Huan The Cook

Vegetables are college students’ friends for a variety of reasons. Veggies are always there when you need them. Veggies hang out with you all the time, including morning, noon and late nights. These healthy little morsels will keep you looking slim for hot dates, acne free, disease free and pumping a healthy heart. That’s what friends are for, right?

Veggies are easy to be with. You can cook veggies any way you wish, and these foods don’t complain. Chop, dice, julienne, steam, bake, boil or eat them raw, veggies are always good to you. Dip a veggie or wrap a veggie in a pita, it’s always good to you. Colors don’t matter to veggies. Green, orange, purple, yellow or red, veggies love them all.

All joking aside, vegetables are college students’ friends. These are the buds you need to keep yourself healthy and fit. Like fruits, vegetables are low-fat and contain healthy amounts of minerals and vitamins. All the orange, yellow and green veggies are rich sources of magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, K, C and B. Additionally, veggies contain many oxidants that protect the body from stress, cancers and diseases and help the body develop the capacity to fight disease by boosting immunity. Vegetables contain soluble and insoluble dietary fiber like pectin, mucilage, cellulose and gums that absorb excess water and assist in elimination. Sounds gruesome, but hemorrhoids and chronic constipation are no fun.

In addition to being great buds for staying healthy and fighting off disease, veggies are buds when you need to lose weight. When trying to lose weight, sometimes it’s hard to stay full. This is where your buds are there to help. Vegetables are low-density energy foods that help you stay full and stick to your diet. Energy density is a ratio of caloric content of food to its weight. Veggies range from 0.1 to 0.6 calories per gram. Water and fiber contribute to the low-density energy of veggies. While water doesn’t contain any calories, it adds weight and volume to food. The fiber in veggies fights absorption of fats and helps keep you lean. Veggies also help lower cholesterol and blood glucose levels.

Veggies also please the palate and make your toes curl. Buy a fresh batch of carrots, peel and steam. Its natural sweetness is a culinary delight. Add some bok choy, Chinese cabbages, shiitake mushrooms, garlic and onion to a stir-fry for some flavor and crunch. Slice up some cucumbers, broccoli and carrots for dunking in a curry tip. For a treat, make a carrot cake using whole grains. Wrap up your favorite choice of veggies in whole grain pita bread. Veggies are your buds because it’s a food that will put a smile on your face.

College students need to hang out with these buds more. Recent studies show that college students are eating less than one serving a day of veggies. It is recommended that five servings a day of vegetables are necessary for optimum health. Take head and spend more time with these healthy buds.

About the Author

DP is a freelance writer for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers is a great site for you if you have made the choice to enroll in online colleges.

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