3 - Research Update

                   

Hope everyone has had a wonderful week :)

I have now posted a movie trailer so that you have an idea of what I have been working on. I cannot wait to share with all of you the final product! But there is still a lot of work that needs to go into it, so this is what I have now : 

                                             

From Genius Hour Trailer

Research

What do students like to eat?

After doing a little research, asking around, and polling my friends, here is what I came up with

• pizza
• tacos
• pasta (alfredo, butter parm, garlic butter)
• burger (chicken, beef)
• nachos
• ramen
• sandwich (grilled cheese)
• fries
• mac and cheese
• soup

With this information I thought to myself, how can I make these 

a) faster to make yet still appetizing

b) cost-efficient

c) nutritional compared to their frozen/premade competitors. 

Ex: Pizza is the world's most popular takeout dish, so how do you make pizza as a student that does not require so much assembly time, yet is not takeout or frozen. 

    - using premade dough or a substitute like bagels, wraps, or even english muffins

    - then using toppings you have regularly in your pantry

    - what is great about using premade doughs is that they can be used for other meals 

            -tmrws breakfast wrap/sandwich, lunch wrap, tacos for dinner...

    - but what if you are a student that enjoys making fresh dough and assembling it

            - premaking the pizza, or turning them into rolls to freeze is also an option

McNaughton, Thomas. (April 2013). "Margherita Pizza with Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil". (online image). [https://images.app.goo.gl/UsZSM4QiJN7i7pNs6]

By knowing what students like to eat, I can go through and determine the means for students to still eat their favourite meals with a twist. 

What should students be looking for nutritionally?

As a student myself, I am always looking for ways to add essential nutrients into my diet. We know this is not easy. A lot of the time we gravitate towards frozen meals that are packed with sodium, sugars, or high calorie. 

Body Balance. (Oct 29). "how to read nutritional labels". (online image). [https://images.app.goo.gl/uiUdPLpHh7EyAGHs7]

                  

StaffWritter. (Oct 27, 2020). "the students guide to nutrition". (online image). [https://www.bestcolleges.com/resources/student-nutrition/]

For example, eating fish, adding beans into your diet, switching to grain breads instead of white, making sure to consume fruits and vegetables on the regular are all important to creating a balanced diet. 

Let's hear from some students...

To get more information on what students are looking for in this cookbook, I created a google form

Challenges

What I struggled with this week, was determining where to proceed. For example, knowing what I should be looking for in regards to student meals, and what they should be consuming. I am also challenged with the idea that I am creating 1 cookbook that potentially many different individuals could use... So, how do you reach everyone's taste and needs in one book? 

Next Steps

1) I hope to start putting the recipes together! I have been busy taste testing in the kitchen and should be ready to share some fun treats and recipes very soon.

2) determining what should go in the cookbook (pictures, substitutions, stories)

3) use the information from the google form to meet more students needs

What I learned

This week, I learned that I am not the only student with these concerns, but that my issues are not necessarily the same as someone else's. For example, I would love to know how to make my own chicken fingers, whereas as seen in the form, many are content with using frozen ones. We all have different tastes,  which is what will make this book interesting and give me the chance to provide alternatives and recommendations for using those leftovers, or utilizing ingredients for more than one meal. 

Thanks for stopping by! I'll see you next week!