MSU evolutionary biology and genetics senior Nick Stants zests an orange in his apartment kitchen. On April 8, Stants published a salads cookbook for young adults.
A 60-recipe cookbook created by an MSU student for young adults is now available for purchase. The book, "Salads: Quick, Nutritious Meals for the First Time Cook" was written by MSU evolutionary biology and genetics senior Nick Stants.
"My idea is to create a toolbox of sorts for college students and young adults so they can have recipes to pull from to use fresh, simple, familiar ingredients but transform them into simple, unique and comforting dishes," Stants said.
The 100-page book published April 8 and is currently available on Amazon and Kindle. Digital copies are $9.99 and print copies are $26.
The idea for Stants' cookbook came from asking his friends what food they would cook. He quickly found that his friends didn't cook often.
Stants has been cooking since he was 6 or 7 years old, and worked in two professional kitchens when he was in high school. He picked up a lot of cooking skills from his parents and watches Food Network for inspiration.
"I want to change the perception of a salad from a, kind of throw a bunch of vegetables into a bowl and call it a day dish — I want to use some of those same ingredients but then add a little thought and a little love to them to make sure they can stand on their own as a whole meal," he said.
Stants created all 60 recipes included in the book, which include vegetarian, vegan and meat-based dishes. Also included in the book is a section on kitchen skills and sanitation for those who might not have a lot of cooking experience.
"I wanted to provide some tips for the new cook so they can feel comfortable and confident in the kitchen. So some knife skills, some sanitation information," Stants said. "The book is split up into four different sections, and one of the sections is all about those beginner tips so that anyone can walk into the kitchen and have a little know-how and be able to be confident and cook for themselves."
Stants already published a fiction novel, so the process of writing and editing wasn't new to him. He began writing his cookbook in early December.
He hopes to donate a portion of the profits to No Kid Hungry, a national campaign through Share Our Strength, a nonprofit that aims to end hunger and poverty.
"I'm very fortunate that I can have enough food for myself and cook for myself all the time, but there are a lot of people in this country who can't do that," he said. "So donating to them I think could be really cool, and pushing my mission to making sure all young people know how to cook and take care of themselves and their health through food."
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