For many students leaving home and going to college means not only saying goodbye to our mothers constant care and helpfulness, but also to the warm delicious meals cooked by her.

After leaving, it’s usually “Hello Domino’s and Chef Boyardee.”

Many students at BYU-Idaho, however, do not have to rely solely on food cooked in grease and are able to take a break from processed food and preservatives simply because their mothers have taught them how to cook and prepare some simple, healthy meals.

“My mom taught me lots about cooking before I went to college, and I learned a lot from watching her,” said Ashlee Graham, a senior from Mineral Ridge, Ohio. “She taught me the basics like boiling water, defrosting meat and using appliances.”

Another student, Maria Juarez, a freshman from Smithfield, N.C,, expressed how grateful she was for her mom taking the time to teach her how to survive at college.

“My mom taught me how to make tons of stuff, and it is all so good,” Juarez said.

A big concern among mothers of students is whether or not their children are eating healthy. It is often a difficult thing to eat nutritious that are still quick to make while in college and on the run to class.

“My mom is always worried if I’m eating right and if I have enough money to buy good food,” said Nick Gubler, a junior from Marysville, Wash.

“She taught me everything I know about cooking, but last semester she bought me a Galley pass since I didn’t have time to cook.”

Other mothers haven’t been quite as successful in training their children to eat well when they are away from home.

“My mom worries about what I eat at school because she knows I starve,” said James Shurtleff, a junior from Haines, Ore.

“She tried to teach me to cook before I went to college but she failed.”

Despite their mother’s best efforts to help their children eat well by teaching them cooking skills, most students still miss their mom’s cooking. After all, knowing how to cook the family secret recipe doesn’t mean that it will turn out the same way as one’s mother always cooked it.

It is often heard at apartments around campus the sounds of students wishing for their mother’s cooking in the place of their own or their roommate’s.

“I really miss my mom’s cooking because she knows what tastes good together, whereas I just throw a bunch of stuff together and hope it tastes good,” Gubler said.

Even throwing random ingredients takes time, and often student wish they didn’t even have to do that.

“What I miss the most about my mother’s cooking is that when I was home, she cooked it and I didn’t have to,” Graham said.

Even though many students wish they didn’t have to cook, they are grateful they at least know how to.

Some BYU-I students have shared their favorite simple recipes they learned that don’t need too many ingredients.