Tis the Season to Get Creative!

Tis the season!

Hark how Emerson seems to be giving up on actual meals!

Be jolly now that fresh crops are nowhere to be seen in Chase!

Crowd round the soup, the seemingly only good choice this season!

Be merry and rejoice the semester is almost over!

            Of course the above are just some personal observations of the dinning halls now that fall session is coming quickly to a close. The food served seems to get more and more sparse with fewer and fewer variations.

So… let’s get a bit creative here.

            You could host your very own version of Chopped, a show where you are given a set number of ingredients and have to ‘transform’ them into something completely different, tasty and creative. My friends and I did this on Sunday in Emerson- the worst day by far- and the results came out surprisingly good. From a pizza to a Thai influenced veggie wrap, we each utilized the food differently to create our own version of a healthy meal.

            Upon first instinct we might be tempted to grab a bagel and smear it with cream cheese, but I’m asking you to step away. I’ve observed that we often try and fulfill our hunger cravings with foods such as pasta, bread, bagels and any other carbs we can get. In first world America, where we do have many options to be healthy and have a balanced diet, I find we often mimic the food habits that people in the book “Dancing with Skeletons” have. In the impoverished area where Dettwyler completed her research, the children would often grab potatoes and other readily available carbs- since that is often the only choices they had- to eat whilst their bodies craved something nutrient rich to help balance a diet and aid in their physical development. Every time we grab a nutrient-empty food we forgo vitamins and minerals that could help keep us at peak performance.

            Emerson and Chase might not really offer a full variety to keep a balanced, healthy eating routine BUT this is where the fun begins. Mix and match your foods. Take pride in your college-self and eat food that seemingly do not go together. Today, for example, I ate Chinese lemon infused snap peas with a side of tofu.

            Normal enough, eh? I was able to get some greens and protein from the latter, but then I took some sweet potatoes and a banana and my “balanced meal” was complete with a drink of almond milk.

Would I ever eat the combination again?

Maybe.

Would I ever eat this anywhere else?

I hope not.

A 'normal' breakfast of bananas, cheerios, a dollop of peanut butter, and some yogurt I mixed with nutella.

I must admit, sometimes I do ‘get lucky’ and find foods that are actually supposed to go together, very rarely, but occasionally- even these foods are often supplemented with a tablespoon or two of hummus on the side.

            College is supposed to be the place where we start to act as independent entities, separate from parental oversight. If we do not start good eating habits now, then when? I know my body would slowly break down if all I ate were bagels and cream cheese- no matter how delicious. I’m anemic, but my condition is nowhere near as severe as it used to be. Looking for iron-rich foods is darn near impossible here, especially no that that spinach is not readily available at the salad bar. I really do have to come up with some crazy creations that aren’t always making my taste buds jump in delight, but the choices I make always help fuel my body in what I think is nutritional.

So cheers!

Get your thinking cap on and create!

Trying (and failing) to Eat Healthier Food

Here at Wheaton, I find myself eating mostly pasta and sandwiches for most meals. I am fairly ok with this, because I love pasta, but I often find myself craving fresh fruit or a well-prepared salad. When this happens, I drag my roommate to Whole Foods for some healthier snacks. A few weeks ago, we made the trip and filled our carts with raspberries, pineapple, yogurt, granola, and a few apples. I was so excited about the prospect of fresh fruit that I joyfully marched up to the checkout line and set down my items. Turns out the price of buying healthy that day was going to be $50; a ridiculous amount of money for only about six items. Healthy eating is expensive! I never fully realized this until I got to Wheaton. If I wanted to have my mini fridge constantly stocked with fresh yogurt and fruit, I would have been broke a while ago. Instead, buying quick, cheap meals like Easymac and Ramen becomes the answer. However, every once in a while I will still splurge on fruit and salad, and the result is always worth it.

This realization about healthy eating reminded me of a film we watched in class about food co-ops. Some of the locals were upset about the prospect of a newer, more expensive place to buy food. They felt that their habits were being challenged, and were very resistant to buying food that they were not accustomed to, just because it was healthier. It is very hard to keep up an extremely nutritious diet while at school and while living on a college student’s paycheck (or lack of paycheck). However, Wheaton has impressed me with its fruit and salad options so I have not yet given up hope of a healthy diet!

When Emerson Closes and Panic Ensues

The last two days before Thanksgiving break are always the hardest. Students are tuned out, professors are tired, and everyone is impatiently awaiting those well deserved few days off before winter break. By Tuesday afternoon, campus is almost empty. I was one of the few students who were still at Wheaton on Tuesday night, because I had a flight leaving on Wednesday. This meant I had a room (and almost an entire hall) to myself, and a night to relax before the short vacation. Sounds great, right? False. Emerson ended up closing around four o’clock, leaving me to fend for myself for dinner. I was completely unprepared, having no car on campus and an un-stocked fridge. Usually the last two weeks before winter break leave me with little to no money in my wallet, just waiting until I can get home and work, earning some extra cash for second semester. I ended up scrounging on some leftover snacks found in my room, and ended up eating an absurd amount of granola for dinner.

Luckily, two nights later I was eating a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with my family. By the time I returned on Sunday, I had forgotten all about my hasty and meager Tuesday night dinner. However, I will be sure to keep some extra meal options in my room from now on for future times like these.

Not Peanut Butter

Growing up with an older brother that was highly allergic to peanut butter was always tough. At an early age my brother found out the hard way that he was allergic to peanuts. He was given a peanut butter sandwich for lunch in his preschool class and started getting hives all over his body. He went into anaphylactic shock shortly after. He did survive but found out that he was severely allergic. In response my parents stopped keeping peanut products in the house for my brother’s safety. I wasn’t allowed to have any in case I was in the same boat as him. As a result, I have never tasted Reese’s pieces, or Five Guys, most granola bars, and certainly not peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Still to this day I have not had a peanut or anything containing it. Instead, I have substituted. Sunflower-seed and Soy-nut butter, among other foods, are a way for peanut-allergic people to get the same benefits as peanut butter. A couple years ago when I tried it, I wasn’t too fond of the taste or the smell, but now I swear by Sunflower Seed butter. Sunflower Seed butter is a rich paste made of seeds and oil that shadows peanut butter. Anything you can do with peanut butter can be accomplished with sun-butter; sun-butter and jelly, sun-butter and banana on toast, and it can even be mixed into a smoothie for added protein. One of my roommates who can have peanut butter but stopped because of my allergy started eating sun-butter (sunflower seed) and hasn’t turned back since. It is a pretty good alternative and a healthy one at that. We usually snag a bag of bagels from one of the dining halls and keep it in the room. When I am studying in the room and want to eat some chips I can instead spread some sun-butter on a bagel and satisfy my hunger. If you are interested in trying soy-nut or sun-butter, there are also other alternatives such as almond-butter, cashew butter, and even cookie butter (doesn’t provide the same health benefits).