Noodle Casserole
Everything is still going great with my occupation. I am trying to tighten my budget for food expenses, so that has been a bit challenging. I am also creating a list of recipes, from the ones I have tried this semester, to use during next semester. I am still having a lot of fun with my occupation and have started to branch out and cook food for my family.
I attended BSU for my undergraduate degree in psychology. I often wouldn’t be on campus long enough for me to have to pack a lunch and/or dinner everyday. Instead, I could go home and eat lunch or dinner. If I did need to eat while I was out I would usually grab something from one of the vendors at the university dining hall. For about four years my meal prepping for school was minimal. When I got to graduate school, my schedule went from being on campus for a couple hours every day or two, to being on campus from eight to five regularly. I soon realized I would have to prepare meals, for both lunch and dinner, for the days I was on campus. I had planned on doing this occupation before we were required to choose a new occupation for this course. When I found out that I could meal prep and get credit for it, I decided to make it my new occupation.
Early on in the course, I talked about meal prepping being something I had wanted to engage in more because it allowed me to be a more functional adult and student. All throughout my undergraduate program I had a lot of friends that meal prepped and they seemed to be more disciplined and well rounded students and adults. I realized that meal prepping wasn’t what made them successful, but nevertheless I wanted to be good at it too. By choosing meal prepping as my new occupation, I was able to choose an occupation that already held a lot of meaning to me. This coincides with the reading from last week, as we learned that engagement in occupations that are compatible with personal values helps us create meaning (Chan, 2018).
My new occupation has allowed me to become more well-rounded as a student and as an adult. I now feel more confident to not only make meals for myself but for others in my family. This experience has forced me to be consistent and accountable with my cooking. I have created a good cooking schedule, created a feasible budget, and have mastered some foundational skills, thus helping me achieve a goal that I have had for a few years. Going forward, this experience has given me the kickstart to be successful with this occupation throughout the rest of my time in this program and throughout life.
References
Chan, S. C. C. (2017). Meaning making through occupational storytelling: Case study of a Chinese retiree. Journal of Occupational Science, 25(2), 214–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2017.1363079
Gabriella, this recipe looks delicious! I love that you have become so much more confident in your cooking abilities and you have even tried out cooking for your family. I always feel a sense of pride when I see my family happily eating a meal I cooked. In my opinion, being able to adapt recipes to work with the ingredients you have on hand is the hardest part of learning to cook but also the most useful. What has been your family's favorite meal you have tried out on them?
ReplyDeleteHi Kelly, thanks for commenting. This has been a really fun occupation, and definitely one I will be using for the rest of my life. I would say my family really enjoyed my pumpkin lasagna (probably for the shock factor, lol). A runner up would be my bok choy soup :)
DeleteHey Gabriella! Your meal looks amazing! I agree on becoming more confident while cooking because I had the same feeling. When it comes to cooking, one gets nervous but than gets used to doing it after many times. What meal is your favorite to cook? How do you fit cooking in your schedule? I am glad that cooking has became a great part of your life.
ReplyDeleteHi Vera! Thanks for commenting. I have too many meals I like to make, so it's hard to choose just one... I do have a specific type of food I like to make a lot, which is Asian cuisine. I love to make dumplings, soups, and other seafood based dishes. My favorite meal I made this semester would be the Bok Choy soup. I pick out a recipe the week before I make it, budget the ingredients, go grocery shopping after school on Friday, and then make the dish on Saturday. I hope your cooking occupation has gone well too!
Delete