Through a cooking program for on-campus residents students will learn that making a breakfast of sausage, egg and cheese muffins and nutty banana waffle sandwiches in their own dorm room is a lot easier and cheaper than they think.

The program, Healthy Cooking, sponsored by the Health Education Resource Center, is the first in a series of three sessions designed to teach students living in residence halls how to make simple, healthy foods using everyday ingredients.

“This program will educate students on the importance of including meals within their days and provide them with options that are nutritious, but also easy to make for the time-crunched individuals,” said Sarah Gaines, nutrition education coordinator for the HERC.

This session will focus on breakfast foods and will educate students about the importance of the meal, while also giving them some hands-on experience in preparing quick, nutritious breakfast foods using a variety of inexpensive ingredients that can be purchased by college students.

“The foods that we will be making will contain ingredients that can be easily stored in the dorm room, either free-standing or in the refrigerator or freezer, and which require minimal or no preparation,” Gaines said.

She said many students do not realize the importance of eating balanced meals and including foods from every group.

“They often think they do not have the time for proper nutritious meals, and will instead eat lower-nutrient snacks throughout the day,” she said.

The breakfasts that participants will learn to make at the session can be eaten on the go or when students have a little more time to sit down and relax.

“Many of the foods will be grab-and-go themed, but some will be more ideal for the sit-down setting,” Gaines said.

She said that while she does not think it is necessarily difficult for students to eat healthy on campus, they are required to consciously choose healthier options over unhealthy ones.

“There is just so much to choose from in the dining centers that students can easily overconsume, and they have to consciously pick the better option,” Gaines said.

Participants will receive the recipes for the foods they make, and Gaines said the PowerPoint presentation would be available if students wish to have copies.

The program will start at 6 p.m. in Room 2309 of Klehm Hall.

The topics of the next two sessions will be lunch on March 3 and dinner on March 10.

Emily Reid can be reached at 581-7942 or ejreid2@eiu.edu.