<p>Son and his 4 male roommates used the George Forman for everything! It was really small and the grids didnt come off but it did get really hot. I have a feeling they never cleaned it… They wore a couple of em out. I bought them a bigger one with remove able plates but it didn’t get hot enough and it took up too much counter space.( which actually may have been good since that left less space for dirty dishes.)</p>
<p>Oh, paper plates were a good idea. </p>
<p>Here was their favorite recipe. 3 cups self rising flour, 1/2 cup sugar and 12 oz of beer. Mix, pour into loaf pan and bake 375 for an hour. </p>
<p>Or he could get a rice cooker with a steamer on top & while the rice is cooking, the veggies & tofu could be steaming too.
Just depends on how healthy he wants to eat.</p>
<p>My daughter lived in one house for two years without a dishwasher. They washed them by hand. Im sure young men can learn to have the same self care skills as young women. Plus it will make them more attractive as boyfriends.
I was thrilled when we went camping with D & her BF and they took over preparing 1/2 the meals, it was such a nice change from my H asking when things were going to be ready!</p>
<p>Our S loves frozen potstickers that are pre-cooked and just need to be thrown into boiling water to be ready to eat. You can use that with a pack of ramen for instant meal, no hassle. </p>
<p>S also loves his automatic rice pot–rice is his favorite carb. He makes that and a big pot of curry and is good for many days of meals. He’s also taught himself a bunch of other easy meals. </p>
<p>S’s roommate would just buy a large pizza and eat that for several meals. </p>
<p>If he lives near a Costco, the rotisserie chicken and the large pre-prepared salads would be several meals as well. </p>
<p>I almost suggested a rice cooker, but then I second guessed myself and thought maybe that was just one too many appliances for a guy. I LOVE my rice cooker . . .you really can use it for a lot of things, and rice is perfect every single time.</p>
<p>I just taught my son to boil the rice (2 parts water/one part rice) until tender and then drain excess water. Not the way I make it - but easy for him. Or I told him to buy the boil in bag/microwave rice. I don’t think he’d use a rice cooker often enough. </p>
<p>I might get him a George Foreman though. We used to have one, but it was a pain to clean. If they have removable plates now, then he might actually clean it. I did teach him to make chicken, chops and steaks in a cast iron pan, but not sure he’ll really do it. He’s kind of lazy and doesn’t really like to eat. Does that sound strange? He’s one of those people that doesn’t really eat for pleasure. </p>
<p>…“Although inorganic arsenic is a known carcinogen, there are no federal limits for it in juice, rice, or most other food…”.</p>
<p>…"Based on its full data, the FDA is “conducting a risk assessment as the next step in a process to help manage possible risks associated with the consumption of rice and rice products,” says Theresa Eisenman, an FDA spokeswoman.</p>
<p>Recent scientific evidence suggests that those risks can be significant. Last July researchers in the United Kingdom and India published a groundbreaking study providing the first evidence that frequently eating rice with high amounts of total arsenic can actually lead to genetic damage in cells associated with cancer"…</p>
<p>Thanks. Great suggestions. I’m going to check out the Cusinart Griddler. My son doesn’t like rice much, so I doubt he will cook it on his own. Also doesn’t like potatoes, unless they are mom’ mashed or French fries. He is an eat to live as opposed to live to eat kind of guy. Food isn’t “worth much time” for him which is why easy is so important. </p>
<p>My mom is an excellent cook. But now in her 80s, she usually relies on the convenience of frozen microwabe meals. She wisely steers toward choices low in salt and fat. There are many brands and flavors. It’s very different from when I was a college student shopping for food 30 years ago. </p>
<p>I was just talking to S yesterday, halfway through his house-sitting gig. He said that the only thing he has really made from scratch is chocolate chip cookies, and I suspect that was only because a couple girls were over at the house (I’m sure they made the cookies). Otherwise, it’s been frozen pizza, yogurt, cereal, bacon sandwiches. He said he bought fruit and baby carrots, but not sure how much they have actually been consumed. I did notice on his debit card statement, that he’s been eating out almost once a day. Wonder how much of his salary he’s actually going to have left at the end of the summer. On the bright side, when he came home in May, he had lost way too much weight during the school year (remember he doesn’t really like to eat). At least a daily diet of fast food will fatten him up a bit. </p>
<p>My mom does this a lot. Like, for a meal she’ll eat a head of lettuce and 3 tomatoes or something. No preparation other than cutting the tomatoes and putting salt on them. It’s weird. I can’t handle that. </p>
<p>@megpmom, I have one son who really doesn’t seem to like food much. He lives on sandwiches from Subway, pizza and way too much cold cereal. I worry about him. Younger son OTOH likes food a lot and is fun to cook for.</p>
<p>If I had a big lunch at night I have avocados or cheese and fruits, either banana or apple, or celeries or carrots with hummus. Lots of snacking but no big meal.</p>
<p>I’m an alpha male and during my first semester of college, I chose to live off campus. I hated cooking then as I do now. I consider cooking a colossal waste of time; however, I love food and admire those who cook. Despite my mother’s efforts to teach me some basics, I ignored her advice and literally ate grill cheese sandwiches for dinner for a month. I survived and eventually began eating a lot of TV dinners, etc. I ended up with a roommate who liked to cook and we became good friends. Later on I took a job as a hasher at one of the top sororities and was fed on a regular basis. My advice: let him be, he’ll survive and probably do the same thing I did. A side effect is that I never got overweight because I’d rather eat cereal or pork and beans and weiners for dinner, directly out of the pan, of course, than spend all that time cooking.</p>
<p>SeattleTW, you could be my son. He’s simply not interested in cooking. I’m hopeful that living in a house off campus may change that, but I am not holding my breath.
Many students seem to live on a lot of cereal, but my son doesn’t eat much cereal. He is 5 10 and weighs 130 with his shoes on. He does things like eat half a pound of lunch meat or more in one sitting, but no bread to go with it. He will eat muffins and sweets for breakfast if they are around. He has started eating frozen dinners, and I’m guessing he will eat lunch on campus and then eat a frozen dinner many nights. He will figure something out, I’m sure. </p>
<p>I got my son (and gave as shower gifts to others) a soft cover edition (my current one 14th) of the “Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook”- the one with the red plaid cover. It is a great reference. Tells you how to boil corn on the cob, soft and hard boiled eggs, pictures of meat cuts, cheeses, pastas and so many more practical things. He can get many recipes online but this has all of the basics for doing things.</p>
<p>Your son will learn- “necessity is a great teacher”. This is a good experience for him. He should appreciate your cooking much more when he’s home.</p>
<p>1214mom, I weighed the same as your boy when I was 18 and that’s normal given his high metabolism. He should enjoy it now before he gets older and gains more weight as his metabolism slows. I also recall eating a larger lunch to hold me over until the dreaded dinner time, just as your son likely does. I also discovered and survived on macaroni and cheese in the box, which was all I could stand as far as cooking. Sandwiches and hot dogs were also dinner staples. And when I had extra cash I lived at Burger King, Subway and McDonald’s.</p>
<p>Wis45, this is so true, to this day when I go home I appreciate my mom cooking for me, although at times my dad gets annoyed by her spoiling me, he he. Cook books are foreign language to me…but, those who cook are at the top of the food chain, IMO. I love Paula Deen and all those cooking shows too!</p>
<p>OP here. He leaves this week. I’ve created a shopping list of ingredients from ideas here and other sources. I’ve reminded him to sign up for the store sale cards. He told me don’t bother with the griddler, but I might get one for my husband and me. </p>
<p>Hint - If there are not enough leftovers (from chinese takeout, homemade meal or whatever)… you can often scramble it up with an egg or two for an interesting meal. </p>