welcome.

Welcome to a food wonk! You may be wondering, what is a “food wonk?” A “wonk” is defined as “a person who takes an excessive interest in minor details of political policy.” Here at college in Washington, DC, I am surrounded by smart, passionate, and motivated wonks who are deeply passionate and knowledgable about policy and so much more. I take excessive interest– and have become a “wonk”– for health and nutrition. Through my studies as a Public Health major and through my own research, I have come to appreciate the important role nutrition has in our overall health.

When I was a freshman, I quickly realized that maintaining my good nutrition and health in college was challenging. Like many other college freshman I picked up bad habits, which compounded over time, made me really unhealthy. Dealing with a less than stellar dining hall, late-night snacking, and going out to eat are all new experiences that college students need to deal with– on top of academic, social, and professional demands. I gained weight, felt constantly tired, lacked energy, and had strayed far from the health I maintained in high school.

For sophomore year, I knew I had to make some major changes to my diet and lifestyle. I thought about all the bad habits I needed to eliminate and how I could be healthier at school. The best plan I came up with to take charge of my health was to start cooking. Living in a suite without a kitchen makes this plan more challenging, but along the way, I have come up with a system for cooking that works. Cooking gives me more control over what I’m eating and allows me to take more responsibility for my health– which I believe is the key to better health.

From talking with friends and peers, I know that many other college students struggle with the same challenges. It’s easy to let your health slip when you have three essays to write, a club meeting to go to, and an internship. In college, dealing with being unhealthy becomes the norm. As a broke college student, cooking (especially without your own kitchen) seems like a time-consuming, expensive, and challenging chore. With this blog, I hope to show that cooking can be rewarding, cost-effective, and easy. I’m not a nutritionist, a doctor, or a chef, but I do know how to cook. I have come to realize that this is not a skill to take for granted. I am grateful that I have learned how to cook from my parents, who have taught me to value my health and who have given me an understanding of what healthy food is. My “cooking literacy” makes a huge impact on my life. I want to help other college students increase their own cooking literacy by putting out the information about food and cooking that I think everyone deserves and needs to know. Nutrition is so important for our health, yet not everyone gets taught how to cook. I hope that my blog gives any college student the confidence to get in the kitchen, equipped with a little more knowledge about how to cook and eat well.