density of frozen foods may actually outweigh the density of their fresh counterparts.
“Frozen vegetables are picked at their peak,” she said. “This means that they may be more nutritious than fresh produce, which often sits in transportation and then on store shelves for many days.”
Anderson also plans to discuss the need for organic foods in a student’s life. She shared that conventional produce has just as many vitamins and minerals as the far pricier organic variety and that a thorough washing under running water will remove all the pesticides from the conventional foods.
With hot button food issues on the table (as well as a hot meal), how can you afford not to attend this Wednesday?
