The transition from adolescence to adulthood can be a challenging time in your life, but we are here to help you smoothly transition! As of 2021, more than half of U.S. youngest adults, those who are 18 to 25, are considered overweight or obese (Ellison-Barnes et al., 2021). Research has shown that positive eating habits are established in young adulthood and involve adoption of healthy food practices, including adequate vegetable and fruit consumption (Mello Rodrigues et al., 2019). By increasing your fruit and vegetable consumption, you will be able to improve your immediate and long-term health and wellbeing. Specifically, eating fruits and vegetables can help you manage your weight, increase your mood, give you more energy, and allow you to have better sleep (Głąbska et al., 2020).
While eating well isn’t often a top priority for students, it does more than just prevent excess weight. In 2018, more than 95% of college students surveyed in the National College Health Assessment II reported eating less than five servings of fruits and vegetables per day and 8.4% of participants reported eating no servings of these foods on a daily basis (American College Health Association, 2018). Since it can be difficult to eat a well-balanced diet while managing your course work, social life, and overall adjusting to university, we have listed cooking skills and tips that can help college students cope with the stress of college life. So, let’s get talking!
Keywords: Knife Skills; Oven Skills; Preparing; Cooking; Fruits; Vegetables
Learn How to Chop Like A Chef
When beginning to cook, it is important to have basic cooking skills in order to feel more comfortable in the kitchen. A knife is used more than any other kitchen tool, however wielding a sharp object incorrectly is one of the easiest ways to injure yourself in the kitchen. Learning knife skills can transform your cooking experience, will reduce the time spent in the kitchen, and overall increase the quality of your meals (Yonan, 2013).
To begin, choose a sturdy cutting surface and sharp knife. We would recommend using wood cutting boards, since they have natural antiseptic properties that can help keep them clean (Hardwood Reflections, 2021).
Once your cutting surface is ready, hold your knife with your dominant hand, gripping the handle of the knife with your middle, ring, and pinkie finger. Whereas your index finger and thumb should look like they’re pinching the sides of the blade.
The hand that’s not holding the knife should hold the food that you’re cutting steady. To prevent the knife from cutting this hand, curve your fingertips in towards your palm, so your hand forms a claw. Set your clawed hand on the food you’re cutting, so the food can’t move or slide.
Lastly, to protect your thumb on your non-dominant hand, it’s important to tuck in the thumb inside the palm of your hand. The knuckles on your thumb and fingertips should be closer to the knife blade than the fingertips. This way, your knife will simply bump against the knuckles instead of cutting the fingertips.
After using these steps, and becoming more comfortable with using a knife, you can try multiple techniques. Some include mincing, dicing, and cubing.
For a step-by-step video tutorial, check out Chef Mike Ward’s 3-minute YouTube video titled “How To Cut Like a Chef”.
Don’t Be Afraid of Turning Your Oven On
Ovens are very useful appliances; however, you may not feel comfortable using them since you aren’t sure how they work. While it can be a little daunting with all the dials and displays, not to mention how hot it can get, we’ll get you feeling more confident and eating in no time.
Before you start attempting to use your gas oven, or any oven, read over the instruction manuals, or look up your oven’s online manual by searching the model and brand. This will inform you of the basics of how to turn the oven on and off as well as other aspects of how your oven works.
Once completed, turn the temperature knob, or use the digital display to preheat your oven to the desired temperature, then wait about 7-10 minutes for your oven to preheat. Wait until your oven has reached the desired temperature before you place your food inside.
Tip: Using an oven temperature conversion chart can be very useful when learning how to work any oven.
Now you can place your food in the oven using a pair of oven mitts and monitor it. Set a timer for the recipe’s indicated cooking time and let the food sit in the oven for that time, or until it reaches a food-safe temperature and has the desired appearance. Especially if you are living in a dorm, remember to set a timer, because no one wants to be the person who sets off the fire alarm and makes everyone leave the building and stand outside for twenty minutes.
Tip: While you are watching your food cook, look to see if you need to make adjustments. Depending on what type of oven you have, you may need to move food to a higher or lower rack in order to achieve a browner color faster.
For an easy oven roasted vegetable recipe, we recommend following Dani Spies’ YouTube video “ROASTED VEGETABLES | easy oven roasted recipe”.
Let’s Get Cooking
Increased skills related to preparing and cooking fruits and vegetables have been associated with healthier eating behaviors and greater vegetable and fruit consumption among adolescents (LeBlanc et al., 2022). With these skills and tips, you are going to easily start feeling more confident in your cooking skills, prepare more meals, and live a nutritious college life. All good things take time, so don’t get discouraged if you aren’t seeing your chopping skills miraculously improve or that your roasted vegetables continue to seem a little too crispy out of the oven. So, now that you’re an knife and oven expert, try a recipe to prove to yourself that you can indeed master the scary appliances in your kitchen.
For more inspiration, there are plenty of cookbooks to help you add fruits and vegetables to your dishes, such as The What to Eat When Cookbook by Michael Roizen and Pantry to Plate: Kitchen Staples for Simple and Easy Cooking by Emily Stephenson.
References
American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II: Reference Group Executive Summary Fall 2018. American College Health Association. (2018). Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-II_Fall_2018_Reference_Group_Executive_Summary.pdf
Ellison-Barnes, A., Johnson, S., & Gudzune, K. (2021). Trends in obesity prevalence among adults aged 18 through 25 years, 1976-2018. JAMA, 326(20), 2073. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.16685
Głąbska, D., Guzek, D., Groele, B., & Gutkowska, K. (2020). Fruit and vegetable intake and mental health in adults: A systematic review. Nutrients, 12(1), 115. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12010115
Hardwood Reflections. (2021, November 18). Is wood naturally antibacterial? . Hardwood Reflections. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://hardwoodreflections.com/is-wood-naturally-antibacterial/
LeBlanc, J., Ward, S., & LeBlanc, C. P. (2022). The association between adolescents’ food literacy, vegetable and fruit consumption, and other eating behaviors. Health Education & Behavior, 49(4), 603–612. https://doi.org/10.1177/10901981221086943
Mello Rodrigues, V., Bray, J., Fernandes, A. C., Luci Bernardo, G., Hartwell, H., Secchi Martinelli, S., Lazzarin Uggioni, P., Barletto Cavalli, S., & Proença, R. P. (2019). Vegetable consumption and factors associated with increased intake among college students: A scoping review of the last 10 years. Nutrients, 11(7), 1634.https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11071634
Roizen, M. F., Crupain, M., & Perko, J. (2020). The what to eat when cookbook: 135+ deliciously timed recipes. National Geographic.
Spies, D. (2021). ROASTED VEGETABLES | easy oven roasted recipe. YouTube. Retrieved April 17, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opMsfLXZn74
Stephenson, E. (2020). Pantry to plate: Kitchen staples for simple and easy cooking. Chronicle Books.
Ward, M. (2015, July 7). How to cut like a chef. YouTube. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huWawslBIQ8
Yonan, J. (2013, January 7). Knife injuries and other kitchen mishaps afflict both top chefs and everyday cooks. The Washington Post. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/knife-injuries-and-other-kitchen-mishaps-afflict-both-top-chefs-and-everyday-cooks/2013/01/07/92e191f8-4af0-11e2-b709-667035ff9029_story.html
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