Try to eat throughout the day
Claire Whitley | Crumbs
I realized a few weeks ago that I don’t eat enough. I skipped lunch almost every day and only ate meager breakfasts and dinners.
If that was happening in the summer, what would happen during the school year? Well, with the help of campus dietician Marissa Rudley, I came up with a plan. Hide snacks and meal supplies around my office.
Not every student has an office, I know, but the idea is easily transferable to a backpack, a duffel bag or even a purse. Just replenish the stash every night before hitting the hay.
Granola bars are good to keep in a backpack. For the last two years, I had at least one granola bar in a pocket every day. It is especially nice to pop open a granola bar and munch on it while taking notes during that 2 p.m. class that seems to drag on forever. Of course, be sure to check if it is okay with the professor before just nom-ing away.
If it gets harder and harder to get to Bob’s Place or the Idaho Commons Food Court for lunch, it might be handy to replace that granola bar with a heartier CLIF Bar or LUNA Bar. CLIF Bars have about 250 calories per bar and, while that isn’t a pure meal substitute, it can tide someone over for an hour long class.
Another great snack food is trail mix or mixed nuts. They sell ingredients for both, or premixed, in bulk at WinCo and the Moscow Co-Op, and there may even be some at Rosauers.
It is super easy to keep little Ziploc bags filled with the crunchy snack. With the right ingredients, it can pack a huge protein punch. Nuts in particular will be a great way to get calories, healthy fats and protein. Again, this isn’t a meal substitute, just something to munch on between classes or during a lunchtime class.
Some fruits are also great at weathering a backpack. Oranges are particularly good, offering a strong source of Vitamin C. They can be peeled on the spot or beforehand, if you don’t want to smell like an orange in class. Bananas are a good source of potassium, but can get a little bruised in a backpack. Unless they get squished by a textbook, should still be solid by snack time.
Of course, none of these are better than actually finding the time to eat lunch. Sitting down to have a classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich would take little time and is actually a substantial calorie load to get through those afternoon classes.
Just do yourself and your body a favor this year, and stay sustained. If hungry, eat something, anything, even if it is just a snack.
Claire Whitley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Cewhitley24