Green Options » quick meals

Upgrading the College Diet: A Taste of Thai Quick Meal

Camille Rogers — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:23:17 +0000

I really, really don’t like Ramen noodles. To me, Ramen smells like paste. It looks like tapeworms. It tastes like seasoned gummy cardboard, and it leaves behind an aftertaste that’s ten times worse than what I experience while it’s actually in my mouth. I’ve tried to dress it up with different meats, vegetables and sauces, but that never seems to improve things. Also, I can never get full on just one package, so I always end up eating three, and then wind up feeling cramped and bloated, laying on my couch cursing Nissin, Maruchan, and any other corporation responsible for mass producing the inedible noodle bricks that I somehow just made edible.

If the world was kind, then Ramen would offer me some health benefits to compensate for its disgustingness. However, the product offers little nutritional value. To make matters worse, one package of chicken-flavored Ramen (about two servings) is loaded with sodium—71% of the recommended daily amount.

Ramen is terrible. TERRIBLE. I see it as a crime against the human body and the culinary arts. However, these crimes never seem to matter to me, and I eat Ramen time and time again, because it’s quick and easy. It’s also dirt cheap; to my knowledge, it’s the only meal in existence that I can literally buy on a dime.

Cookbook Review: Vegetarian Cooking for Mommies

Jennifer Lance — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:22:21 +0000

VEGETARIAN COOKING for Mommies is an aesthetically pleasing book, as you can tell by the cover, by Laura Theodore, the Jazzy Vegetarian. The focus of this vegetarian cookbook is making fruits and vegetables the “star” of your meals.

Whether a dedicated vegan or serving an occasional vegetarian meal, this book offers over 60 healthy and delicious alternatives to “store bought” fare.

There are so many reasons that women (and men) should be vegetarian or eat a mostly vegetarian diet (I admire those folks who practice animal husbandry, as I could never butcher an animal and eat it). From the environmental impact of cutting meat from your diet to the health benefits, VEGETARIAN COOKING for Mommies makes it easy to go veggie.

I love how the recipes in VEGETARIAN COOKING for Mommies are organized:

5 Minute Prep
Quick Prep
Advanced
Vegan
Dairy

Recession-Proofing Your Home is As Close as Your Kitchen

Gennefer Snowfield — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:35:34 +0000

According to James Poterba, Head of the National Bureau of Economic Research, we are officially in a recession, so it’s more critical than ever to start cutting expenses wherever possible.

One of the biggest areas in which you can reduce spending — especially in households with children – is right in your own kitchen. Here are some helpful tips for meal planning, food preparation, and grocery shopping that will reduce the strain on your wallet while offering some significant health benefits to boot.

Put on your Planning Cap

Planning your meals at least a week ahead will drastically reduce waste, and keep you from the trap of randomly tossing items into your grocery cart. Figure out what your menu will be and buy only those key items. And be sure to stock up on non-perishable goods that have longer a shelf life so that you’re armed with the right ingredients for each meal — dry and canned foods (rice, pasta, tomatoes) and powdered milk.