North Texas Daily

Dana Pisciottano // Intern Photographer 

With only six students in attendance, the Student Money Management Center’s free cooking class for students Thursday night in Chestnut Hall was small and intimate.

Students helped one another cook a five-item menu including Thai flatbread pizza, roasted veggies, stuffed bell peppers, baked pears and cookies’n’cream truffles. 

Although the truffles aren’t healthy, class moderator Rachel Grimes said she wanted to give students an idea for an easy-to-make dessert for Valentine’s Day.

Students broke up into a few groups and began preparing food at different stations set up around the room.

A handout provided to participants included necessary ingredients and cooking directions for the meals students prepared. All of the meals prepared during the class made four servings, the most costly being the roasted veggies at $3.09 per serving.

Grimes discussed various ways to save money when it comes to eating for the week. She said meal preparation and creating a weekly menu is important because it saves both time and money.

“Avoid wasting food by making multiple meals with one ingredient,” Grimes said.

Students used ingredients such as marinara sauce for more than one recipe they prepared during the class. Some of them already had an idea of what to look for when eating healthy.

“Price match and use the sales papers to save money. And if you go out to eat look at your receipts for surveys for free food,” development and family studies junior Christin Culbreath said.

The temptation to eat out is always there for college students because it’s quick and easy, but doing it all the time does get expensive. It’s also not a healthy choice compared to buying fruits and veggies at a grocery store or farmer’s market for the same price.

“My schedule is crazy, so making a lot of food on the weekend to be able to mix-and-match throughout the week [works],” development and family studies junior Alie Gamboa said.

Feature photo: The Student Money Management Center hosted a cooking class this evening in Chestnut Hall. During the class students are given tips on how to better budget money at the store. They’re also taught time and money management tips like meal preparation. Photo by Dana Pisciottano / Intern Photographer