Cooking with Karina: Easy, Breezy, Cheesy

Karina Arnold loves making this quick, simple, vegan meal to enjoy with a bowl of warm soup, such as this Blender Tomato Turmeric Soup. 

Karina Arnold is a junior at the University of Oklahoma who’s passionate about healthy cooking. She provides creative, healthy recipes and tips on clean eating.

Beauty comes in many forms: big or small, old and young, sharp or creamy, fried or melted. I’m talking specifically about cheese.

Like beauty, grilled cheese is effortless, satisfying and makes you feel good inside. True beauty comes from within and radiates externally. Filling your grilled cheese with quality, nutritious ingredients will make your sandwich look and taste magnificent. Full of vitamin D and calcium, cheese promotes strong bones.

However, not all cheese is created equal. Vegan and dairy cheeses come in a variety of flavors, shapes and are made with different ingredients. Consequentially, cheese nutritional value depends on what brands you buy. Next time you scan your cheese labels, look for whole ingredients like milk, pea protein or sea salt. Secondly, look for fat content. Of course, cheese will have fat, but watch for high levels of trans fat, which is harder for the body to digest than naturally occurring saturated fats. In addition, look for high levels of calcium (around 10-20 percent) and low levels of sodium and sugar (try to stick below 150mg in sodium and 2g in sugar).

In addition to cheeses’ wide flavor variety, cheese debuts in some of America’s favorite meals. Dishes like my Healthy Mac and Cheese fills your stomach with warm gooey goodness. Another kid-classic is the beloved Gooey Grilled Cheese. There is a reason why grilled cheese is a classic. It covers all food basics to make a nutritional and wholesome meal. Dipped into my Blender Tomato Soup, grilled cheese provides healthy carbs and fiber from the bread, fats from the cheese and protein from the cheese and seeds if you sprinkle hemp seeds on your cheese. I also used a seed bread to protein-pack to my sandwich.

The key ingredient in this recipe is patience. Grill your sandwich over a well-greased medium heat skillet for two minutes on each side for four flips total. This method ensures that your crispy golden-brown crunch will be greeted by a gooey cheesy middle. Topped with a homemade pickle, this grilled cheese-soup combo will be your new favorite meal.

Be-you to be beYOUtiful. Whether you like your grilled cheeses dressed up with brie and jam or you like to stick to the classic cheddar, eat what makes you feel good to make you look good.