|
Friday, 20 June, 2008 1:17 PM
The Surprising
New Trend in Healthy and Productive College Students
Graphic
courtesy of www.irishhealth.com
Lafayette,
LA – The newest generation of college students will
soon be packing their bags and heading off to school. For many of
these millions of teenagers it will be the first time in their lives
that they will be missing one vital element: mom's healthy home
cooking!
Teens depend
so strongly on their families to educate them as to what constitutes
a healthy meal that when Mom and Dad are absent, they slip into
a fast food, instant gratification lifestyle. College can be a pressure
cooker of stress and new students who lack proper nutrition risk
having a disadvantage at a time in their life vital to their success.
How can we ensure that our future generation will turn down the
burritos, pizza and wings in favor of healthy alternatives that
they have created by themselves, for themselves?
Neal Bertrand,
author of the cookbook “Rice Cooker Meals: Fast Home Cooking
For Busy People” reveals that a surprising new trend in food
preparation is the use of the common rice cooker, a device that
many have overlooked in these "fast food times". Rice
cookers can easily produce home-style meals that lock in all of
the healthy elements that a busy student requires to make the Dean's
List. More and more students are turning on to the fact that they
can become a "Top Chef" without challenging their short
attention spans.
Here Neal
shares the top 5 reasons why rice cookers produce quick, affordable
meals and also support healthy, nourished minds:
- A Home-Cooked
Meal Combats the Chance a College Freshman Will Put On Weight.
When teenagers leave the nest for the first time, nutrition is
the last thing on their mind. In the mad dash to find their feet
at school, they throw caution to the wind and pack on the pounds
consuming greasy and chemical enriched fast food. A rice cooker
fights the fat by locking in all of the nutrients and vitamins
that a student needs to fuel them through that Geology all-nighter.
Got leftovers? Trade in your cold greasy pizza with extra cheese
for a well balanced hot lunch cooked in minutes!
- The Dining Hall,
Unlike Mom's Kitchen, Isn’t Always Open. Depending on their
schedule, college students always seem to be pressed for time…especially
when it comes to eating. If the dining hall is closed, the bevy
of fast food chains beckon with flashing neon lights. A rice cooker
in their dorm room makes them in charge of when and what they
eat. Even after a hell-week, students can whip up a meal in less
than 30 minutes with preparation taking less than 5 minutes. Toss
it in and turn it on!
- Fast Food is Expensive.
If you are not interested in taking out a second mortgage to cover
all of the extra expenses that your freshman will beg you to cover,
a rice cooker is an affordable solution. For example, one microwave
meal or super value meal at a fast food chain can cost over $5.
For that same amount of cash your ace student can pick up all
the ingredients for Chicken and Pasta (page 31 in Bertrand’s
cook book) and have enough food for two dinners, a couple of lunches
and maybe even a late-night snack.
- I Need a Stove! The
tiny average dorm room (only 12’ x 9’) rarely has
enough room for a roommate, let alone a kitchen! While a refrigerator
and computer are vital elements of the perfect dorm room, it is
important to also have a space saving appliance to cook with.
Smaller than a microwave, the rice cooker will nestle comfortably
within any cluttered dorm room. And you’ll be the envy of
the entire dorm wing when students smell the mouth-watering aroma
of that Taco Soup (page 63 in Bertrand’s cook book) drifting
down the hall
- Care Packages Are
Made With Love, Not Trans Fat. New freshmen revel in their freedom
to enjoy all of the foods that you didn't keep in your well-stocked
cupboards. So instead of sending them the chips, cookies and snacks
that they are most likely already stocking under their beds, send
them healthy alternatives that they can pop into their rice cooker
and instantly turn into a healthy and tasty treat. Send care packages
that help your child stay healthy rather than shipping them food
that breaks concentration and turns your potential "Straight-A
Student" into an unproductive slug.
College is the beginning of a new and exciting adventure for your
teenager. Ensure that they make this transition a success by continuing
to instill in them the importance of healthy eating. The growing
popularity of rice cookers amongst college students is a positive
trend that could help our next generation of leaders stay on a path
that will keep them healthy, wealthy and, hopefully, wise.
About Neal Bertrand
Neal Bertrand was born
and reared in Opelousas, Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun Country.
He has more than a decade of experience in the publishing business.
His two previous publications are Down-Home Cajun Cooking Favorites
and the bi-lingual (English & French) Cajun Country Fun Coloring
and Activity Book. Bertrand readily admits he’s not a chef
and has no culinary training, but has been cooking rice in a rice
cooker since the 1970’s. All of his books, art prints, rice
cookers and other products can be seen and ordered from his website,
www.RiceCookerMeals.com.
Source: News and Experts
|
