Grown Up College Food

Now that I'm in school again, and on a strict budget nonetheless, eating and cooking has become an entirely different thing for me. I'm in a rigorous pilates teacher trainer program here in London not to mention the fact that I run and take dance and yoga classes. That is my life now: my hobby, my job, my career and also my salvation. Taking care of myself is on my brain absolutely every second of everyday because it is involved in everything that I do from studying my anatomy, to working out with other colleagues, to eating food for fuel and endurance. Eating is the root of all of this and without amazing food- I would be, well, I wouldn't be writing you this, that's for sure. Back when I got my bachelor degree I was vegetarian and for the most part ate better than the average college student. However, if you were to take a quick scan over my grocery cart then you would have found lots of cheap frozen pizza (Totino's will forever be my favorite and I'm not above eating one now. London does not have them. Moment of silence please....), lots of cheap beer, shitty bread, processed cheese, sugar laden coffee creamer in giant proportions, giant (i mean giant) proportions of coffee,- all amongst some vegetables, rice and fruit. Not the best, not the worst either. I've changed a little since then and like more simple, less preservative filled food, but I'm now finding myself in the predicament of having a certain (small) amount of money in my pocket and knowing that what I buy has to last me a while. One of the many reasons I love London so much is because food here is just so much cheaper. With conversion rates and everything...it's way cheaper and not taxed! Twenty pounds worth of food can feed me generously for a week. That includes snacks, indulgences like fancy hummus and perhaps a bottle of wine. Oh, and all the Bombay Mix I could ever desire! Eating out (like in Brixton) is a luxury that happens very rarely here. The difference in my cooking here in London is that I use mostly in season fresh ingredients along with whole grains paired with interesting spices and twists but unlike before when I cooked that way- back when I had a real job- I'm doing this on a strict budget. Where buying white bread and cookies may seem like the easy route, it's not really, and it's not nearly as fun. And I'm not preaching to you and telling you to eat whole foods and blah blah blah, that's not what this blog is about....., I still eat junk food and processed crap every now and then. I like to think it keeps me normal and not all 'health nutty'. However, I'm in school for exercise. Can't really eat shit all day long then fit into my spandex pants.




Tonight's dinner was something similar to what I make every night. A nice bowl of something warm, filling, nutritious and packed to brim with spicy, bright flavors. Something about tonight's dinner was beyond special though. It seemed blog worthy and stood out among all the other delicious dinners I cook. I'm feeling a bit homesick lately, not to mention this grey weather has been getting me down, and this dinner cheered me up significantly. It is a simple combination of spicy rice and lentils with an under current of garlic and miso which was topped with sauteed brussel sprouts seasoned simply with salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil. I put it all in a bowl and squeezed half a lemon on top. While this bowl of goodness did not do my homework, did not deliver me tons of money and did not give me a world class foot rub- it comforted my soul, nourished my quite beat up body and left me with minimal dishes to clean. I like to think of it as a Zen Bowl. There are many variations of what I call a Zen bowl, but that's for another post. Oh, and I cooked a sweet potato in the oven and ate it on the side. No recipe there, just a plain 'ole sweet potato.

This dish is easy, fast and impressive. The recipe I list for you below is good as is or can have about a million variations. Try it out and let me know what wonderful creations you make in your kitchen. And no, you don't have to be a broke college student to participate.


you will need:

large pot with fitted lid
frying skillet
your favorite bowl to eat out of

for the food and assembly:

1 C brown rice
1 C red lentils
1 T curry paste
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 T miso or vegetable boullion
4 C water or vegetable broth

Separately you will need approximately 20 brussel sprouts, washed and cut in half.

Put everything but the spouts in the pot. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and let steam for about 30-40 minutes or until all the water has evaporated.

Meanwhile, saute the sprouts in a dash of olive oil with just a pinch of salt and a generous amount of pepper. The will probably need a good 10-15 minutes on medium heat.

Layer in your bowl some rice, some sprouts and squeeze half a lemon over the whole shebang and you're ready for one amazing dinner. And it's ok to eat this alone because that means you have lunch for the next day. Double score.