The Importance of Quality Food During Exams - AND What I Ate for Dinner Tonight

Today, I have reached a conclusion that I feel is incredibly important to the rest of my time as a college student and perhaps my future beyond that. Today, I have decided that the most fundamental key to doing well on the end of the semester work, whether it be exams or final papers, is to take the time to eat a healthy and complete meal.

I will be the first to admit that like so many of my fellow students, when it comes time for exams, I sometimes neglect the fact that I should be eating healthy. I throw my usual food habits out the window and scarf down whatever is easiest. But after breaking down and eating cheese with pretzels for lunch yesterday, and following that with a single tomato for dinner, I realized that I must change my ways.

So today, for breakfast, I had a pear and a bowl of cream of wheat (with soy milk); for lunch I ate a kale and spinach salad with some baked beans (yeah i know there's a lot of added sugar in canned baked beans, but they taste good, and at least have a ton of protein); and for dinner I made an actual meal. Because of this and the time I spent relaxing and enjoying my food, rather than eating on the run or at my desk writing papers, I feel a million times better. It really does make a difference in quality and speed of work.

And here's a picture too!

I really liked the meal I whipped up for dinner tonight, so I would like to show it to you. When I'm in a rush, I'm horrible at measuring and writing down proportions, so I will post a recipe another night. But here are the ingredients anyways:

In one dish: chickpeas, peas, tomato, curry, cumin, coriander, ginger, chili powder, hing, salt, pepper.

In the other: mostly green beans and ginger, but there was also a splash of tomato juice, curry, cumin, salt, pepper

Both were sauteed in oil on medium heat. Also, add the spices first after the oil has been heated up. It helps bring out the flavor.

I really loved this dinner, but I do feel like adding another dish to it would make it even better (the picture looks like it's missing something, doesn't it). However, tonight just wasn't the night. If I had more time though, I would have also made some Indian style bread. It's absolutely delicious and relatively easy to make, so I would definitely recommend making that as well.

Whatever you do choose to eat though, remember food is fuel; and healthier food will keep you going strong for longer. Therefore, it is worthwhile to take the time to make a quality meal, especially when you're busy.

Pancakes!

With the semester coming to a close, I have had very little time to cook. Over the last two weeks, I have been surviving mostly on peanut butter toast, cereal, corn, rice, apples, and spinich and kale salads. Fortunately, this is a relatively healthy diet, but this morning I work up with no bread, no cereal, and the desire for a treat. 

As you might already know, cooking for me produces not only yummy food, but also fun and entertainment; a way to de-stress. Therefore, taking a break from my work to make a nice breakfast was exactly what I needed.

So, this morning, I decided to make pancakes. I have always struggled with making vegan pancakes. Over the years, I feel like I have tried a million recipes, but they always either stick to the pan or crumble. 

This morning, however, I tried something a little different, something I should have tried before. And I realized that my flaw was simply over-thinking the fact that I must use a vegan recipe. This time, I instead used a classic, non-vegan, pancake recipe and simply substituted the eggs and dairy for vegan options (and no, i did not use store bought egg replacers; they're expensive, processed, and unnecessary). The cow milk and butter I replaced with soy milk and earth balance (a non dairy margarine commonly used by vegans), and the eggs I replaced with a mixture of water and ground flax seed.

When left to sit for a minute or two, the flax seed and water combo thickens; in baking this actually acts to hold everything together, like an egg does. Flax is also an incredibly nutritious seed, so using it has added health benefits (I also throw flax in my oatmeal). One important thing about flax seed though: in order to get its nutrients, you must grid it a little, otherwise it just passes through your system unscathed.

Now, as for syrup, I am a college student so I have none. So, I topped my pancakes with something a little different. I just sprinkled on some sugar and then drizzled on some agave nectar. But there are a million different toppings you could put on your pancakes, like powdered sugar, or fruit, so be creative, and enjoy!

Pancakes

1-1/2 Cup flour
1 tsp Salt
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbl water + 2 Tbl ground flax (replaces 2 eggs)
2 Tbl melted vegan butter
1 to 1-1/4 Cup soy milk.
2 Tbl sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground clove

mix all the ingredients together. heat pan and melt more butter in pan (earth balance is a margarine, because of this it burns at a lower temperature than butter from a cow, so keep the temp a little lower than you usually would, but still on medium heat). pour batter in pan. cook until there are some little popped bubbles on the top and the bottom looks good, then flip and cook the second side until that looks done. put on plate and top with your topping of choice