It’s 10 pm on a Wednesday night and you’ve been at the library since 8 am. Your stomach is growling and all you want is the frozen meal of linguini in the back of your freezer. Although it may seem like the easiest, fastest, and most satisfying option, your body and brain will think otherwise. It’s time for you to skip the unhealthy meals and be an adult who chooses fresh over frozen.
Ready-made meals are often loaded with salt, sugar, fatty oils, and preservatives which’ll leave your body feeling hungry and sleepy after only a few hours. Eating a meal with fruit, vegetables, protein, and healthy fats will energize your body, keeping you full for a longer period of time and helping increase your brain power.
The next time that you’re at the grocery store, work your way around the store first. This technique will help you pick up fruit, vegetables, protein and grains before grabbing the chips, cookies or frozen pizza. The frozen section is tempting, I know, but it should be avoided at all costs.
Some of the ingredients that I like to have on hand are apples, bananas (or any other fruit that is in season), carrots, cucumber, avocado, peppers, chicken, eggs, yogurt, beans, quinoa and multigrain bread. With those ingredients, you can whip up a tasty stir fry, baked chicken, a healthy omelette or vegetarian chilli. Try looking up easy recipes like these ones to please your palate this semester.
Another trick is to meal prep at the beginning of the week or keep a food calendar. This will help ensure that you are eating healthy snacks and nourishing meals, an important part of keeping you energized throughout the day.
Cooking nutritious meals at home may seem daunting due to lack of time and fear of the kitchen, but learning how to cook a few staple dishes will not only impress your roommates, family and friends, but it’ll also help in high-stress situations and give your brain the energy that it needs.