a food wonk.

a guide to food and cooking with ease

Lea

Hi, my name is Lea and I'm a 23-year-old living in DC working on food policy. Making it easier for people to eat well is my passion. Eating healthy as a young person (and at any age) can feel challenging- because it is for many reasons. Just part of it is getting comfortable with cooking for yourself, which is what I love to talk about here (and over on my Instagram @lbk_6)

easy mexican taco salad bowl

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

This week I was craving some Mexican food. Working in a Mexican restaurant really helped me overcome my love of greasy quesadillas, so now I try to make things like taco salads that draw inspiration from Mexican food while keeping things healthy. In this recipe, I mixed homemade and premade ingredients to keep things simple, fast, and easy. Bowls and salads like this keep well throughout the week and are easy to store in just one big bowl in the fridge. I usually don’t eat a lot of eggs, but I found that having hardboiled eggs already made and peeled made getting in my protein easy. My favorite part of this bowl is bean dip, which is so easy to make. The tortilla chips on top aren’t necessary but are a really great touch. If you make enough of the tortilla chips and bean dip you can also keep it as a snack for the week.

Cook: 30 mins

Active: 10 mins

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

  • kale and/or spinach
  • bell pepper
  • pinto beans (1 can)
  • eggs
  • avocado
  • salsa
  • whole wheat tortilla
  • cumin
  • chipotle chili powder
  • garlic powder
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • water

supplies

  • large pot
  • small pot
  • mixing spoon
  • cutting board and knife
  • baking sheet

Instructions:

  1. Get the bean dip going by heating two tablespoons of olive oil in a small sauce span. When the pan is hot, add  the beans and spices. Add about a cup of water to the pot and bring it to a boil. When it reaches a boil, lower the heat to simmer it. Allow the beans to simmer, stirring and mashing the beans up occasionally as you prepare the rest.
  2. For the hardboiled eggs, add the eggs to a large pot so that they aren’t crowded. Cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil and as soon as it reaches a boil take it off the heat and cover the pot with the lid. Let the eggs sit with the lid on for 17 minutes. After 17 minutes, drain them and rinse with cold water.
  3. For the tortilla chips, preheat the oven to 400°. Cut the tortilla into strips and place on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Bake for around 10 minutes or until crispy.
  4. Wash and cut the kale or spinach and bell peppers.

photo by Lea Kriesberg

 

recipe by Lea Kriesberg

peanut butter green smoothie

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

A green smoothie that tastes good? That’s right. This smoothie is the best of both worlds– a deliciously sweet and peanut butter-y flavor and healthy ingredients. This smoothie is low sugar, simple, filling, and gets a serving of vegetables in. Vegetables like spinach and cauliflower are tasteless and act as a great base for smoothies. Using ingredients you may already have from a salad or that you keep in your freezer, this smoothie is inexpensive and quick to make before class in the morning. As always, you can substitute and add whatever fruits and vegetables you like.

Cook time: 5 mins

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

  • cauliflower
  • spinach
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1 cup almond (or milk of choice)
  • 1 tablespoon peanut butter
  • 1 scoop protein powder of choice
  • cinnamon (optional but recommended)

Instructions:

  1. Throw everything in the blender and top with your milk (or water). Blend until smooth. Add more milk to get a consistency you like.

photo by Lea Kriesberg

easy tortilla chips + bean dip

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

Using the ingredients from my Mexican taco salad bowl, I wanted to make a simple and healthy snack. You can’t go wrong with chips and dip. Making it at home is healthy, easy, and cheap. When you don’t add extra fat and oil to refried beans, it actually becomes a high-protein, delicious snack that goes with chips, salad, or bowls.

Cook time: 30 mins

Active: 2 mins

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

  • whole wheat tortillas
  • beans (1 can, you can use pinto, black, or any kind)
  • olive oil
  • cumin
  • chipotle chili powder
  • garlic powder
  • salt and pepper

supplies

  • baking sheet
  • small sauce pot

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°
  2. Cut the tortillas into strips and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and top with spices. Bake until crispy and brown, around 10 minutes. Flip chips around halfway through.
  3. For the bean dip, heat around two tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Add the beans, spices, and around a cup of water. Bring the water to a boil and then turn the heat down to let the beans simmer. Simmer for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and mashing the beans. Simmer until the water is absorbed. It may look soupy at first but give it time and the water will absorb and the beans

 

photo by Lea Kriesberg

my food philosophy

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College is hard for a lot of reasons, but no one can prepare you for how hard it can be to stay healthy. Achieving balance between studying, working, staying social, exercising, and eating healthy is something I am constantly working towards. When there’s no one there to make your lunch for you and remind you to eat breakfast before going to school, it’s easy to neglect diet and health. For something we do (hopefully) three or more times a day, eating well can be a struggle. In college it becomes acceptable to justify a diet consisting of frozen dinners made in the microwave, dining hall food that makes you feel sick, or just having a granola bar all day between your internship and classes. It can feel like the norm to be unhappy with what you’re eating.

This problem is only challenged by all of the misconceptions about nutrition and health. What does “going on a diet” even mean? What does “I’m going to start eating healthy tomorrow” mean? Low carb, ketogenic, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, alkaline, low fat, raw, plant-based, zone, South Beach, Atkins. More than ever before, people are questioning what the ideal healthy diet looks like. Just a walk through the aisles of a grocery store is confusing. Organic, natural, non-GMO, infused, enriched, low sodium, low fat, reduced, lite. The food industry does a great job of complicating our understanding of what eating “healthy” means. That’s why going back to basics and learning to cook is the simplest way to eat healthy.

This phenomenon is a new problem. Before food became an industry, people ate what they found, grew, and cooked themselves. There were no questions about eating too much fat or not enough protein; people just ate what they could make. The industrialization of food in the mid-1900s liberated people from spending all day food shopping and cooking. However, the consequence has been people losing the basic yet vital skill of cooking. They have also lost the opportunity for that skill to be passed on. This shift, along with great marketing, normalized substituting processed, packaged, and preserved food for the real stuff. It’s been so long since people actually needed to cook to survive that many of us have developed a fear of cooking. This fear, in addition to the constraints of time and money, make it hard to get back in the kitchen. Cook food you enjoy with ingredients you recognize and can pronounce and you can’t go wrong. Cooking frees you from having to worry if something is really “healthy” or not and puts the power back in your own hands.

Of course, just saying “cook” is not so simple. For so many people, including college students, the act of cooking is complicated by lack of access to real food, time-consuming and low-paying jobs, demanding schedules, and lack of knowledge about cooking. There’s no easy remedy to these problems. For now, I want to contribute to the solution by producing information that makes cooking easier and more accessible. I guess that’s why I consider myself a food wonk.

tips for meal planning like a pro

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Planning is the key to success. Taking the extra time to decide what you want to cook, noting what ingredients you have and need, and thinking about how much to buy will save you time, money, and stress. At first it can be hard to gauge how much food you need to buy and how long what you cook will last. Cooking for one can be a challenge because you need to learn how to scale back recipes and think about how much food you need for the whole week. Planning out what I want to cook also ensures that I won’t get too sick of what I’m eating.

Cooking in college and living out of a minifridge means redundancy– eating a lot of the same foods and ingredients in different ways throughout the week. Picking out a recipe that you are craving will help you not get bored of your food. Using some creativity while planning also allows you to stretch your dollar and get more out of what you buy. Meal planning gets easier over time. These tips have helped me along the way:

  1. Look at serving sizes. It can be hard to measure how much of things like pasta and rice you need to cook in order to get enough servings and to not cook too many servings. I consult the nutrition labels to see how much of something is considered one serving and how many servings come in the package. That way I know how many bags or boxes I need to buy and how much I should cook at one time to get as many servings as I need.
  2. Write out your list. Yes, I mean physically write out your list. You might think that you can go to the grocery store for a couple things and just remember what you need. This never works for me and I either end up forgetting something or buying things I didn’t need. Writing a list (either on a piece of paper or on your phone) helps you stick to what only what you need and know you will use, which will save you money. It will also save you time at the grocery store so that you can go directly to what you need, rather than wandering up and down the aisles and thinking about what you want to buy as you go.
  3. Set numbers before you shop. When you get to the grocery store it’s really easy to get overwhelmed and go overboard. My instinct is always to get too much of something “just in case.” When I do this I usually end up wasting money and food when I can’t finish it all. To prevent this, I try to think about the quantity of things I need to buy before I go to the grocery store. That way I’m not trying to get the shopping done while also thinking about how much I need of everything. Write down how much of something you need on your list.
  4. Find a recipe you are excited about. Finding a meal you are excited to cook will prevent you from walking aimlessly around the grocery store trying to decide what to buy and getting bored of what you eat during the week. Look at other food blogs, think about food you ate a restaurants that you loved, recall some of your favorite meals you ate at home, watch Chef’s Table on Netflix (I swear you will want to become a professional chef after watching this show). Feeling excited and inspired by what you’re cooking will make you feel that much more rewarded and satisfied.
  5. Consider your space. Before you shop and cook, you should think about how you will be able to store what you buy and make. I am limited to the space under my bed, a shelf, and my minifridge. You might be working with a fridge you share with roommates and one cabinet, or somewhere in between. Consider how much food you will actually be able to save in whatever space you have. This also means that you might need to adjust what recipes you make. I try to cook things that can be stored in just one or two storage containers like a big bowl of chili and a smaller container of rice to go with it. I can leave things like avocados and bananas on my shelf and keep a larger store of food like canned beans and rice in the space under my bed. This should also keep you from buying too much food or cooking too much.
  6. Get creative. To get the most out of your groceries and time, take some time think about how you can stretch the ingredients you have. You might be surprised at how many things you can make with just a few ingredients that you already have or that you are buying for a different recipe. Don’t be afraid to try new foods, make something up, or adapt recipes. Not buying every specific ingredient for every recipe will save you money.
  7. Check what you already have. If you keep up with having a small stock of food, you shouldn’t need to go on full grocery shopping trips every week. If you have the staples like rice, beans, pasta, or canned tomatoes, you will save time and money at the grocery store. Keeping track of your inventory will prevent you from buying things you already have.

10 best spices for your college kitchen

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Spices are the key to adding flavor to your food without doing any work. Cooking with spices makes it easy to elevate the food you cook and allows you to cook a variety of different kinds of food. My dream is to have a whole cabinet filled with spices organized in aesthetically pleasing containers, but for now a plastic box under my bed does the job. Like with everything else, start small and keep adding to your collection as you go. If you find a recipe you want to make and don’t have all the ingredients or spices, you can always omit them or get creative with substitutions. The spices on this list are versatile and easy to find, making them useful to add to many foods:

  1. Cumin. This is what gives tacos and fajitas that smoky spice we know and love. It’s also useful to add to the base of sauces and many Indian dishes.
  2. Old Bay seasoning. I did not discover Old Bay until I got to college. It’s a mix of black pepper, paprika, mustard, celery salt, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and a few others. It is supposed to be used on crab and other seafood, but because it combines so many spices into one, it’s great to add to sauces, soups, and especially chili. It gives the dish a salty and smoky flavor.
  3. Vanilla extract. Vanilla is for more than just baking. It can be added to plain yogurt, smoothies, and oatmeal for natural sweetness. It’s a great way to cut back on sugar.
  4. Cinnamon. I add cinnamon to just about everything. Sprinkle it on apples and bananas and add it to oatmeal, smoothies, and yogurt. Fun fact– cinnamon is supposed to be good for stabilizing blood sugar levels.
  5. Curry powder. I just started experimenting with cooking Indian food. I love going out to eat at Indian restaurants and trying to recreate what I like at home. Indian food is great for people who are vegan or vegetarian, too. Curry powder is useful for many Indian dishes and is also great on roasted vegetables like cauliflower. Curry powder by itself adds an incredible amount of flavor to everything and a little bit goes a long way.
  6. Chipotle chili pepper powder. If you like chili, get this spice. It’s exactly what it sounds like in that it has a smoky and spicy flavor.
  7. Ginger powder. Ginger is great for Asian dishes. I add it to stir fry and salad dressings. It plays well with other flavors and adds some sweetness and brightness.
  8. Cardamom. This is another spice useful for Indian cooking. It adds a warm flavor. You can also mix it into oatmeal and smoothies for a warm, deep flavor.
  9. Garlic powder. Garlic is arguably my favorite spice. Put it in everything. Minced garlic is great too, but garlic powder is easy to mix into sauces, soups, stir fries, or chili. You can also sprinkle it on vegetables.
  10. Turmeric. This trendy spice is great for Indian food like curries. It originated in Southeast Asia and is related to ginger root. Foodies love turmeric because it has anti-inflammatory properties. It doesn’t taste like much, but has an earthy and slightly bitter flavor if you use too much. Just a little bit adds a bright orange color to food (and your hands and clothes, so be careful). I use it for Indian cooking and I mix it into oatmeal sometimes for some added health benefits.

simple overnight oats 4 ways

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

The concept sounds a little weird, but overnight oats are one of my favorite breakfasts. Having breakfast in the morning is really important to me because it helps you stay on track for the rest of the day by getting your metabolism started. I never really ate breakfast in high school, but now that I do I can’t start my day without it. Overnight oats are perfect for busy mornings because you will have a delicious breakfast ready and waiting for you to quickly eat before class or to bring with you. Oats are a great way to start the day because they are rich in fiber and are complex carbs which will give you sustained energy throughout the morning. Throwing in some fruit adds lots of flavor and extra nutrients. You can also mix in protein powder or nut butter for added protein. I like adding chia seeds because they add extra healthy fats and fiber. When you soak chia seeds they absorb the liquid and get gelatinous, making the oats like a creamy pudding. By letting the oats soak overnight, they come out soft and creamy without you having to spend any time cooking or preparing in the morning. With all of the different ways you can make overnight oats, it’ll be a while before you get bored of it.  They also hold up well throughout the week, so I like to make multiple containers of it to keep in the fridge for breakfast throughout the week.

photo by Lea Kriesberg

Prep: 15 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 4 tablespoons chia seeds
  • frozen berries
  • 1 banana
  • 1 apple
  • nuts
  • nut butter
  • 1/4 canned pumpkin
  • vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • honey
  • 4 cups almond milk (or your milk of choice)

photo by Lea Kriesberg

Apple Pie Oats:

  1. Mix a quarter cup of oats, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of almond milk into a small container
  2. Add sliced apple on top
  3. Place in the refrigerator overnight and it will be ready in the morning.
  4. Add mixed nuts or peanut butter before eating

photo by Lea Kriesberg

Cinnamon Berry Oats:

  1. Mix a quarter cup of oats, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of almond milk into a small container
  2. Add frozen mixed berries on top
  3. Place in the refrigerator overnight

photo by Lea Kriesberg

Berry Turmeric Oats:

  1. Mix a quarter cup of oats, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, cinnamon, and 1 cup of almond milk into a small container
  2. Add berries and honey on top
  3. Place in the refrigerator overnight

photo by Lea Kriesberg

Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats

  1. Mix a quarter cup of oats, 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of almond milk into a small container
  2. Mix in canned pumpkin
  3. Place in the refrigerator overnight
  4. Add nuts or nut butter and banana on top before eating

 

recipe by Lea Kriesberg

simple almond butter thai noodles

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

I came up with this at the end of the week when I had eaten all of the stir fry I prepared and had leftover vegetables. I had a box of brown rice noodles saved and I didn’t want to waste my vegetables, so I whipped up a take on thai peanut noodles. I didn’t have peanut butter, but I used my almond butter and it turned out great. I also had sesame oil, miso paste, and soy sauce stocked up which made it really easy. This took me less than 1o minutes and was super satisfying and healthy. Brown rice noodles cook in just five minutes or less, and stir frying the vegetables on the side at the same time is also fast and easy. You could easily make a big pot of this by making more noodles, but I only needed one serving.

Prep: 5 minutes

Cook: 5 minutes

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

  • brown rice pad thai noodles
  • bell pepper
  • string beans
  • carrots
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
  • 1 teaspoon miso paste
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 teaspoon salt and pepper

Supplies:

  • small pot
  • frying pan
  • chopping board and knife
  • spoon

Instructions:

  1. Prepare the sauce. Mix almond butter, sesame oil, miso paste, soy sauce, salt, pepper, and water. Add more water until you get a consistency you like.
  2. Chop all of the vegetables into small uniform pieces
  3. Bring water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the instructions
  4. While the water is heating up, start heating up your pan.
  5. Add a spoonful of coconut oil to the pan. When the pan is hot, add your chopped vegetables and cook until softened, around 4 minutes
  6. When the noodles are cooked and drained, add your vegetables and sauce to the pot. Add water to help everything combine.

 

 

recipe by Lea Kriesberg

easiest chili ever

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

Chili is my go-to dinner. It’s easy to make in bulk for the week and requires just one pot. You can use canned beans, which makes it inexpensive, easy, and full of protein and fiber. Canned beans, grains, vegetable stock, and canned tomatoes are all things you can keep on hand because they have a long shelf life. This makes chili easy to throw together any time. Also, using beans as a source of protein rather than turkey or chicken saves you time and money. Canned beans cost less than one dollar and dry beans cost even less. Chili can be made in less than one hour and can easily be tailored to whatever vegetables, beans, grains, or proteins you like and have. I like to use a variety of beans and add quinoa for more protein and substance. You can leave this out or substitute brown rice. For this chili, I added the spices at the beginning rather than throwing them in at the end and I think it helps bring out the flavors more without adding any cooking time. Taking an hour of time to throw a pot of chili together is so worth it. You have a satisfying and healthy meal ready when you come home after a long day of class. You can easily make chili freestyle, but this recipe can serve as a base for whatever kind of chili you like.

photo by Lea Kriesberg

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serving: 5-6

Ingredients:

  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 can kidney beans
  • 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 4 carrots
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
  • 1/2 tablespoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper

supplies:

  • large pot
  • cutting board
  • knife
  • large spoon
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • peeler
  • can opener

Instructions:

  1. Prepare all of your vegetables. Chop the carrots, onions, and peppers into small pieces. Open all of the cans.
  2. Heat your oil in the large pot over medium-low heat. When the oil is hot (check by flicking some water into the pot) add the onion. Stir the onion occasionally and if you see any browning turn the heat down. After four or five minutes when the onions are softened add the garlic powder and cumin. Let the onions cook with the garlic and cumin for a few more minutes until they are softer and slightly translucent.
  3. Add the rest of the spices to the pot and cook the spices with the onion for two to three minutes.
  4. Add your canned tomatoes, vegetable stock, beans, vegetables, and quinoa. Turn the heat on high and bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low to bring it to a simmer (you should see small bubbles). If you want your chili to be less thick, add more water or vegetable stock. Set a timer for 20-30 minutes and let everything simmer with the lid slightly cracked. After the 20-30 minutes is up the vegetables and quinoa will be cooked.

photo by Lea Kriesberg

recipe by Lea Kriesberg

easy “shroomami” bowl

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photo by Lea Kriesberg

One of my favorite restaurants in DC is Sweetgreen. They make the most delicious salads and grain bowls using simple and seasonal ingredients. Even the carnivores out there are pleasantly surprised by how good Sweetgreen is. They make salads filling, satisfying, and full of flavor. My favorite bowl is the shroomami bowl which has brown rice, kale, mushrooms, beets, sunflower seeds, and tofu. While I do love Sweetgreen, I don’t love dropping $9 every time I want my shroomami bowl. I decided to make mine at home, which worked out well because every component is easy to make and can be saved throughout the week. Roasting the mushrooms and tofu makes this recipe hands-off and simple. I also tried marinating the tofu before roasting, giving it extra flavor. The same can be done for whatever protein source you like such as chicken or fish.

I also made my own miso dressing with just three ingredients. A good dressing is key for making a salad that actually tastes good. It’s easy to make dressing yourself, which saves you money. Preparing all of the components of the bowl for the week leaves you with a balanced and filling meal that comes together just by throwing all the ingredients in a bowl.

Cook: 40 mins

Active: 20 mins

Serves: 5

Ingredients:

  • kale
  • 4 beets
  • 5 portabello mushrooms or 1 package mushrooms
  • 2 packages extra firm tofu
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • sunflower seeds
  • avocado
  • miso paste
  • sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil or nonstick spray

for the dressing

  • miso paste
  • sesame oil
  • water

supplies:

  • baking sheet
  • small pot
  • chopping board and knife

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400° F
  2. Bring 2 cups of water to boil for the rice. When the water is boiled, add your rice and let it cook while you prepare everything else
  3. Cut tofu into bite-size pieces
  4. Add tofu to a large ziplock bag or bowl with 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of miso paste, and minced garlic. Let it marinate while you prepare the other parts.
  5. Chop and wash kale, beets, and mushrooms
  6. Put the mushrooms and tofu onto greased baking sheets. Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil or spray and drizzle with sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Toss them around to make sure they are all evenly coated.
  7. Put the mushrooms and tofu into the oven for around 20 minutes. The mushrooms will take longer than the tofu. When you take out the mushrooms, flip the tofu around so that all sides get browned and let them roast for another 10 minutes or until golden brown.
  8. For the dressing, mix equal parts miso paste and sesame oil in a small bowl and add water a tablespoon at a time until you get a taste and consistency you like
  9. Add toppings to your bowl (avocado, sunflower seeds, etc.)

photo by Lea Kriesberg

recipe by Lea Kriesberg