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Charger Blogger Discusses Fueling Your Brain for Finals
Beatrice Glaviano ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™26, a nutrition sciences major, offers her guide to brain-boosting foods for end-of-semester study sessions.
The Charger Blog
Beatrice Glaviano ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™26 takes pride in her Sicilian-American heritage, as well as her cooking skills. She offers some delicious ideas for hungry Chargers looking for inspiration for breakfast or a scrumptious snack.
September 22, 2023
Howdy hey, everyone. How are we doing? I hope everyoneÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s week is going well so far, and that things have been as mildly stressful as possible in regards to coursework, social lives, and life in general.
For this weekÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s conversation, IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ve decided to begin something that IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™d like to call: Basics with Beatrice. Essentially, any post including this title will be about the hard adult things that, perhaps, we were never taught ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ“ such as cooking, for example ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ“ and how to do them. Not even just how to do them, but how to do them well as a young adult whoÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s trying to function the best they can in college.
On that note, welcome to CH.1 of Basics with Beatrice: Recipes (Part 1)
As a Sicilian-American, I tend to pride myself on the fact that I can cook rather well. Even though IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™m a part-time vegan (more on this later), I take what my dad has taught me and apply it to my everyday cooking. IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ve organized this blog post into two sections: breakfast and snacks ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ“ entrees will be coming out later on after IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ve managed to snap a couple photos of them. Overall, the goal here isnÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™t to tell you what to eat, but rather to encourage students to get a better sense of what their body and soul gets the most energy and happiness out of.
So: letÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s get started.
Breakfast, as IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ve quickly noticed, can be rather hit-or-miss. Some people love it, and others just prefer to eat something small and drink a coffee instead. Whatever the case, breakfast tends to be a very integral part of our lives that can determine our eating habits for the remainder of our day.
Coffee
You thought I wouldnÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™t mention it, didnÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™t you? Nah, we start with coffee (and water; please donÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™t be like me and drink water).
Oatmeal
This is one of the most basic of all basic breakfast foods I could possibly come up with. Not only is oatmeal rich in carbohydrates, but itÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s also absorbed into the blood rather slowly, meaning that your insulin levels may not spike as sharply. Additionally, oats are rich in fibers and other vitamins that can give their consumer a long-lasting feeling of satiation and energy. While the recipe IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™m posting below is the one that I make for myself, feel free to mess around with it as you so choose.
Protein Pancakes
To preface, these are pancake knock-offs. TheyÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™re not 100% the real thing, but theyÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™re pretty darn close. Also, they come in at around 30g of protein, making them perfect for your post-workout meal.
Eggs & Toast
Ah yes: nothing like good olÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ eggs with toast for breakfast. Feel free to add your side of breakfast sausage or bacon with this one, or eat it plain.
Banana Toast
YouÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ve probably seen the TikTok trend before, but nothing can beat a warm cup of coffee and a slice of crispy, warm, peanut-butter slathered toast topped with freshly sliced banana and your addition of chia seeds, honey, and freshly-dusted cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin spice.
BeatriceÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s French Toast
ThereÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s so much toast going on, dear god. Love me some carbohydrates at 8 a.m.
Classic Yogurt & Granola Bowl
Yogurt: a goldmine of protein, gut-approved bacteria, healthy fats, and a variety of tastes. Personally, from a nutritional standpoint, IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™d recommend the use of a low-fat greek yogurt as they typically round up to about 20g of protein per serving with a low-calorie content (which shouldnÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™t be used to determine the quality of food, by the way). In this recipe, IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ll be walking you through how I make my own granola bowls, but feel free to stylize to your preference!
Whether you're a classical granola, trail mix, or carrots with hummus fan, snacks tend to be something that almost everyone delights in. Additionally, as a quick note, IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ve organized these into different combinations of food groups, as I like to structure my snacks by using two of three of the main macronutrient groups, but thatÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s just me! You do you, dude.
Favorite Snack/Protein Bars & Why
Protein/Carb Combinations
Fats/Carb Combinations
Others
While I understand that maybe breakfast foods and snacks arenÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™t exactly prime examples of cooking, I think theyÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™re a good place to start. Personally, I started off with eggs and toast, which so happens to be the beginning recipe that I use when teaching others. Hopefully, when it comes to entrees for lunch and dinner, there may be some more excitement involved.
Something that IÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™ve definitely learned from growing up in a Sicilian-American household is that food usually tastes a lot better when itÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™s made with the people or person that you love, regardless of the dish. So long as effort, care, and a couple laughs were put in, nine times out of ten it will be a great meal. A lot of nutrition actually isnÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™t always the macro or micronutrient stuff, but the traditions that are found behind how different cultures approach meals.
While people typically get a plate to themselves in America, in many Asian countries, dishes are typically passed and shared among one another to enjoy. Personally, I believe that this is due to American individuality versus the community-based values of Eastern countries, but that may just be me. Coming from a Sicilian background, I think we have a fair mix of sharing dishes or having our own, but a very big staple of my culture is always using what you have available. This, undoubtedly, has led me to get rather creative with my recipes (i.e. savory oatmeal risotto) while saving some money in the process.
There have been a few disasters, admittedly, (a sweet potato-peanut butter sandwich sounded like a good idea, okay?), but food is honestly fun to mess around with sometimes. Regardless, I hope this entry has provided you all with some ideas if you find yourself lost in the realm of cooking. Feel free to email me at bglav1@unh.newhaven.edu with any comments, questions, or potential blog post ideas!
With peace, love, and honestly so much peanut butter,
Beatrice
Beatrice Glaviano ÐÓ°ÉÔ°æ™26 is a nutrition sciences major at the University of New Haven.
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