Eating healthy is actually good for you?!

Cooking is more than a hobby

Cooking is not just a fun hobby. It’s a valuable skill that can be useful beyond the kitchen. Cooking requires a certain level of improvisation – when you accidently forget to buy a certain ingredient, it is important to adapt quickly and make a change of plan so that you can finish what you’ve started making. Cooking promotes time management skills and establishes competency in paying attention to details. Qualities like these are highly beneficial in the workplace and can help set you apart from other employees.

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Cooking and health

Not only does cooking allow you to hone valuable skills, but it can also help improve your mental wellbeing and it allows you to make healthy eating choices. Recent research found that students who took part in a healthy cooking course showed an increase in cooking confidence resulting in improved mental health and eating habits.

Healthy eating choices as a university student

Making healthy eating choices has a number of additional benefits for university students, like myself. It can improve concentration, memory, and can lead to performing better academically as students are able to process information at a higher rate. I’ve noticed that, for me, on days when I make a conscious decision to eat healthy, I feel less anxiety when approaching my course workloads and tend to cross off way more on my to do list.

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So, what do healthy eating choices actually look like? Making a nutritious decision can be as easy as remembering to start your day off with breakfast (avocado toast or a fruit smoothie is my go-to). Additionally, swapping out pre-packaged or fast-food options with low nutritional and cooking food that incorporates fruit, vegetables, and/or protein is a step in the right direction to lead a healthier lifestyle. If you’re stuck on what this might look like, here is an example of one of my favourite quick, easy, and healthy lunches that I like to make and bring with me to university on a regular basis.

Healthy eating and the cost of living

Understandably, an increase in the cost of living can make it easier to revert to unhealthy eating decisions. To avoid this, The University of Sydney suggests that coming up with a meal plan can help save costs and recommends buying in-season fruit or canned/frozen vegetables.

I love knowing that my passion for cooking and leading a healthy lifestyle benefits me in more ways than one. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!