It’s easy to end up at McDonald’s on a break between classes to grab a quick bite, but those quick bites will sometimes bite back.
It can be a challenge to maintain a healthy lifestyle on a student schedule and budget. Exercise and a good diet can be a commitment that conflicts with a class load and study time, but it can be done. You will notice the benefits of being healthy give you the energy you need to get through a long week of classes. How can you do that with little money and even less time? One way is cooking with curry.
Curry is an acquired taste and is best to introduce into your diet slowly if you aren’t used to it. It is also a fairly inexpensive spice and full of flavor. Curry, according to AssociatedContent.com, can boost brain function. It can also assist with lung congestion and fighting infections.
One great place to purchase curry for cheap is the 99 Bahn Oriental Supermarket at 5315 Gibson Boulevard S.E., about two miles from campus. You can get a small can of red curry paste for less than $2. A rice cooker is also a great investment. I have a Black and Decker 3-cup rice cooker that I got online for $13.
Here is one of my favorite curry recipes:
1 can red curry paste
2 cups of rice
1 cup of hot water
1 block of firm tofu
1 small zucchini
1 lemon
Take the can of curry and pour the contents into a bowl with 1 cup of hot water. Mix ingredients together to create a sauce. If you want to make it really saucy then add more water.
Cook the rice and set it aside. Slice the tofu and zucchini into small pieces. Place the pieces into a saucepan with the curry sauce and juice from the lemon. Cook on the stove to desired tenderness. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Spoon onto rice and enjoy.
I love this dish because you can substitute almost anything into it, meat or vegetables. You can also add spices to curry like rosemary, sage, paprika and any favorites you have. The whole dish cost me $6 and lasted for about five meals. It heats up well and keeps for a week.
