Fight Hunger in Philadelphia

It’s difficult for most of us to imagine being hungry. But, hunger is a very large issue in Philadelphia. Almost daily at Temple University I have been asked by a homeless person if I can spare any change. In Pennsylvania’s First Congressional District more than 31% of households don’t have enough money to buy food for their family. This district ranks as the fourth highest in the nation for food hardship.

The Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger is an organization that works to fight hunger. There are over 700 soup kitchens and food pantries in Philadelphia and the Coalition helps to supply these kitchens with food throughout the year. This organization works in three different ways to provide education, outreach and advocacy throughout Philadelphia region. They collect donations to supply food kitchens and they help to keep these pantries open in the winter when people need a hot meal the most. They also evaluate individuals to see if they qualify for food stamps. Through their assistance, over 440,000 Philadelphia residents use food stamps.  The Coalition relies heavily on donations and on Saturday, April 9^th they are holding a 5K Walk + Run to raise money for food and kitchen equipment.

During this recession, it has become more difficult for working parents to provide food for their family. That’s where Philabundance comes in. They provide food not only to pantries in Philadelphia, but in the Delaware Valley as well. In addition, they help families and individuals who don’t qualify for Food Stamps. Philabundance works with grocery stores to collect items that would otherwise be thrown away. Last year, through their partnership they collected 1.2 million pounds of food through this program.

I am very involved with the Temple Ad Club and we are holding a food drive during the month of April to benefit Philabundance. We will be collecting canned food during our general meetings. I encourage you to donate to these organizations and if you are a Temple student you can donate to our food drive by emailing tac@temple.edu.  

Salad. What is that? The green stuff?

Ok, so your Mom always told you to eat your vegetables. But, fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive and to make a salad you need so many ingredients - and that adds up. I've found the solution. Salad Mixes.

This week finally felt like spring and I wanted a lighter meal. A salad mix is the perfect option for college students because it has everything you need in one bag and it is cheap! My roommate and I bought one bag for $3 and split it.

What you'll need.
One bag of your preferred salad mix.
(I bought the Asian mix, but they also had Ceasar, Southwest, and Garden mixes)
One chicken breast.
I also found a can of mandarin oranges in my cupboard, so I used that too.

How to cook
Grill the chicken and cut it up. (That was the only effort I put into this meal.)
Then rinse the salad mix and serve.

Mom will be so proud.

Roast Beef Sammie

Look what my roommate's mom gave us. They are like an everything bagel only on a roll. They look sooo good and we had to make sure we made something that fit the rolls. 

Roast beef was on sale this week. So we bought that along with a gravy mix. 

What you'll need: 

Roast beef

Gravy mix

Rolls 

Provolone or Mozzarella cheese

How to cook: 

Follow the directions for the gravy mix (all I had to do was add water and simmer). Then once that is heated add your roast beef to the saucepan. The gravy is ready you are just waiting for the roast beef to heat up. 

That's it. 

Add cheese or onions if you want. 

Total cooking time for a crazy easy meal. About 10min. 

Easy Easy Buffalo Chicken Sammie

Ok, this semester, like a lot of my semesters, I've had a night class. And one of the worst parts of it is that it's too early to eat before and it's too late to make something after because it takes too long. So, your stomach growls the whole time you're in class and so you usually end up picking up take-out on the way back to your apartment. I think I've found the solution. Earlier that day take a chicken breast out of the freezer. (Tip: I keep mine individually wrapped so I don't have to defrost a whole package if my roommates aren't hungry) By the time you come back from class the chicken will be defrosted.

What you'll need:
1 Chicken Breast
Hot Sauce
1 Bun

Variations:
Mozzarella cheese
Lettuce

How to cook:
I luckily have a George Forman Grill (the cheap ones are around $20-40). So put your chicken on the grill, if you want you can add a little of your favorite seasoning, then close the lid and wait about 7-8 minutes or until it's no longer pink inside.
After, cut it into strips and lay it on your bun. Smother it with hot sauce.

It's done!

It's super easy and it only takes about 12 minutes! Now you have no excuse to stop at the chinese place on your way home. 

Darlings Diner and City Food Tours

This weekend I went to Darlings Diner in Northern Liberties. My friends and I went for brunch, it was a nice little place. My roommate got pancakes called "Hipsters Paradise." Feast your eyes on this....

Its more like dessert than breakfast because it has peanut butter and nutella on banana blueberry pancakes. I think she finished maybe half because the serving size was huge.

I ended up getting a sandwich with mozzarella, arugula, avocado, tomatoes, sprouts, and pesto. It was so light and refreshing.

Even though it may not seem like it would be filling, I only ate half of the sandwich (and all the fries :) ). It was $10 but if you think about it I really got two meals out of it because I took the rest home with me for lunch this week.


While we were there a tour passed us. We stopped the tour guide and asked him about it. He said he was with City Food Tours and they have several food tours throughout Philly (and New York if your interested). They have five different tours including, flavors of Philly, gourmet desserts, and even craft beer. The newest tour location is around Northern Liberties and Darlings was on the list. It's kinda expensive for a college budget, but if you go only for a special occasion it would probably be worth it.

Quesadillas as easy uno, dos, tres

Easy, quick meals are usually impossible without the words “take out” in front. But, quesadillas are so easy and you don’t need many ingredients. I made cheese and peppers quesadillas, but you can always make them with chicken, ground beef, or steak. 

What you’ll need:

Tortilla

Cheese

Peppers

Onions

Salsa or Hot Sauce

Cooking Spray

How to cook:

Cut peppers and onions into strips.

Spray one side of the tortilla with cooking spray and lay in a skillet on medium heat.

Add your hot sauce, peppers, onions and cheese to one side of the tortilla.

Fold over the tortilla.

Once the bottom is slightly brown flip over the quesadilla with a spatula.

After it’s flipped wait another 2-3 minutes for the opposite side to brown.

And that's it! 

Total cooking time 10min!

Now you have no excuse to order take out after a night class.

Variations:

The best part about this dish is that it can be changed up with whatever ingredients you have laying around. And if your hungry, you can always use two tortillas for a more filling quesadilla. 

Cheap Eats

One of the biggest challenges being in college is being on a budget. Going out to eat can make this a big challenge. Luckily Urban Spoon makes it easy. On the website you can choose your location, your cuisine, and most importantly... your budget. And it is an app. 

One of the downfalls of this app is that it doesn't have a lot of 'mom and pop' shops that are newer and it doesn't show food trucks. Especially in the city food trucks are normally cheaper and they have a wide selection of food. 

One thing I've learned about living in Philly is that these people are serious about their bagels. And one of the best places to go to is the Bagel Hut at Temple University. 

Don't let it's size fool you, the bagels are fresh everyday and they have daily specials. And I've never spent more than $5 at the hut and I go at least 3 times a week. You can get anything from your basic bagel with cream cheese or get the veggie or strawberry spread (my two favs). The warm toasted sandwiches will warm you up on a cool day. And my roommate swears they have the best coffee on campus too. It's one of those places you have to visit. But you have to get there early because they close at 2!