Weary of frozen pot pies and take-out pizza? Give 'power cooking' a try

By Kristin Skousen

October 18, 2007 | Almost any college student or young married couple will admit to eating unhealthily. Pizza, combo meals and frozen dinners followed by snacks on the way out the door tend to be quick (and expensive) fixes for meals. And we wonder where the Freshman 15 comes from, right?

"I eat the things I do because I don't have time in my day to make food," USU junior Kaitlin Stewart said.

USU student Haley Steck said she will usually eat meals like cereal, pancakes or popcorn. "They're accessible, quick and easy," Steck said.

"I will be getting married soon and I really wish there was a way to be able to eat healthy and not have to spend a lot of time or money," USU sophomore Cody Grimaud said. "We are both going to be busy and low with income. A good inexpensive meal would be a great solution to college students' needs."

After hearing about "power cooking," I instantly found it as a solution to these young adults' woes over trying to eat a healthy meal.

Power cooking involves purchasing foods in bulk, setting aside an hour or two to prepare many meals at one time, and then sealing them in freezer bags. When it comes time for dinner, simply heat up a meal and enjoy.

"It is cooking in a fun and efficient manner to minimize the time you spend in the kitchen and maximize the meals you can prepare," local power cooking instructor Alicia Wilkins said. "The dinner dilemma is solved on busy weeknights and anytime there is no extra time to cook. When you power cook, you will save money by reaching into your freezer for your family's meal rather than reaching for the telephone for take-out."

So, how exactly do you power cook?

Schedule ahead for one day to be power cooking day. A simple hour or two is all that you will need.

Begin by going through recipes and finding some that you will want to eat in the next week or more, depending on how many meals you want to prepare on power cooking day. Next, make a shopping list that includes freezer bags and all of the necessary ingredients.

Wilkins suggests preparing meals that will require some of the same ingredients. "If a couple of the recipes call for browned ground beef, then brown all your beef at the same time and then separate it out afterward into the freezer bags," she said. "Not only do you save on the cost of the beef by buying it in bulk, but you save time by browning it all at the same time."

Begin by going shopping in your own house to avoid over purchasing. Mark off the items that you found, and then go purchase the rest of the ingredients at a bulk shopping center or grocery store. "I share some great websites with my students like PinchingYourPennies.com that help you save money with your shopping," Wilkins said.

On the day of your power cooking, prepare your kitchen by emptying the garbage and dishwasher so that you are ready to cook. Prepare your ingredients together, throw them into freezer bags and freeze. The day before you want to eat a meal, simply take the freezer bag out of the freezer and put it into the fridge to thaw. The next day, you have a meal already made. Simply throw it into a skillet or the oven and then enjoy!

Even for young college students, power cooking is something that can be easily done. "Depending on the ingredients, a meal usually takes anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. Sometimes all you have to do is open a few jars and cans and dump them into the freezer bag," Lindsay Storrs said after taking a class on power cooking.

"I think power cooking is a great idea for college students," Storrs said. "You just have to find an open hour here or there to put a few meals together, and you'll have easy, quick meals for the rest of the week."

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