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Wellness

College Students Don’t Have to Hate the Kitchen

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Irvine chapter.

Having to cook food in college can be so tiring, especially if it’s not your favorite thing to do. Even though the internet has given us access to thousands of recipes, as college students, there is still the issue of taking out the ingredients, preparing the potions, actually cooking the meal, waiting for the food to be ready, and then having to clean after. All that could make it distressing. Whether you love to make food for yourself or not, I want to share these simple and easy food trends I came across on social media and absolutely loved.

Pasta 

Back when quarantine had first started, and everyone around the world was stuck at home with family, I had more time to try new and different recipes that would come out on my TikTok or Instagram feed. One of those was the Gigi Hadid pasta that people loved and posted about all over social media. I gave it a try and made it for my family and we all loved it. I am a huge pasta lover and like to try different creamy kinds of pasta, and this is just that! Not only is it a nice, rich consistency, but it also has a bit of spice to it that makes it more enjoyable and distinct to Alfredo pasta. Making this dish is also trouble-free because you do not have to use many different pans or prepare portions ahead of time which is the great thing about most kinds of pasta. If you are a pasta lover or craving something with a bit of spice, I would definitely give this pasta a try.

Quick Filling Snacks

As college students, sometimes we need fast and easy recipes to quickly make ourselves snacks during classes or before heading to work. I recently made two new recipes for my family and loved the simple process of making such a filling and yummy snack. The first recipe I got from an account called “Moribyan.” The videos she posts on all her social media platforms are the best! She posted about making an easy pizza-like snack, and I thought they looked so good so I gave them a try. To my surprise, they were so easy to make and pop in the oven for a couple of minutes, and when I served them to my family. If you are a pizza lover like me, I recommend making these simple yet filling snacks that only require a handful of ingredients, much of which most people already have sitting in their kitchen. Another quick snack that I have tried and loved was from “Nutrient Matters” on Instagram. The aspect I love most about food bloggers is their talent to make their dishes look insanely appetizing, which this account does. The snack she makes is a cheesy garlic butter bread that could compliment so many dishes but be eaten on its own as well.

Simple & Sweet Snacks 

Aside from cooking food, I also find baking enjoyable. However, a lot of the time, the recipes call for an overwhelming amount of ingredients that could discourage me from even attempting to bake something. Recently, I have found a few simple recipes that will satisfy my sweet tooth. To start, I am a big refresher gal and enjoy drinking pretty much any refresher, especially lemonade. When I tried this lemonade recipe and came to enjoy the making and taste of the drink, I wanted to share. This recipe I got from an account on Instagram called “bevsbybeverly”, where she makes beautiful drinks of all kinds, and when I came across the lemonade recipe, I had to try. This easy recipe only calls for a few ingredients, and the taste is unbelievably delicious and refreshing.

Overnight oats are the next recipe that I tried and loved. They are perfect for college students because you prepare them the night before, making it convenient for when you are heading out to class in a rush or want a snack in between classes.

My final recipe recommendation is probably one of the more surprising ones. I have recently been loving making peach crisp with an air fryer. The air fryer makes this recipe so incredibly fast to bake while also allowing you to make whatever portion size you want. I love this recipe so much and found it so easy to make whenever I have a sweet tooth, so I suggest giving it a try!

I have loved incorporating all of these easy food recipes within the meals that I make for myself and my family. The straightforwardness of these recipes helps make life easier in the kitchen and the food more enjoyable. If you are a college student struggling to cook in the kitchen and find it exhausting after a long day of classes, hopefully, this article motivates you to try any one of these recipes for yourself.

Cindy Gonzalez

UC Irvine '25

Cindy is a second year at the University of California Irvine pursuing a major in English and a minor in Literary Journalism. When she is not studying, she likes to watch 2000s tv shows, drink matcha, make yummy foods, get glammed up, explore OC, or watch the sunset with some good food.