December 16, 2013, by offcampus
Love Food!
Beans on toast…the staple student food? Well, our recent food fair held at both Raleigh Park and St Peter’s Court showed that this is not the case, students showed how creative they are with their cooking and how enthusiastic they are about sharing recipes and tips with each other.
Within 40 minutes of the event starting, Nottingham in Bloom had given out 100 ‘Grow Your Own Herb’ pots. Students were teaming up with their flat mates to collect the full set of herbs; thyme, mint and basil. Students were discussing what they would be making with their herbs once they have grown. Nottingham in Bloom said that they “really enjoyed taking part in the Food Fair, it was a great event and we spoke to lots of students who were looking forward to growing their own herbs to use in cooking. The most popular herb was Basil!”.
It was a truly collaborative evening, with students sharing tips and recipes. Students received a free Healthy U recipe book which was created by students, and in return left their favourite recipes which will be shared with students; one of these recipes is at the bottom of this blog. It was great to hear the variety of recipes and tips that students were providing. I particularly enjoyed hearing how to give an international flavour to every-day produce. Some students went as far as writing down whole recipes from memory, even including exact measurements and cooking times.
Sunita Patel from Newtrition was also at the event providing free samples of her healthy muffins and granola. Sunita was chatting to students about how to eat healthily; she said “being at the event was a great way to engage with students about their current eating habits and how they prioritise cooking into their student life. It was great to hear so many of them took a keen interest in cooking and eating healthily whilst at university”. Sunita’s yummy (but healthy) treats went down very well with students, one gave feedback saying “who would have thought something so healthy could taste this good”
Representatives from Broxtowe Borough Council’s Love Food Hate Waste campaign were on hand to show students how to make the most of the food left in their cupboards and to avoid wasting food. Jane Hutchinson said they “were impressed when talking with the students who are willing to ‘Love Food, Hate Waste’ and enthusiastic in participating in healthy eating. By doing this they are helping the environment, keeping healthy and keeping pennies in their pockets.”
We intend to do a series of blogs relating to healthy and creative cooking. Nottingham in Bloom will provide tips about how you can get green fingered and grow your own produce while at University. If you have any recipes or tips to share then leave them at the bottom of this page!
I knew that students like to “grow their own”; I just wasn’t aware it was basil, mint, and thyme.