Being a college student basically means you don’t have much luxury money, am I right? All of your funds go to tuition and rent. You have a little bit of money for food, but if you’re a food lover like me, a little bit of money doesn’t go far enough for delicious food. The only efficient way to spend that money on food is to know how to cook. So, what happens if you can’t cook? This, my friends, is the real dilemma.
I’m the type of person who looks at pictures of food and drools. Then I look up the cooking instructions, look at all of the steps and say “nope.” Repeat. Finally, when I find something that seems basic enough for me to cook, I put my sweat and tears into making it. Usually, the result is either something not very impressive or I ruin it. I know I’m not the only one with this struggle.
Just to put things into perspective, here are some examples of food I have messed up trying to cook.
- Ramen (I have literally forgotten to take the flavoring package out before cooking it.)
- Mac 'n’ cheese (Easy Mac)
- Toast.
- Grilled cheese.
- Frozen dinners.
- Popcorn.
- And, obviously, the recipes that actually require more than a little effort.
Those of you who have set the fire alarm off in the residence halls know what I’m talking about.
Another thing I do is look at a food picture, try to make it, struggle cooking it, look at it and notice that it looks nothing like the picture; I say “close enough” and eat it anyway.
You know when you have a date and you think, “Oh, my gosh, I’m going to be super romantic and cook a really fancy meal for us to eat together.” Well, I guess it’s the thought that counts, right? Meals never turn out pretty when you want it to, especially if you suck at cooking.
On top of not being able to cook well, actually cooking it all the way before it’s finished is also a struggle. The other night I was making a crock pot meal and I was supposed to wait 20 more minutes, but I was hungry and it smelled delicious. So, I ate some anyway. Obviously, because I did this, there wasn’t as much food as the recipe was supposed to make -- oops.
However, when I do get it right, it is the most glorious meal in the world! That is very rare, but the happy dance comes out when it does happen. For real though, somebody teach me how to cook because I get so sad when my food doesn’t taste as delicious as the picture looks.
