University of Iowa students learn tactics for a healthier lifestyle.
By Travis Coltrain
Students filled a room in the Campus Recreation & Wellness Center on Monday with the hopes of gaining new cooking skills and nutrition knowledge.
The students participated in the University of Iowa’s Student Health and Wellness’s free cooking demonstration, which taught basic cooking skills as well as guides to a few more advanced dishes.
The goal was to show students that it is not only possible to cook while living in a dorm, but to eat healthily as well, said Student Health dietitian JoAnn Miller.
“It can teach them how to make quick, healthy, and affordable meals while in the convenience of their own dorm room or apartment without a lot of equipment,” said Trisha Welter, the Student Health senior behavioral health consultant.
The demonstration had numerous cooks make different dishes. Each of them took allergies into account and gave alternatives if they were using common allergy foods such as nuts. Miller stressed that eating nutritious yet delicious food was a main goal.
Cooks made sure to noted the number of calories each dish had and the proper serving size one should use. After that, they allowed viewers to try what had just been made. Miller said she wanted students to see that healthy food can be quite delicious, too.
“We want students to know they can have more than just ramen,” she said. “We stress the importance of fruits and vegetables. We want them to know different ways to incorporate them.”
Almost every meal made included a fruit or vegetable, showing students how many options they had. Many of the meals made were heated using a microwave to show students that they didn’t need a bunch of equipment in order to successfully cook in their dorm.
“I’d say a microwave is a basic necessity if you wanted to cook in a dorm,” Miller said.
Welter, Miller, and other officials at the cooking demonstration stressed the importance of meeting the recommended five fruits and vegetables a day.
“We know students here at Iowa often don’t meet the recommendations,” Welter said. “Only about 3 percent of students meet that recommendation, so we want to do something that a lot of students could benefit from.”
However, Miller stressed they wanted students to take in the fact it is possible to eat healthy homemade food in the dorms on the budget of a college student.
“Some basic food would be some fresh or canned fruits and vegetables; basic things like oatmeal and peanut butter,” she said.
Although it might seem hard to get healthy food on the budget of a college student, it is possible thanks to help the UI offers.
The UI’s new food pantry, located in 209 IMU, offers free food to UI faculty and staff members and students.
“We’re giving quality food out to those who cannot afford it; we try to offer as many nutritious things as we can,” said pantry co-director Sarah Ingwersen.
“We try to hold a cooking demonstration once a semester,” Miller said. “We want them to know there are options and ways to make things healthier.”