Dining services Executive Chef Ken Grogg and the Wellness Center hosted a seminar Wednesday, Feb. 29, to show students that making a healthy meal can be inexpensive and relatively easy.

St. Thomas students tend to have a lot on their plate, and Wellness Center Nutrition intern Kate Lasher believes that making a meal is not a priority.

“We’re always in a hurry, and no one ever has time to just sit down and make a meal for a couple hours,” Lasher said. “I think a lot of college students don’t really know how to cook, or they have issues with it. I know I did.”

Sophomore Brent Moua lives on campus and said the unhealthy options available can be hard to resist.

“We need to go to The Binz or The View, and sometimes they don’t have the best options for us,” Moua said. “They always have like a burger or pizza, and that’s pretty tempting.”

Grogg said he wants students to learn how to make quick, easy, inexpensive and healthy meals while they’re in school. He demonstrated how to prepare a nutritious chicken piccata with pasta and mushrooms, made with whole wheat noodles. However, if you prefer something different, Grogg said that is okay too.

“Cook with the things you like to cook with,” Grogg said. “That’s really important.”

Grogg said the meal is not only good for you but is also easy on your wallet.

“This is really just helping students realize it’s easy to cook a healthy meal with our budget,” Lasher said.

Kristopher Jobe can be reached at jobe1276@stthomas.edu.