Student Creates Food Blog for Dorm Cooking

A Johns Hopkins University student is cooking up something good.

Emily Hu, a public health student, created a food blog called NotYourAverageCollegeFood.com for students to use as a resource for cooking on campus. Hu was inspired to create the website after getting tired of the same old college cafeteria food in her freshman year, according to her blog. In her first year of blogging, some of her recipes were picked up and featured on Buzzfeed and Greatist.

“The goal of this blog is to share with other college students simple, healthy recipes that they can make under the burdens and stresses of school and time management,” Hu wrote on her website. “Most of the recipes require very few ingredients and little preparation!”

Hu often veers toward healthier versions of indulgent foods. For example, she sneaks zucchini into a chocolate bundt cake, lending it more moisture and fluffiness. Once, when she couldn’t find all-purpose flour, she opted for whole-wheat flour for chocolate cinnamon rolls.

Some of her posts even include nutritional information about the ingredients she is using. A post about a blueberry recipe touted the berry’s antioxidants, which slow down the aging process.

The most popular recipe on the site is a simple 5-ingredient recipe for pancakes, which includes a creative twist with blueberries and Greek yogurt, providing tang and sweetness.

Students might also get a kick out of her bacon, avocado, and egg (BAE) sandwich, which takes about 10 minutes and enlists the help of chipotle powder and lime to give the sandwich more flavor.

One recipe that’s perfect for students without access to an oven is called a strawberry icebox cake. The ingredients are 1 lb sliced strawberries, 2 cups heavy whipping cream, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 3 to 4 sleeves of graham crackers.

Hu’s recipe calls for mixing the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract until stiff peaks form and then spreading the mixture on graham crackers. Then, place the strawberries on top and repeat the process until all graham crackers have been used. Students can place the assembled cake in their mini fridge in their dorm room and serve it when it becomes chilled.