Sick of eating cereal and ramen for lunch and dinner? Want to spend less money eating out and finally start cooking for yourself? Put down that frozen pizza, because HC’s Health Editor, Sammie Levin, is here to share her daily eats so you can get ideas for healthy, satisfying meals that are easy enough for any time-strapped collegiette to make. After you read Collegiette Eats, your taste buds, wallet and waistline will thank you.
Breakfast
For breakfast yesterday, I had oatmeal with banana and almond butter. Classic. I had an internship interview yesterday afternoon, so I needed my comforting bowl of oatmeal to get my day started on the right note.
Lunch
For lunch, I wanted something that would fuel me through the interview without causing me any digestive issues (or bad breath, or anything stuck in my teeth, or any of the other 100 things I worried about). So, I opted for a smoothie since I’ve been on something of a smoothie kick since my housemate invested in the Vitamix. I blended together Greek yogurt, frozen mixed berries, almond milk and honey and then stirred in two tablespoons of chia seeds. Berry good.
Dinner
For dinner, I had a feast. To de-stress after a very stressful day, I went out to dinner with some friends at Aventura, a new, Spanish-inspired, tapas-style restaurant in Ann Arbor. We pretended we were abroad and then ate ourselves into a food coma. Tapas are the best because you get to have a little taste of everything-so many flavors! We got a cheese sampler platter; a flatbread (“coca”) with fried egg, arugula, Manchego cheese and chorizo; mini lamb burger sliders with Manchego cheese on brioche buns (YUM); some sort of potato dish (“patatas bravas”) drenched in an amazing sauce; dates wrapped in bacon; and a grilled shrimp dish. My favorite was probably the potato dish or the lamb burgers. Manchego cheese is unreal; I need more of it in my life.
By the end of the meal, we were stuffed but still managed to make room for dessert like real champions. We split a chocolate tart, which was incredibly dense and delicious. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t unbutton my jeans by the end of the meal. After eating very healthily for the past two weeks and stressing about this interview, it felt good to just relax with friends and indulge in a big, tasty, cheesy and chocolatey meal. My friends and I were actually talking at dinner about how you have to give up your healthy habits every so often to keep yourself sane and live your life. Balance is always the key! But like everything, finding balance is easier said than done. Even more important than finding balance may be finding a slice of Manchego cheese, though-you have my word that it will change your life for the better.