Recipe Four: Turkey Meatballs and Sauce

Here's a healthier (turkey) meatball option for when you cook, with a delicious homemade sauce to go along with it.

Turkey Meatballs
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground turkey
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup dried basil leaves
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 tbsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 16 oz can whole cut tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
• 6 oz can tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Small can sliced black olives

Instructions

1. Mix turkey, parmesan, egg, basil, breadcrumbs, parsley, and oregano in a bowl
2. Form into 1 - 2 inch meatballs and sautée in large skillet until no longer pink in center
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the meatballs in a large pot
4. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered until sauce thickens, about 30 minutes
5. Salt and pepper to taste, serve over hot pasta

Nutrition Information

• 213 calories
• 16 g carbohydrates
• 2 g dietary fiber
• 4 g sugar
• 5 g fat
• 25 g protein

This is such an easy recipe to make, and once you are done forming the meatballs, you basically just let them sit and cook - very little attention required. Bon appétit! 

Instant Noodles: A College Staple

Ramen noodles are another food that I believe every college student has consumed. Sadly, these instant noodles are extremely cheap (19¢ per package), and require only water, a microwave, and a few minutes to make. However inexpensive and easy, these noodles are terrible for the body.

First, let us think about the ingredients. The seemingly innocent noodles are actually deep fried. That doesn't bode well for any health aspect of the food. This is basically taking enriched flour (the non-whole grain variety), which is already stripped of pretty much any fiber or nutritional value, and dropping it in oil. The seasoning packet is almost all pure salt. How do I know? I looked at the ingredients list on the package. Ingredient number one is salt. Followed by the phrase 'contains less than 1% of...' 


Next, we can look at the nutrition information on the package. One package of ramen (technically two servings) contains 14g of fat (half of which is saturated fat).  That means one bowl of ramen has one fifth of your daily fat intake (remember, this is just noodles and broth). Ramen also contains almost 1800mg of sodium - 75% of your daily intake. Definitely not good. Lastly, there are 52g of carbohydrates (hey, they are noodles), however, only 2g of this are dietary fiber. In total, this constitutes 400 calories for the bowl of ramen noodles, 150 of which come from fat. Ew.


All of these factors combine into a higher risk for weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Instead of buying ramen deathbricks, try getting some whole grain pasta, and jarred pasta sauce. It might cost slightly more per serving, but it will keep you going in the long run. More on pasta soon.