Lillie Webb
OFF THE MEAL PLAN
~ cooking smarter in college ~
The Reason
So...why cooking? I chose to center my self-designed experience around learning how to cook easy and healthy meals because it is a skill set that many people gloss over before adulthood. Since Home Economics has been taken out of most high school curricula, many students are starting adulthood are not familiar with practical life skills such as cooking, nutrition,
budgeting, and cleaning. I wanted to find options for busy college students, like myself, who are looking for time-conscious and budget-friendly recipes with clean ingredients. Before this experience, I didn't even know how to cook chicken properly! So it was the perfect opportunity for me to become more confident in the kitchen, while being more conscious about what ingredients I'm putting into my body.
Goals and Preparation
Before starting this experience, my goals were to build my cooking confidence, strengthen my time management skills in the kitchen, and enhance my financial literacy when it comes to budgeting for food. Having these goals in place helped build the foundation for how I planned to approach this experience. Along with setting goals, preparation and research played a vital role in making my experience successful. Prior to starting this experience, I found 39 recipes that I thought were
beginner/budget-friendly and nutritious. I then used ChatGPT to assist me in setting up and organizing the recipes with their ingredients and prices (assuming I bought all of the ingredients from Kroger). This saved me hours of research and made it much easier to stay under my budget of $100 a week on groceries. Another helpful resource that aided in my preparation was a website called The Clean Eating Couple. I pulled a lot of amazing recipes from this website. Check it out at the link below!
My Approach
While cooking is already a fairly creative endeavor on its own, I wanted to incorporate another creative aspect into this self-designed experience. So I decided to record my recipes and findings in a leather-bound, vintage-inspired recipe book. Doing this not only brought me immense joy and satisfaction, but it also allowed me the opportunity to reflect on each recipe and what I learned from it.
In my recipe book, I included the name of the recipe, the ingredients, the directions, the time spent on prep/cooking, and my personal notes/findings. As I continue my cooking journey beyond this experience, I will use this book as a reference and reminder of how far I've come. I also plan on adding more recipes as skills grow as a chef.
Photos of my personalized recipe book.
A Learning Experience
I also discovered some great versatile staples to have in the kitchen. Such as onions, garlic salt, olive oil, etc. This experience not only taught me essential life skills such as cooking, proper nutrition, and budgeting, but it also helped me progress towards becoming a global citizen scholar by giving me a creative outlet that promoted self-sufficiency and personal wellness. Click on the button below for a sneak peek of a few of my favorite recipes!
Despite my love for cooking, it is not always a pretty process. There were multiple times this summer when I just wanted to give up on a recipe because I felt like I had failed; however, something I've always tried to remember in times like those is that cooking is an art, not a science. It is hard to "ruin" a recipe. I also learned the importance of prep. Chopping your veggies ahead of time not only makes the cooking process easier, but it allows for more fun and less stress!
What's Next?
Next semester, I plan to become more involved with Her Campus UC, a female-led media platform dedicated to empowering college women around the globe. As a member of this community, I have the opportunity to present an idea/article that I would like to post on the website. If my article gets passed by the community leader, then I will have an online platform to share my experience and findings with other college students. I could also compile a starter kit or PDF guide for
students moving off the meal plan. This focuses on supporting others with practical, real-world advice, which is especially useful for incoming sophomores or juniors. Something like this might include my 5 go-to recipes, budgeting and time management tips, a grocery list template, and a link to a potential digital scrapbook. Along with all of this, I will continue to try new recipes this coming semester and branch even more out of my comfort zone!