Focusing on good nutrition at college

Protein is what’s missing from most college students’ diets

By: Pat Tanner

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   In a presentation earlier this week at the Princeton Fitness & Wellness Center, registered dietitian Sabina Beesley outlined the myriad impediments college students face when it comes to healthy eating. Among the reasons they tend to eat more food — and especially foods that are high in fat, sugar, salt and carbohydrates — are increased stress from academic (and, often, athletic) expectations; change in sleep patterns (sleep-deprived people eat more); increased alcohol consumption, and the availability of unlimited quantities of food 24/7, perhaps for the first time in their lives.
   For the group of 10 participants, among them college-age students and their parents, Ms. Beesley spread out a variety of healthier alternatives to the typical college diet of greasy pizza, oversized bagels and muffins, and fat-laden potato chips. She showed, for example, how a mere six potato chips are equal in calories to three cups of good-quality (i.e., no trans fats) microwave popcorn, such as Newman’s Own.
   "Protein is what’s missing from most college students’ diets," she reports. So she recommends adding canned chicken breast or canned salmon to that most emblematic of dorm foods, packaged ramen. (She also recommends cutting down on the salt content by adding only half the flavor packet.) Among her top snack picks are nuts and nut butters, Kashi granola bars, Kashi- and Barbara-brand cereals, and mini whole-wheat bagels.
   My own daughters report less than ideal eating habits from their undergraduate days.
   "I barely ate healthy," reports Elizabeth, who just graduated from Rice University. "When I managed to go to the market, my staples were Wheatsworth crackers, a fancy cheese, granola bars, and some fruit. Otherwise, we’d get huge party pizzas and just leave them on the floor and eat them all weekend." Her older sister, Alice, a William & Mary alum, reports, "I ate a lot of ramen and mac & cheese."
   On the other hand, Alice did discover that boxes of Near East couscous, which is 100 percent semolina pasta, cook up in only five minutes in the microwave. Couscous can be topped like any other pasta, or stuffed into tomatoes along with canned tuna. Alice recently discovered a product that may well become the college student’s best friend: Bacon Salt (www.baconsalt.com), a zero-calorie, vegetarian, kosher seasoning that its makers claim "makes everything taste like real bacon." (An all-natural version is in the offing.)
   My daughters did, on occasion, phone me asking for a family recipe or two, but for Amy Madden, the author of "Look, Dude, I Can Cook!" (Syren, $16.95), this was a frequent occurrence.
   "I have two kids in college," she writes, "who were constantly calling me for recipes. I think more and more kids are becoming health-conscious. They tire quickly of eating pre-packaged meals and takeout and soon start craving those home-cooked meals Mom used to make."
   Her book offers step-by-step directions for 100 recipes that forego convenience foods and focus on fresh ingredients. The book begins with "freshman" recipes that utilize simple cooking techniques (turkey burgers, pasta salad) and graduate to more ambitious fare (three-cheese lasagna with spinach, white chocolate cheesecake). Ms. Madden makes the assumption that college students will have access to a stovetop and oven, which is not often the case. But, I am told on good authority, even at schools where only a microwave is allowed in dorms, barbecue grills, George Forman grills, hotplates, toaster ovens and blenders are plentiful.
   Two other recent books on the subject include "The Dorm Room Diet" by Daphne Oz, a Princeton University student, and "College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends" by Megan & Jille Carle.
BLACK BEAN VEGGIE BURGERS
"Look, Dude, I Can Cook!" by Amy Madden
   1 15- to 16-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
   1/3 cup red onion, chopped
   1/3 red bell pepper, chopped
   1/3 cup canned corn, drained
   ½ cup dry breadcrumbs
   2 tablespoons plus 1/2- cup of bottled chunky salsa
   1 teaspoon ground cumin
   ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco)
   Salt and pepper
   Olive oil
   2 whole-wheat buns
   
In a medium bowl, mash ¾ of the beans. Add the onion, red bell pepper, corn, breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons salsa, cumin, and hot sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Mix together well and then add the rest of the black beans. Gently mix. Rub hands with a little olive oil and make two 4-inch diameter patties. Rub grill with oil and grill for about 3 minutes per side, or put a little oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes per side. Transfer burgers to bottom halves of buns, top each burger with ½ cup salsa, and add top of bun.
   Serves 2.
HEALTHY COOKIES
Sabina Beesley, MS, RD, Outpatient Dietician,
University Medical Center at Princeton
Dry ingredients:
   ½ cup whole-wheat flour
   ½ cup white flour
   ½ cup wheat germ
   1 teaspoon salt
   1 teaspoon baking soda
Wet ingredients:
   1 teaspoon vanilla
   ½ cup vegetable oil (not olive oil), plus for greasing a cookie sheet
   3 eggs
   1 cup peanut butter
   ¾ cup brown sugar
   1 cup chocolate chips
   ½ cup raisins
   ½ cup walnuts
   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. In a bowl, mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together. Add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients and stir until moistened. Add chocolate chips, raisins, and walnuts. Drop by spoonfuls onto the cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. (Alternatively, with wet hands, press cookie dough into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown, and cut into bars.
   Makes about 24 cookies.