Food is so much more than just something you eat. Take your time to enjoy the meals, even as a student, writes columnist Anindyaningrum Chrisant Rystiasih.
“I’m so hungry! But what am I going to eat! I don’t want to cook.”
This is something every student has definitely said once (surely more than once). Now some of us may be quite interested in taking the Soylent way, drinking all your nutritional needs for a quick hassle free meal. However, liquid food may not be the solution for everyone, and definitely not for me. I don’t just eat to live. I live to eat!
Indeed good food helps to keep you healthy, study better and keep your mood up. All important things for the student. The problem is, not everyone is a nutrition major, or knows how to cook. Even more, when you cook, that means you have to wash the dishes. A major turn off, I know. That coupled with the ‘I don’t know what to cook’ syndrome, can make meals a nuisance. To combat this felling, I try to keep myself excited about what I eat by doing some of these following things.
Cook for 2 meals at a time, and keep the second portion for a quick other meal. This also means less cooking equipment to clean.
Change it up by treating yourself to eat out. Nations have good affordable lunches, and if you would like to try to go to a place, the Dagens Lunch or Day Lunch on weekdays are usually a good deal with large portions and lower prices.
Try shopping at different stores. I like to drop by my two favorite Asian stores Asien Livs and Sari-Sari store for some Asian ingredients and flavors.
Indulge in a local diet. Yes, I am talking about Swedish meatballs, but it’s not limited to that. For example, Malmo is home to a great many vegan and raw food restaurants. Try Raw Food House near the Triangeln station. Hey! You don’t have to adopt the lifestyle, but it won’t hurt to try it for once. Coming from Asia, there is a bunch of local produce that I had never tried such as fennel. If you are a local, try a taste of the foreign cuisine! There are a multitute of international students that we can trade meals with.
Speaking of trading meals, actually, trade meals. I do this with a friend from Mexico once a week. I’ll make something for us one day, and she on another. When you cook for yourself, you tend to use the same spices and create the same flavors. Trading helps incorporate more flavors into your meals.
Lastly, and obviously, find inspiration online. Instagram is the Instagram of food with a continuum of dishes popping up every second. If you aren’t hungry when you open the app, you sure will be when you are done.
So, seeing that nevertheless we have to eat meals everyday, might as well make each meal into something enjoyable and an opportunity to try something new.
