My first three sources

The College Student's Guide to Eating Well on Campus - by Ann Selkowitz Litt

I found this resource in the library and thought it would be very relevant to me and my topic since I am a college student and the audience the book addresses is college students. Overall, the book covers five main topics to focus on when emerging oneself into the college lifestyle. Fist off, it talks about the dreaded and popular topic of the "freshman fifteen". The book goes on to discuss why it happens and how one can avoid it. Another topic is that it focuses on the health aspect of the food that one eats because of the limited choices one has at college. There is a special section on diet programs  that are popular with college students and offers information on different types. Another great issue to take a look at is how to manage your individual unique food issues. Gives tips and walk through advice as to how to work with campus dining and food services if you have an dietary needs, allergies, etc. Another great section that's great for college students is how to eat well off campus as well. This is great because students can get tired of campus choices and are always up late when the dining halls could potentially be closed or on weekends when there is time to explore off campus.

I feel like this book can be somewhat helpful in my research for my immersing experience because it talks about food and it's tailor-made for my lifestyle at this time in my life. I can definitely  learn something from reading about the freshman fifteen because I have put on some weight at college for the lifestyle change and other major life changes. I think it will be interesting to see what advice the book offers as to how to avoid it. Another aspect of the book I'm looking forward to delving into is the "what's in the food you eat" portion of the book. There is some great information in this book that can guide me in my research, but I feel like it isn't as valuable to me and my immersive experience as some other sources may be. It doesn't really talk about cooking or making your own food, which is the majority of what I will be doing in my experience. Also it doesn't discuss the differences of eating out or eating in and the potential money one could be saving in doing so.

Cut Cost, Not Quality - HOW TO AFFORD BETTER FOOD - by Tabitha Alterman

This resource comes from the periodical called Mother Earth News in the December 2011 issue. This four page magazine article discusses and gives new insight to money saving ideas when it comes to cooking and food. There are some helpful tips that are really narrowed down into smaller steps so the reader can take full advantage of the advice. Some of the topics addressed are to buy food and ingredients in the season's their most abundant. Because the supply is plentiful, the demand is not as high, so prices will be relatively low in season. Another great trick is to buy locally. According to the article, when you spend $1 on supermarket food, not much of it goes to the producer. Overall, the fewer the middlemen, the less the seller of the product will have to charge you, thus saving good money for getting quality produce. There is a lengthy section that addresses the importance of cooking and growing your own food. From there it offers steps as to how to do this successfully and the next steps to take after you know how. Other great money saving tips are persevering/canning food and packing your own lunch. Buying in bulk can for the most part be a good thing, but you must choose wisely while doing so.

I feel like this article is very valuable to my research experience with my immersive learning project. It focuses directly on the money saving aspects and not so much the health aspects that is exactly what I’m looking for. Some experiences of my youth have taught me about some of these topics in order to save money would be buying in bulk, buying locally, and cooking and growing your own food.  When I was younger, every year my parents would have a garden that they would plant and grown some of their own fruits and veggies among other things. We also have a good-sized orchard with apples, pears, peaches, cherries, and grapes. We wouldn’t sell our garden produce, but we would use it in our own kitchen and meals. We would also go to farmer’s markets in our town to eliminate higher prices at supermarkets and the middleman.

Eating out vs. Eating at home - by Chef Dave Fouts and Vicki Bovee, MS, RD, LD.

This short little article addresses big issues related to my topic. The article begins with an interesting look into the history of the first restaurant and the origin of eating out. Although it does partially focus on health, the other half focuses on the occasion of eating out and the ups and downs of eating at a restraint instead of your own home. First off, it goes on to compare serving sizes and exactly how big a serving size should be. The article claims that restaurants are just in the business to make money, so it makes plenty of sense that if your going out to eat, your likely not saving any money. Another reason why most people prefer eating out rather than at home is because it’s more convenient and saves the consumer’s time. It also gives tips on how to overcome that in your own home and schedule so you can eat at home and not on the run with fast food, or because you don’t want to deal with the mess of making the food and cleaning up. Lastly, the article makes a statement that in the end, you must take responsibility for your own health and wellness.

I really enjoyed how the article drew you in with the lead about simmered sheep’s feet being the first dish ever served. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t eat that dish, but I guess the restaurant industry had to start somewhere. Another great factor about this article is that it compares and contrasts the benefits and disadvantages of eating out versus eating in. This is exactly the type of information that I am looking for. It gives a graph of the health information of classic restaurant recipes and compares them with similar healthier recipes one can make in their own kitchen. I think that it’s great that it addresses the potion sizes in restaurants because that has a lot to do with the calorie intake.  I know I’ve always been one that was taught to eat everything on my plate till its gone, so people that were raised that way are consuming too many calories and are not eating healthy. I love that they give modified recipes for healthier options of such common and well-liked dishes. That really tops off the article because you can be interactive with it and actually make something in your kitchen and have the satisfaction that it is for sure healthier for you than eating out.