EAT RIGHT, SPEND RIGHT

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5 Simple Ways for College Students to Eat Right, Spend Right

College is viewed by many adults to be the golden years of life. It’s the time when young people get to live on their own for the first time, learn new things, and discover who they are. But it’s not without challenge—in a world when higher education costs are rocketing and jobs are hard to find, a growing problem among college students is finding a way to eat well without breaking the bank. It can be a tough balance to strike, but here are a few tips from students and recent graduates that can help you keep your stomach and your wallet in happy places.

1. Cook at home.

Sure, you can make a hundred excuses not to cook at home—you’re too busy with classes, you can’t be trusted around knives, you haven’t gone grocery shopping in ages—but chances are you can find a way. If it means skipping that miles-long Starbucks line to get a head start on a good dinner instead, then it’s probably worth it. 

Of course, not all students have full kitchens, but if you do, then make use of it. Cooking can seem daunting at first, but simple recipes can make even the most beginner cooks seem like a pro. And even with more complicated recipes, chances are if you get all the ingredients into your dish, it’ll taste just fine. Local groceries and farmer’s markets are bound to have ingredients a tad cheaper than Whole Foods, too, so you don’t have to empty your wallet to cook on your own.

2. Snack healthy.

Not everything you eat has to be a perfectly balanced meal. In fact, many college students prefer to eat several smaller snacks a day instead of two or three bigger meals. But when you do, make sure you’re not always reaching for that bag of Doritos. While a little indulgence is okay once in a while, making a habit out of it can lead to an unhealthy, downright unfortunate lifestyle. 

Popcorn, fruits and veggies, and hummus are just a few suggestions on a long list of foods that will keep you fueled for your busy days without filling up your calorie count. Plus, you can usually stock up on these snacks in bulk, which ends up being cheaper than buying something small from the Duane Reade down the street every time you get the munchies.

3. Use your meal plan.

Once again, not every student has one of these. But if you do, take advantage of it! Not all dining halls have the healthiest options, but it beats going to McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts for ten meals in your week. Many students find they have a lot of prepaid meals left over at the end of a semester, so if you aren’t one of the lucky ones, find a buddy who can treat you! The end of the semester is the best time to make friends for everyone involved.

4. Don’t skimp on breakfast.

Even though many students stick to just two meals a day, there’s a reason people say breakfast is the most important one. Studies show that having food in the morning can help your body regulate its food distribution better, giving it more nutrients to process and something to tide it over until you get through your morning. Breakfast can even help you lose body fat!

It does take a while to get used to eating breakfast, if it’s not normal for you. Many people find that eating earlier than they’re used to makes them nauseous, or unable to process the food. But if you start with something small, like a granola bar, you’re already improving your health and mental stamina by miles. And buying cereal, bread, or bagels in larger quantities can cut down the cost of that extra meal, while also helping you snack less throughout the day.

5. Keep the balance.

At the end of the day, everyone’s dietary and budgeting needs are different. Keep an eye on the kind of food you eat, how much of it you’re eating, and how much you spend on it. With these three main factors in mind, you should be able to make informed decisions on your food. Don’t forget—a little cheating here and there is okay, as long as you keep yourself in check! You can never avoid unhealthy things completely, so maintaining a proper balance is the most important part, for your stomach and your wallet.

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Science and Food: J. Kenji López-Alt’s “The Food Lab”

As a food enthusiast, writer, and science geek all rolled up into one, I was pretty excited when I first discovered The Food Lab. It’s a column on Serious Eats, a website that’s all about taking your food more seriously, and it concentrates on tackling food from a scientific perspective. The mind behind the column is J. Kenji López-Alt, another geek type who spends anywhere from hours to weeks perfecting every recipe he creates.

Now, “The Food Lab” has turned into a book of the same name, now available in bookstores and online. Last Saturday, López-Alt made a stop at Food 52′s Holiday Market in Union Square to meet with fans and sign copies of his book. I got a chance to chat with him about what inspired his scientific, delicious journey, as well his plans for where he’s going next.

“Actually, the book was originally over 1600 pages,” said López-Alt, when I asked him about the book’s significant heft. It got cut down to 958, but everything inside is meticulously woven together to form an informative, interesting cookbook.

While many recipes don’t go into the details behind the processes of cooking, and why things are done a certain way, this book certainly goes the extra mile. There are diagrams and photos detailing how minor differences in your recipe, from the amount of an ingredient to the cooking time, can change how the food comes out.

Most excitingly, López-Alt revealed to me that this isn’t the end of a printed “The Food Lab” saga. There are already plans for future cookbooks with different focus, though this one tackles a fair range of different recipes. As a vegetarian, I’m most excited by the anticipated volume that will focus specifically on vegetables. López-Alt estimates that it will be released sometime in 2019, so you can all put it on your future Christmas lists now!

Or if you’re interested in something a little more basic and immediate, you can order “The Food Lab” in its first installment today. Plus, you can check out the book’s website for more information, a look inside, and future signing events, if you’re itching to get your own little meet-and-greet with the brains behind the book.

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Root to Stalk Cooking: Easier Than You Think

In theory, cooking is fun. You start with a bunch of ingredients, you use fire and knives, and you end up with a delicious reward for your hard work. It’s like science you can eat. But just like science, cooking takes effort. Lazy cooks prefer to microwave leftovers for four days in a row rather than make something new, because cooking tests your time, money, and patience for touching wet food when washing dishes.

I was one of these lazy cooks, until I found Tara Duggan’s book “Root to Stalk Cooking: The Art of Using the Whole Vegetable.” Reading and cooking from it showed me how easy it can be to eat healthy while also reducing your environmental footprint.

“Root to Stalk Cooking” is all about using every single part of the vegetables you buy, rather than throwing any of them out. “My rule is if they sell it to you at the farmer’s market, then you can eat it,” said Duggan in an interview. Her book presents a great approach to sustainability that leads to tasty results.

Most recently, I cooked the “Creamy Asparagus and Celery Heart Soup With Tarragon.” Scavenging for ingredients at both a farmer’s market and a nearby Whole Foods was a trial, especially searching for some out-of-season ingredients, but the recipe itself was simple. All the ingredients got chopped up, heated on the stove, and then puréed in the blender. The soup was delicious, and it made plenty for myself and my friend who came over for dinner that night, with leftovers to get me through a cold week.

Fellow cooking novices could probably use more information than Duggan provides on what exactly a “small” onion is, and other subjective measurements she uses throughout the book. But with a little practice, it becomes easy to estimate. I even successfully substituted a leek for a spring onion in the asparagus soup, since I couldn’t find the right ingredient anywhere.

The recipes I’ve cooked out of “Root to Stalk” have all been really tasty, but I probably won’t try many more. Though the book is focused on vegetables, most of the recipes contain meat, which means as a vegetarian I can’t try them.

Duggan’s book is best for an experienced, adventurous, omnivorous cook – one who knows what they’re doing, doesn’t mind a challenge, and isn’t scared of trying new things. The beautiful design and photography enhance the recipes, organized by types of vegetables in the front and by course in the appendix. And though I might not use these specific recipes, the technique of using less-loved parts of vegetables is one I’ll keep in mind when I cook in the future.

Check out the video of my experience making Tara Duggan’s “Creamy Asparagus Soup” below!

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Root To Stalk

At age 44, Tara Duggan has published four cookbooks, so she knows best how difficult the process can be. But if you have a strong idea and an audience to receive it, it can be an instant success.

Duggan’s most recent release, “Root To Stalk Cooking,” is full of recipes based on the idea that you can use every single part of the vegetables you eat, rather than contributing to food waste. Utilizing everything from carrot-tops to cooking scraps, the recipes within “Root to Stalk Cooking” are an easy way to cut down on how much food you throw away.

As a San Francisco resident, Duggan has always followed the law of recycling and composting all her waste. Her younger brother is an organic farmer, so she’s familiar with the food-growing process. But writing an article for the San Francisco Chronicle, where she works as a food journalist, opened her eyes to how much waste it was still possible to cut out. “There were a few restaurants around that were starting to use parts of vegetables that are more difficult to use,” she explained. “I started to research more into it and I found so many interesting ways to use unconventional ingredients.”

After pitching the idea for the book, it was a long road of finding recipes, coming up with ideas, and putting together the flow of the book. Duggan researched online and through local restaurants to find good ingredients and which parts of a vegetable are actually edible. She even reached out to Facebook friends to help her taste-test the recipes. “I had to make sure this wasn’t too out there,” she said. “It had to be something that people would actually do, not too hard or too weird for ordinary people to try.”

“Root To Stalk Cooking” might seem too outlandish at first, but the recipes are quite accessible. The ingredients for any given recipe can be found at any farmer’s market or grocery for about $10, and the simple instructions and tasty products will quickly convince anyone that eliminating food waste and using the whole vegetable is the way to go. The book is organized into sections based on the type of vegetable used, but also features an appendix listing recipes by the type (appetizers, entrees, beverages, and desserts).

Living with her children has helped Duggan keep things in perspective. She has two daughters, ages 9 and 13, and they aren’t into all her experimental recipes. “They like pasta, and they pick out the weird green things I try to put in there,” Duggan explained. “I save my interesting cooking for the weekends, when I like to cook with friends. I cook almost every day, but usually it’s normal food like hot dogs and steamed broccoli.”

For anyone a little more daring than Duggan’s daughters, though, the recipes in “Root To Stalk Cooking” are quite accessible. The ingredients for any given recipe can be found at any farmer’s market or grocery for about $10, and the simple instructions and tasty products will quickly convince anyone that eliminating food waste and using the whole vegetable is the way to go. The book is organized into sections based on the type of vegetable used, but also features an appendix listing recipes by the type (appetizers, entrees, beverages, and desserts).

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The Fales Library

New York University’s Fales Library and Special Collections is home to about 560,000 books, manuscripts, and even two cuneiform tablets. Students must request special access to research in the stacks, located on the third floor of NYU’s Bobst library. Many of the volumes are old and rare, and everyone’s so careful with them that you can’t even bring a pen with you, lest ink bleed onto the pages.

The Marion Nestle Food Collection is just one small part of the Fales Library, acquired by NYU in 2001 from the private collection of Cecily Brownstone. She was an Associated Press food journalist and friends with James Beard, one of the most famous cookbook authors of the 20th century.

Everything from cookbooks to nutritional guides finds its home in these stacks. The 12,000-odd volumes from Brownstone are annotated in her own hand, many of them also inscribed by their respective authors. The rest of the books are just as interesting. “At first I thought these stacks weren’t all that different from other academic libraries, but as I learned more I started to appreciate how unique it was,” said Kendall Levison, one student who visited the collection.

Not least among these robust personalities is the director of the Fales Library, Marvin Taylor. He’s helped grow the collection into what it is today – one of the largest food collections in America. With contributions from Conde Nast, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Café des Artistes, it now spans over 60,000 volumes.

Taylor is filled with interesting tidbits of trivia about the history of the food collection, as well as the food scene here in New York City. He describes Cecily Brownstone as a “piece of work,” and refers to the surprising number among the cooking community of the 20th century who were queer as the “gay cooking mafia.”

What really stands out is Taylor’s passion for all this knowledge. “I wasn’t really excited about the history behind cookbooks before Marvin started talking about them,” said Sydney Maynard, another visiting student to the collection.

And he clearly knows what he’s talking about: He can name the title of Irma Rombauer’s biography, “Stand Facing the Stove,” taken from a common line in her book “The Joy of Cooking.” “It seems silly, but this book was first published during the Great Depression,” explained Taylor. “Middle-class housewives were cooking their own food for the first time, so even the simplest tasks had to be explained.”

“It was cool to learn the history of cookbooks and the sociological insight they give,” said Elana Rubin, another student. Books always say a lot about the people reading them, after all.

All of this flavorful history helps spice up the initially boring-seeming stacks until there seems to be magic amongst the towering shelves. With books of all shapes, sizes, and colors, the smell of old paper perfuming the air, and Marvin Taylor as your guide, the food collection is an enlightening experience that teaches you how food has divided and brought together people of different times, places, and societies.

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Cooking

I don’t cook often when the semester is in full swing. Between classes, homework, and two internships, setting aside enough time to cook is tough. Dollar-a-slice pizza and delivery services like Seamless tend to call my name on stressful weeknights. But recipes from a cookbook as interesting as Tara Duggan’s “Roots to Stalk” are worth the time and money they take to cook. An innovative book about using every part of your food while minimizing waste, “Roots to Stalk” presents a variety of recipes for any course of a meal, all healthy as evidenced by the vegetables included as principle ingredients.

As a lover of Mexican cuisine, I decided to try out the chilaquiles with cilantro salsa and queso fresco. Shopping for ingredients at Union Square’s Greenmarket was a great way to spend a Saturday morning -- it took about an hour and cost less than $20, and got me out into the fresh air as a bonus. Though I was concerned about finding the rarer ingredients on my list, namely tomatillos and queso fresco, I was luckily able to find everything I needed.

The cilantro salsa is made completely with a blender: Tomatillo, onion, garlic, jalapeno, and salt join the principal ingredient of cilantro to create a fresh, unconventional taste that is surprising yet familiar. The chilaquiles themselves are made by frying tortillas, then adding the salsa in and sprinkling with queso fresco.

The final product is refreshing, pleasantly spiced, and made for a satisfying dinner for my roommate and myself, with plenty of leftovers to stick in the fridge. The toasty tortillas, crisp salsa, and cool queso fresco create a satisfying contrast of flavors and textures, making this recipe an undeniable success.

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Hard Times

The Tenement Museum in downtown Manhattan is a refreshing way to explore the history of New York City. Though it’s entirely focused on the address of 97 Orchard Street, the story of that one tenement building applies broadly to the struggle of working class immigrants all across the Lower East Side through the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Tenement Museum itself is located at 103 Orchard Street, where all its tours meet and where its gift shop and ticket-vending office are. Some tours explore the surrounding neighborhood, while others explore the preserved tenement building owned by the museum down the street.

Layers of history are visible within the walls of 97 Orchard Street, in an unexpectedly literal sense. From the pressed metal ceilings on the ground floor to the 20 layers of wallpaper on the parlor walls upstairs, the building is a well-preserved testament to the thousands of people who passed through its walls.

The “Hard Times” tour, which runs every half hour when the museum is open, is a fascinating look into what it was like to live as an immigrant in the late 1800s, told in the stories of two families who lived in 97 Orchard Street, one a German Jewish family and the other a southern Italian family.

The tour lasts about an hour, though the one I was on ran a little longer because of questions from tour members. With supplementing census records and photographs, the tour guide elegantly brings to life the tales of two different families who lived their similar lives in the same space.

Both of their stories are incredibly moving – though they lived in a completely different city than the one we know today, the problems they faced are remarkably similar to ours. As a child of immigrants, I related strongly to the stories of ordinary families struggling to make ends meet while also adjusting to life in a new country. And more broadly, as a Manhattan resident, I felt the pain of both of those families as they dealt with the unfairness of rent hikes, the harsh whims of the job market, and the difficulties of day-to-day life on the crowded streets, much like my peers and I do.

“Hard Times” is one of fourteen tours and events led by the Tenement Museum, and all of them seem just as interesting as the one I was on. Though most of the museum guests were quite a bit older than me when I visited, I know the stories told on these tours will appeal to an audience of any age. Above the specific circumstances of these immigrant families, the broader struggle of trying to make the best you can of your circumstances is at the core of the human condition, making this tour both informative and moving.

The Tenement Museum 103 Orchard Street New York, NY 10002 Monday-Wednesday: 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Thursday: 10 a.m. - 8:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday: 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Hard Times: Runs every half-hour during open hours. Tickets sell out quickly; purchasing online in advance is recommended.

Note: No photography is allowed inside 97 Orchard Street. Photos may be taken outside or in the gift shop at 103 Orchard Street.

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Mamoun’s Falafel Review

Anyone who walks past Mamoun’s Falafel Restaurant on MacDougal St. just south of Washington Square Park will surely be surprised by the sight. The line almost always extends outside the door, but it moves impressively fast, so you'll only be waiting for about ten minutes before you order. Only another five or ten minutes and you’ve got your food – and it is worth the wait.

Perfect for sudden falafel cravings that strike in the middle of the day, the menu at Mamoun’s is simple but satisfying. You can order any of four vegetarian and four non-vegetarian main items in a pita pocket, called a “sandwich,” or on a platter with the pita and accompanying vegetables on the side. For more than one item in a sandwich or on a plate, you can order the vegetarian or meat combos. Sandwiches range from $3 to $8, and plates (big enough to fill you up with plenty left over) cost between $6 and $12. The menu also includes seven sides and three desserts, $2 to $3 each.

Most customers come to Mamoun’s for the titular falafel, which is richly flavored and evenly spiced. Accented with the creamy hummus or the extremely spicy, tomato-based hot sauce – which you can also buy by the bottle – it still sums to less than the cost of your typical Starbucks drink. For a side dish, the stuffed grape leaves have a uniquely memorable flavor; for something sweet, you can’t go wrong with the baklava, a flaky pastry layered with chopped nuts, syrup, and spices.

Your order comes packaged ready to carry out, because that’s what most people do. There are only four stools inside the restaurant, usually occupied by whoever got there early enough to table some of the narrow counter space. Outside there are a couple of benches and standing tables, but those are often taken too.

The restaurant at 119 MacDougal St. is the original location: It first opened in 1971. You can feel the history of the place as soon as you step inside, from the traditional Middle Eastern music blaring to the wood-paneled walls. There’s a framed tapestry up on one wall, catching the dim lighting of the room. Up by the cashier, there’s a glass case plastered with hundreds of promotional stickers, evidence of all the East Village style that’s passed through this place in the decades since it’s opened.

Today, you can get your Mamoun’s fix at five other locations: There’s another in New York City on St. Marks Pl., another three locations in New Jersey, and one more in Connecticut.

Since the ‘70s, Mamoun’s has been a trendsetter, starting up the tradition of falafel and the other items on the menu being sold everywhere from street carts to spacious restaurants around the city. With about 230,000 people of Arab or Middle Eastern descent living in the NYC area, the cuisine’s popularity is not a surprise.

But Mamoun’s is still one of the best restaurants of its kind, according to over 1000 Yelpers, who rate it four-and-a-half stars. Mamoun’s has also been reviewed by many publications, including the New York Press and the Village Voice, and was even featured as part of “1000 Places To See Before You Die.”

Mamoun’s is the perfect way to eat filling, tasty, healthy food without spending too much. If you bring the change at the bottom of your wallet in here, you’ll leave happy with how you spent it.

Mamoun’s Falafel Locations & Hours

119 MacDougal St. New York, NY 10012 Monday-Sunday: 11a.m.-5a.m.

22 St. Marks Pl. New York, NY 10003 Sunday-Wednesday: 11a.m.-4a.m. Thursday-Saturday: 11a.m.-5a.m.

502 Washington St. Hoboken, NJ 07030 Monday-Wednesday: 10a.m.-2a.m. Thursday-Saturday: 10a.m.-5a.m. Sunday: 10a.m.-1a.m.

58 Easton Ave. New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Monday-Wednesday: 11a.m.-2a.m. Thursday: 11a.m.-3a.m. Friday-Saturday: 11a.m.-4a.m. Sunday: 11a.m.-1a.m.

20 Witherspoon St. Princeton, NJ 08542 Monday-Saturday: 10:30a.m.-10p.m. Sunday: 10:30a.m.-8p.m.

85 Howe St. New Haven, CT 06511 Monday-Sunday: 11a.m.-3a.m.

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Hemp Milk

Hemp milk is one of the newest dairy milk alternatives carried alongside soy, rice, and almond. Non-dairy milks offer obvious benefits to those with lactose intolerance or other dietary restrictions, but hemp milk’s benefits make it a viable option even for people without dietary restrictions.

Hemp has become a health trend in the last five years or so, both the seeds and byproducts like milk, tofu, and yogurt. Many vendors of hemp call it a “super-food,” claiming it has proteins and vitamins without unhealthy sugars or fats.

Compared to cow’s milk, hemp milk is darker, more sour, and grainy. Like other dairy alternatives, it comes in different flavors, sweetened and unsweetened. But ounce for ounce, it has more calcium than cow’s milk: 460mg per cup, as opposed to 300mg in cow’s milk and 80mg in soy, according to Alive, a Canadian health magazine. It also has just three grams of fat per cup and no cholesterol, against eight grams of fat and 35mg of cholesterol in cow’s milk.

But hemp milk does have more sugar and less protein than other milks, even unsweetened: 15 grams of sugar and four grams of protein per cup, compared to 12 grams of sugar and eight grams of protein for cow’s milk, and six grams of sugar and seven grams of protein for soy.

Drinking hemp milk instead of dairy milk can benefit more than just your health, though. The use of any plant-based milk alternatives is strongly correlated with a lowering of water and energy consumption, according to the International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences. After all, dairy cows use up about 460 trillion liters of water a year, worldwide. 

Unlike soybeans or almonds, which are grown in the United States, hemp is imported because of legal issues of growing cannabis in America. But even including importing costs, hemp is hardy, easy to harvest, and quick to process into milk, so hemp milk is still made more efficiently than cow’s milk, according to Lauren Stansbury of the Hemp Industries Association. And anyone worried about getting too much kick in their morning coffee can rest assured that hemp milk contains less than 0.3% THC, the substance in cannabis that gets you high.

All in all, hemp milk is a healthy choice for one’s personal health and for the world. Reaching shelves in health food stores and groceries alike, hemp milk is an increasingly popular choice among both health-conscious and environmentally-conscious consumers.

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Timescapes

Cushioned on Museum Mile right on the edge of Central Park, the Museum of the City of New York is quite a sight. From the moment you see it, you can tell it holds promise, from the sleek-looking exterior to the brilliant white, black and gold that adorn the inside. With several different exhibits, seating areas, a cafe, and a gift shop, the museum is a proud credit to New York City.

Perhaps its crowning jewel is the Timescapes exhibit currently playing every half hour during the museum’s open hours. True to the museum’s name, Timescapes is a brilliantly executed video presentation about the history of the city. From its humble beginnings when Dutch settlers bought the land from Lenape natives, through its many twists and turns of prosperity, failure, and change alike, New York City is brought to life on three screens during the 22 minutes of Timescapes.

Narrated by Stanley Tucci and featuring quotes, maps, photos, and graphics, Timescapes presents this city’s history briefly and skillfully. The presentation integrates information across its three screens in a way that is never too overwhelming yet never quite simple either: It’s sure to inform, entertain, and maybe even move you to tears.