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Putting a spin on ramen: Southwest ramen noodles

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The Bear Pantry and the Nutrition and Dietetics department are partnering to promote healthy eating choices, while decreasing food insecurity on campus.

MSU Dietetic Intern, Kelsey, demonstrated how to put a healthier spin on ramen noodles with ingredients found in the Bear Pantry.

Southwest ramen noodles can me made with ingredients found in the Bear Pantry.

Ingredients

  • 1 packet of ramen instant ramen noodles 
  • ¼ cup black beans, drained and rinsed 
  • ¼ cup canned corn, drained, and rinsed 
  • ¼ cup canned diced tomatoes with green chiles 
  • ¼ cup bell pepper, chopped 
  • ¼ cup onion, chopped 
  • Reduced sodium taco seasoning, to taste 
Dietetic Intern, Kelsey, conducts a food demo with ingredients found in the Bear Pantry.

Directions

  1. Add two cups of water to a microwave safe bowl, place in microwave and heat water for four minutes. 
  2. Add the ramen noodles to the bowl of water, heat for an additional 4 minutes. 
  3. While ramen is cooking, rinse, drain, and measure out black beans, corn, and diced tomatoes, set aside 
  4. Chop the onion and bell pepper, set aside. 
  5. Once ramen has been cooked, remove bowl from microwave. 
  6. Add reduced sodium taco seasoning and stir. 
  7. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, pepper, and onion to noodles. 

Dietetic Internship Graduate Certificate at Missouri State

This program’s mission is to prepare competent registered dietitian nutritionists who are citizen scholars, with expertise in either public affairs or rural health, who will meet the need of dietetic practitioners across the nation.

Learn more about the Dietetic Internship

Learn more about Bear Pantry

#CitizenBear Alum gives back to Bear Pantry

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Missouri State University alumna and owner of Indiana-based The 715 Company, Tennille Bernard, gave support to the Bear Pantry in 2020 with bath and body products.  Tennille’s products are featured in the Bear Pantry’s hygiene section and are available to members Monday-Friday, 10a.m.-2p.m.  We reached out to this Citizen Bear with a few questions:

What is your connection to Missouri State?

I’m a Bear Graduate (MBA, Class of 2018).  I chose Missouri State because I needed  a flexible program that met my current work-life balance, but was still accredited and affordable.  So I started looking at brick-and-mortar schools, and Missouri State fit the bill.

These products, along with other hygiene items, are available to Bear Pantry members.

How has your time at Missouri State influenced you to where you are now? 

In my last year, I was able to leverage my knowledge and upcoming graduation to move from an engineering role into a project/program manager role in my organization.  Almost immediately, I saw what I learned in my coursework reflected as practical experiences in my new role.  It made the shift a lot easier to comprehend, and I was able to acclimatize easier.

What made you decide to support the Bear Pantry’s efforts to reduce food insecurity? 

The lack of access to good quality, fresh food is a problem that persists despite our society’s advancement in technology, wealth, and other ways.  While we (The 715 Company) do not provide food per se, the reality is that a lack of access to food usually translates to a lack of access to basic non-food groceries as well.  With COVID-19, we found ourselves in a position where we could not access our main market.  We thought about it, and decided that we should look for opportunities to support non-profits as we could.  About the same time, John Goodman’s message promoting Bears Care and the Bear Pantry arrived in my inbox.  I thought as a Bear myself, this was a perfect opportunity to give back to the community, so we reached out… and the rest is history.

Can you tell us about The 715 Company?

The 715 Company is a bath and body products company, specializing in solid body products.  Founded in 2019, we’re invested in selecting high-quality, sustainable ingredients to our soaps, solid body lotions and sugar scrubs.   

Learn about how you can support the Bear Pantry

Bear Pantry Hosts First Virtual Food Demo

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The Bear Pantry and the Nutrition and Dietetics department are partnering to promote healthy eating choices, while decreasing food insecurity on campus.

Dietetics Intern, Nicole Koetting, give a food demo for PB&J Energy Bites using food from the Bear Pantry

Missouri State University Dietetic Intern, Nicole, demonstrated how to utilize food from the Bear Pantry to make good, healthy snacks.  In her recipe, Nicole used staple Bear Pantry items to make PB&J Energy Bites.

PB&J Energy Bites can be made with ingredients found in the Bear Pantry

PB&J Energy Bites

Serving size: 1 bite (45 calories, 6g carbohydrates, 2g protein, 2g fat, 1g fiber)

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup  rolled quick oats
  • 1/3 cup nut or seed butter
  • 1 Tbsp chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup jelly or fruit spread

Directions:

  1. Combine and stir all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl
  2. Use a spoon or scoop to make 1-inch sized balls and rolls with hands until round.  Store in a container in the fridge.

Dietetic Internship Graduate Certificate at Missouri State

This program’s mission is to prepare competent registered dietitian nutritionists who are citizen scholars, with expertise in either public affairs or rural health, who will meet the need of dietetic practitioners across the nation.

Learn More about the Dietetic Internship

Learn more about the Bear Pantry

Bear Pantry offers curbside pick up

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The Bear Pantry is committed to supporting Missouri State faculty, staff, and students.  Our goal is to make this resource as accessible as possible for those in need.  The Bear Pantry is located in Hutchens House, 1021 East Harrison and is open Mondays and Tuesdays from 10a.m.-3p.m.

Hutchens House, 1021 E Harrison St.

Place an online order

Visit the Bear Pantry Order Form to choose food and hygiene items.  In this form, you will be able to note any additional needs.  Orders only take about 10 minutes to complete.

Pick up curbside at Hutchens House

It is now more easy than ever to pick up your Bear Pantry order at Hutchens House!  Call or text us at 417-699-0415 to let us know you are here, and we will bring your order to you.

The Bear Pantry is located at Hutchens House, open Mondays and Tuesdays 10-3

For additional questions about the Bear Pantry, email BearPantry@missouristate.edu or call 417-699-0415.  Visit the Bear Pantry website to learn more.

Bear Pantry continues to support MSU community

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The Bear Pantry is one way the University is working to combat students’ and employees’ need for sustainable access to nutritional foods.

Like the rest of campus, the Bear Pantry is taking steps to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and keep the Missouri State community safe and healthy. The following changes will be made in the Bear Pantry starting March 22nd.

Logo for the Center for Community Engagement Bear Pantry
The Bear Pantry is located in Meyer Library 211, open Mondays and Tuesdays 10-3

Order food online

In order to maintain a sense of dignity and provide customer choice while also adhering to social distancing protocols, the Bear Pantry has moved to an online order form until further notice.  This means we are suspending in-person shopping until further notice.

New Location and Hours

The Bear Pantry is now located in Meyer Library 211, and will be open Mondays and Tuesdays from 10a.m. until 3p.m.

Steps for using the Bear Pantry

  1. Fill out a First Time User Form if you have not used the Bear Pantry before.
  2. Fill out an Online Shopping Form to choose food and hygiene items. These will be packaged by a Bear Pantry staff member and available for pick up.
  3. Pick up your order from Meyer Library 211 during Bear Pantry hours of operation.
  4. Be sure to bring your BearPass ID.

The Bear Pantry is committed to serving fellow Bears!  Follow us on social media for updates. Please contact BearPantry@missouristate.edu with questions.