Homemade Granola

As spring term starts, students are starting to get back into the habit of a schedule and waking up early. Spending long hours on campus or heading to the library during one to two hour breaks can leave students feeling hungry. Rather than spending money at restaurants on campus, try making fun snacks before you head out the door in the morning, like granola.

Making granola is easier than it might sound and the taste of the finished product will be well worth it. Serious Eats shares their methods for making granola by providing a coconut granola recipe and savory granola, along with many more.

Making granola is very flexible because so many different ingredients can be mixed and matched. Dried fruit, nuts, chocolates and espresso beans make for tasty additions to any homemade granola. Recipes including these ingredients are available on The Prepared Pantry website.

For a slideshow of various granolas and more recipes, visit this "I Heart Granola" story from the Fayetteville Flyer.

Spring Break Snacks

As spring break approaches, many college students are planning their week long adventures by buying a plane ticket or filling their gas tanks for a road trip. One aspect of vacationing that is sometimes forgotten about is food. What will you eat while driving seven hours or are bored on the plane?

Instead of loading up on unhealthy snacks at the airport convenience store or the gas station store, consider packing some snacks that will be filling and not make your stomach hurt from too much sugar. Cooking Light has created a great video on how to make smart snacking decisions while on a road trip. They offer valuable suggestions about which foods are high in fiber, low in calories and full of nutrients to keep you going (and awake).

The Lodi News-Sentinel also suggests that healthy snacking will encourage our kids to take on good eating habits. The California based newspaper suggests that “perhaps we can forsake soda, chips, cookies, fruit chews and cupcakes for edamame, dried fruit and nuts, sliced veggies and yogurt/bean dips, homemade trail mix, assemble-your-own stuffed pitas and "cracker-wiches" with whole grain crackers, nut butter/cheese, banana/apple slices.” These are all great ways to eat healthy while trying to make it to the next meal.


While on vacation, sometimes it is easier to go to restaurants for every meal. To save money and make healthier decisions, try going out to eat for only one meal and making these simple yet delicious snacks as a “pre dinner.” Real Simple suggests snacks that are easy to make including parmesan pits crisps, cheese melts, cashew-strawberry crunch, dried pineapple and pistachios.

Fun snacks can make the car ride more enjoyable this spring break – and you will also be saving money and eating healthy. Happy Spring Break!

Pizza Made Two New Ways

Making a good crust can be one of the most daunting aspects of a good pizza. While most students probably call up Pizza Pipeline or Woodstocks when they crave pizza, there are also easy alternatives that are healthier and can be made at home without having to touch flour or a rolling pin.


The first pizza crust is simply made with pita bread. By choosing either a whole wheat or hearty pocket bread as the base of the pizza, the nutritional value is much greater and it is also really easy to top with your favorite cheese, meats and vegetables and pop under the broiler. For a more sophisticated pita pizza, try Cooking Cache’s recipe with shallots, broccoli, goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes.

According to an article in The Telegraph, puff pastry can be used “in a recipe in place of any other pastry or even pizza dough. A disc of puff pastry can turn leftover slow-cooked meat into a pie.” Puff pastry comes frozen at the grocery store and can be thawed, cut into four squares and topped with a layer of pesto or red sauce and your favorite pizza toppings. Generally thought of as dessert dough, puff pastry makes pizza more sophisticated and delicious.

Recently, I made a puff pastry pizza with a layer of pesto topped with gruyere cheese, sauted shallots and mushrooms with dill, grilled chicken and more cheese on top. Baking for only 25 minutes at 375 degrees, they came out of the oven bubbly and delicious. They are a simple, easy to eat recipe that can be made in so many different ways.


I know my roommates enjoyed these simple puff pastry pizzas, so next time you and your friends think about getting pizza delivered, stop and think if you have anything in the fridge that would make great pizza toppings on either pita bread or puff pastry.

Brussels Sprouts: Most Hated to Most Delicious

An important component to every college student’s diet that is often neglected is vegetables. How to incorporate them into meals, how to make them taste good or when to find time to cook or chop them are all common reasons why the lack of greens can be a problem. Eating vegetables can become easier if you are willing to branch out and try new methods of cooking classics like Brussels sprouts.

Most people think of those overcooked, mushy and overall unflavorful side dishes that their mom used to make them eat as a child at dinner. Recently, Brussels sprouts have become something much more than this, which make them tastier and more appealing to everyone. According to World’s Healthiest Foods, a balanced diet should “include cruciferous vegetables 2-3 times per week, and make the serving size at least 1-1/2 cups.” Common cruciferous vegetables include Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage and kale.

Why are Brussels sprouts beneficial to your health? According to World’s Healthiest foods, there are a number of reasons, including: cholesterol lowering benefits, DNA protection, cancer protection and a higher level of glucosinolate than most other cruciferous vegetables.


An easy and delicious way to cook Brussels sprouts is by simply sautéing them in a pan with a little olive oil and salt and pepper. An even easier method, but takes longer, is roasting the vegetable after halving or quartering (make sure to also remove the outer leaves). If you are looking for a way to spice up these classic cooking methods, add some lemon and almonds for a tasty side dish alongside your favorite grain or protein.

My favorite use of this healthful vegetable is Brussels sprouts gratin. With just a little heavy cream, white cheddar and bread crumbs, this dish is both tasty and easy to make. If you are skeptical about whether or not you will like Brussels sprouts, I would try this recipe first because it is sure to get you hooked.

Finding time to incorporate vegetables into your diet may be challenging, but after you have tried these Brussels sprouts recipes, it will be well worth it.

Valentine's Day to Remember

A day that brings a lot of stress and anxiety to most men and women can now be seen as a fun day to relax, make some fun treats and be with friends. Whether you are planning to spend the day with that special someone or just have a sweet tooth and can’t resist a heart shaped goodie, Valentine’s Day is sure to put a smile on your face this year.



If you plan on hosting a Valentine’s Day party or baking some treats to give to all of your friends, the 14th will definitely be a day of hearts. If you are a big DIY kind of person, try these delicious recipes from Martha Stewart. If you like to keep things simple, try the versatile sugar cookie dough recipe from Food Network that can be decorated and made five different ways.

Not wanting to spend the afternoon in the kitchen? You might not have as much fun, but there are great treats out there for purchasing. Real Simple made a list of 5 Sweet Gift Idea’s for Valentine’s Day, including everything from Prince Charming cookies to Heart S’Mores.

Even though Valentine’s Day is still 5 days away, I decided to utilize my new heart shaped cookie cutter and sprinkles to create some cookies to give to my friends. Using basic cookie dough from the store, I added flare to these cookies by making my own frosting and decorating them with multi colored, heart shaped sprinkles. Want the secret to a delicious frosting? All you need is: ¼ stick butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, splash of vanilla extract, pinch of salt and milk to get the consistency you desire. This will make any cookie taste delicious, even if you forgot and leave them in the oven for too long. Here is how mine turned out:

Fun and Healthy Snacks

Almost everyone is guilty of the occasional snacking indulgence. Whether it means coming home and raiding the kitchen for the cookies, crackers and chips or not being able to say no to that tempting smell of Carl’s Jr. in the MU, snacking is often times an unhealthy habit that is unavoidable for most college students.




To improve snacking habits, Huffington post has made a list of 30 DIY Ideas 100 Calories or Less. These healthy snack ideas, including deviled eggs and chocolate dipped bananas, are easy to make and will definitely make it so the next meal of the day doesn’t seem like the last supper. Most of the snack ideas provided are affordable and can be made ahead of time or in a couple of minutes, providing snackers with relief from hunger pains.

For college students who are on campus a lot or who rely on dining plans, there are also healthy options for eating healthy snacks at the dining halls and cafes throughout campus. Dining halls throughout campus are offering more vegetarian options and providing more options for students with specific diets. Kelly Engineering’s e-cafe offers sandwiches, salads and seasonal daily selections of soup. All can be made on whole wheat or nine grain bread and sides of whole fruit are available.

Another dining area on campus, Arnold Bistro, which was recently remodeled, includes not only a physical changes, but also included an enhanced menu while also continuing to offer healthful items, like whole wheat pasta and turkey burgers. The daily special menus are available online and provide students with options like vegan corn and tofu casserole to Moroccan grilled salmon. Having healthy options on campus is vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. With the newest improvements at UHDS, students are sure to find healthy options that meet the needs of their specific diet.

Becoming aware of what is available on campus or what you can make with only a couple minutes can make snacking not only healthier, but also more fun! Next time you feel a snack attack coming on, try one of these ideas from Real Simple while improving your lifestyle!

To learn more about specific places on campus and what to order there, here is a link to a story I wrote in The Daily Barometer on this topic!

Barley: the new rice?

Generally, when people think of grains, they think of bread, pasta and rice. Or the images that fill the bottom part of the food pyramid. It’s time to change those traditional ideas because barley, quinoa and millet are starting to pop up on magazine pages and dinner tables everywhere, a refreshing flavor that offers endless possibilities.

Although barley may not be anything new, it has been recently pushed due to its health factor and variety of recipes that can be made with this unlikely grain. Not only can barley be made as a side dish to go along with a roasted chicken, but it is also a dominant ingredient in vegetarian meals. In a recent article from the Detroit News, eight grains are featured and various recipes that can be made with them are listed following the article.

So, what is barley? And how do you cook it? According to World’s Healthiest Foods Website, barley is “a wonderfully versatile cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor and an appealing chewy, pasta-like consistency. Its appearance resembles wheat berries, although it is slightly lighter in color.” Cooking barley may take slightly longer than rice, but the wait is well worth it. eHow will teach you the best way to cook barley, a simple process that takes only 40 minutes. Like the article mentions, I recommend cooking it with vegetable or chicken broth to heighten the flavor.

Inspired to make barley for dinner now? Here are a couple easy barley recipes: rice and barley salad and Mediterranean barley vegetable stew(pictured below).



Next time you go to the grocery store and grab for Rice-A-Roni or a box of Barilla noodles, you may want to consider that less expensive bag of barley just a couple feet down the isle.