Bits and Bites

I try not to skip any meals, but this gets increasingly difficult when the semester winds down and I’m clocking 12 hours at the library and another 4 odd hours rolling around in pages of notes at home. This semester, on top of all of my studying, I have saddled myself with an impressively heavy running schedule to make sure I am in good running form by July 31. So to help make my schedule a little easier and reduce the amount of take out sandwiches I wolf down at the library (because there is no lady like way to eat a sandwich while frantically studying), I premake a lot of the fixings for my lunches and dinners. Earlier this week when my brain needed a break, I sat down and folded 20 spanikopita triangles, brushed them with butter and froze them. I also made myself 35 beautiful chicken and zucchini dumplings, also frozen and cheerfully waiting to be boiled. Then I steamed some chicken and stored it safely in the fridge for the whole wheat wraps I make. I stocked my fridge with frozen corn, spinach, and edamame. I made 4 cups of pearl barley, which I turned into a salad of sorts (see my Bulgar wheat salad from last semester) with tons of tomato, roasted red pepper, olives, and good feta cheese.

Anyway – since I don’t have anything recipe related to share, I’ll share staples that I have in my fridge

peanut butter – for cookies and noodles. I don’t really like pbj sandwiches
yogurt – the regular kind, I hate the mushy and gushy texture of the low fat varieties. And plain flavored. The weird pretend strawberry kind creeps me out, and the other flavors just taste like vomit (sorry… am I ruining it for you?)
Italian salad dressing – I really like Italian. I make a kickass balsamic vinaigrette, but I always have this salad dressing out of a bottle in my fridge.
butter – even when I’m not baking, I always have good butter in my fridge.
frozen corn – because I love corn… I put it in everything.
edamame – in the shell. I like having a plate of steamed edamame on the counter while I study, so when I’m distracted and want to eat something, at least it’s just edamame
black beans – for wraps and chips
water – I have a huge Brita filter. I keep it filled and chilled.
coke – the regular kind in the red cans. I confess, even though I know it dissolves my teeth and doesn’t help with running, I love coca cola. Specifically in the can with a straw, absolutely frigid cold.
beer and wine – right now I have Blue Moon and some inexpensive white wine. But I always keep a little beer and wine, just in case I want a drink with my dinner. I normally have Jack Daniels, vodka, and tequila too – but since I’m running more intensely, I’m cutting down the amount of hard liquor I consume.
eggs – I occasionally like fried eggs on toast, or hard boiled eggs. I like the brown speckled kind. They’re cuter.