Food Network

Courtesy of Google Images.

College students spend much of their time either in class or studying, so when they get done with their day it's not suprising to see them sprawled out in front of the television, zoning out to their favorite show; The Simpsons, Family Guy, The OC and maybe even Jon Stewart are all pretty typical choices when students pick up the remote, but lately a new, more instructional channel is drawing our attention. That channel is the Food Network.

First thing some people are thinking is, "What? My grandma used to watch that while she was sewing." Seriously though, in my community I have observed an increasing amount of students, male and female, tuning in to shows like Emeril, Good Eats and 30-Minute Meals with Rachael Ray during the past few years. I'm not the only one either; in its' September 11, 2006 issue Time published an article about the soaring popularity of Ray's program and the diverse audience that it attracts. Ray's show, during which she shows how to cook an entire meal in 30 minutes, has a fan base that includes both teenage and young adult viewers as well as many younger children watching at home with their parents.

I see a very positive development here as Ray is not only providing a new source of entertainment for bored children and students, but is also enlightening us to ways of improving our diet that we can actually do. Before Rachel Ray, cooking programs tended to be boring and drab; on top of that they were always cooking something that a normal person would either never dream of trying to cook, or never eat. All of that has changed with Ray's bubbly personality, fun recipes and a timeline that anyone can handle.

Hopefully the techniques and tricks Ray uses to make good, healthy food quick will persuade students to give their own diet a long needed overhaul. In an article on WebMD entitled "Many College Students Flunking Eating 101," the author Mike Fillon raises some serious concerns about the diet choices of University-goers. Many students it turns out actually think that they are eating well when, in reality, they are eating bad foods at all times of the day with little or no thought of nutritional value. While some students do make the concious decision to eat right, just as many, if not more, are living on cafeteria hamburgers and microwaved Top Ramen. It isn't like high school where you can depend on parents or lunch-ladies to decide what to serve you, college is the time when we build eating habits for the rest of our lives and many of the habits that are being built- aren't good ones.

Hopefully a chef like Ray, and the increasingly engaging programming on Food Network, can begin to change things a little bit. Since more college students are watching, hopefully they're taking the lessons to heart, learning how to make their own quick and healthy meals. They don't have to eat fast food between classes or ice cream when they're studying late, it's all a matter of choice. Its good that somebody has finally shown us, as well as the rest of America, that healthy eating doesnt have to take a long time or taste bad, you just have to make the decision to do it: to cook instead of go out, to eat an apple instead of chips and to make the time to be a fitter person.