As a college student, apart from classes, one of the most stressful things I have to deal with is cooking. Many times I tend to just eat snacks or small meals since I don’t really know how to cook and am scared of making myself sick if I dislike what I make. Recently, though, I have been getting more into it just because I hate that I have been spending so much money. I would prefer to make my own food since many times it is healthier and less expensive. Here are some of my favorite things to make which I actually enjoy eating and I have not managed to mess up.
- Chow mein
This is a special recipe that my mom has always made since I was little. Recently I was craving it but knew I couldn’t go home and ask her to make me some since she’s pretty far from where I live. I called her up and asked her to give me the recipe. It took about half an hour to make without counting the cookie and defrosting the chicken. It contained veggies and chicken and soy sauce which gave it its final touch. In the end I ate it with some tostadas and it tasted exactly like the one my mom would make back home, but somehow I still missed her making it.
- Taquitos
This is something I have always eaten, but recently I have begun to air fry my taquitos since they take less time.. In a sense, I feel like this is much healthier than going out to eat since it has less oil and additives. Additionally I tend to make a small lettuce salad as well as tomato sauce which is where I end up grabbing some lettuce and then pouring some sauce on top of cotija cheese. I end up eating my taquitos with this and many times I tend to make more of this than taquitos since I like it that much.
- Waffles
I have a waffle maker so many times I make cinnamon waffles or out of chocolate chips. Of course, this isn’t the healthiest thing I can make since it has so much sugar, but it allows me to eat something delicious for breakfast. Usually what I end up doing is adding fruit to it or drinking it with milk so it balances out.
- Guac with Pico de Gallo
Although this may seem like more of a snack, my parents would often make it as food with tortillas when I was a kid. For this, I tend to just warm up my tortillas on a pan while making the guac with avocados from my parents’ trees. In this sense, it is healthier since I know what my parents put to make their avocado tree grow. I then also tend to make pico de gallo or buy it sometimes from Vallarta and just eat it with my guac.
These are my go-to meals now that I am in college and despite initially hating having to cook, it is not as bad anymore and actually helps me relax sometimes. By cooking I am able to be by myself and just do things the way I like, plus in the end, eating food that’s delicious.