Oh, for forks sake: Easy recipes I'm loving

My studio apartment was pretty great, except for a few things. My teensy weensy kitchen was probably up there on that list. I definitely wouldn't say that I love cooking, but I feel that preparing healthy food is both important for your wellness and your budget.

So, with both very minimal fridge space (yes, it was a literal mini-fridge) and sparse counter space, cooking wasn't exactly my favorite thing in the world. However, I did have some go-to recipes that served me quite well!

Mexican Bean Salad

Pictured above, I made this salad loosely based on the linked recipe from My Life Cookbook. Cold salads were great for taking to school with me, and I loved having this on the side of a cheese quesadilla.

From Damn Delicious

One-Pot Mexican Quinoa

Loooove this recipe by Damn Delicious! So easy to make and it's really yummy. Quinoa is a grain, it's high in protein, and it's so easy to cook. Definitely makes a great base for this awesome recipe.

From The Cookie Rookie

Green Goddess Pasta Salad

I tend to eat vegetarian, if you couldn't tell. I'm not the biggest fan of cooking meat, I didn't have a ton of room in my mini-fridge, and (maybe this is a false assumption) I feel like non-meat recipes just cook faster. And time is of the essence in PA school! Asparagus is great in the summer, so this was a delicious recipe to take advantage of fresh asparagus.

What else have I been eating?

Sauted garlic mushrooms and spinach on toast with hummus
Veggie stir fry (gotta have those little baby corns!)
Fresh salads (sliced almonds + chickpeas + dried cranberries + feta = my favorite)
"Snack packs" -- this is basically when I just pack a slew of healthy snacks foods for my lunch (cut veggies, homemade trail mix, cut apple with PB, low-sugar yogurt, etc).

I also have a good breakfast every day. I get up early (5/5:30am) to study before class, so I eat a pretty big breakfast AND have a snack before lab to get me through until I eat lunch at about 1:00pm. Breakfast can be eggs and toast, toast with PB and bananas and cinnamon, oatmeal with fresh fruit, or breakfast tacos. YUM!

Comments

Distance Year 1: My daily routine

Over the summer, I wrote about my daily routine . Remember, at that time I was living in a tiny studio apartment and doing school full-time on campus. As expected, the transition to life as a part-time student, part-time dietitian has been challenging. I'll say this upfront. I knew PA school, even in a part-time program, was going to be difficult. But this has, well, exceeded those expectations. When people tell you that you'll be studying basically all the time, they weren't kidding. But I'll let my daily routine help you see that! Work Day Schedule I work three days a week (generally W-F), and I have quickly realized that I can't slack off on these days. If I do, I definitely get behind! 5:15 - Alarm goes off. My small dog Milo somehow takes up the whole bed but I try to sneak out of bed without disturbing him too much. He's lazy so he'll sleep most of the morning. 5:30-6:30 - Watch a lecture while sipping on my coffee and eating a simple...

PA School Interviews: 35 Practice Questions and Tips for Zoom

Getting ready for PA school interviews? Congratulations! And while interview season may look a little different this year (Zoom calls, anyone?), the importance of being properly prepared is still the same! I used to work in advertising and public relations, and sometimes I would prepare experts to talk to the media. What was the most important thing for the experts to do? Know your key messages. There's going to be topics you know will likely be addressed in an interview, so be prepared to speak to those specific things. Same goes for PA school interviews. Yes, I've heard of programs asking some off-the-wall questions that you probably wouldn't see coming, but generally speaking there's a variety of likely topics that will come up. My advice? Think through how you want to answer those questions ahead of time. For me, this looked like an 11-page Google doc with sample questions I prepared answers for. It forced me to think through scenarios I'd want to share and my ...

Resiliency: PA School During a Pandemic

I saw this article on Facebook and it really hit home for me: "Your 'Surge Capacity' is Depleted -- It's Why You Feel Awful." I strongly encourage you to read the whole article yourself, but a few things stuck out to me that I feel compelled to share. First, what's surge capacity? It's your adaptive abilities for dealing with acute stress. The problem with a pandemic is that it isn't really acute in the same way that a massive tornado or other disaster might be. We're in this for the long haul, and if you're like me, those adaptive abilities have worn thin. For me, this has looked like feelings of helplessness and exhaustion. I've spent a lot more time on my couch watching bad reality TV than I'd like to admit. But with school starting in up in less than a week, that really isn't going to fly. So how does a student (in an intensive graduate program) keep moving forward? "Both-And" Thinking One of my favorite lessons fro...

OJ the PA

Search This Blog