For my very first post ever I have decided to share a short little tidbit of wisdom imparted upon me by my good friend, Lisa, aka "SlurpeeElf".
I met Lisa last August at the very beginning of the semester. Right away, I despised... the fact it took me this long to find someone as cool as she is! Scared ya, didn't I? We became fast friends, and I quickly learned Lisa was extremely athletic and also very knowledgeable in regards to just about anything having to do with fitness and nutrition. Whenever I have a question about new workouts, proper nutrition for certain types of exercising, or just questions about healthy lifestyles in general, Her Royal Elfness of the Slurpee Realm is the first person I consult.
*Disclaimer/tip: living a healthy lifestyle does NOT mean you have to give up "having fun," or even eating those guilty pleasures that make life worth living. For example, Lisa and are huge fans of Slurpees. Actually, Lisa was the one who introduced me to the icy delicacy in the first place. Thanks, Lisa! We also love to hike. After almost every hike we complete, after drinking a good amount of H20 and eating something substantial we reward ourselves with a nice, cool Slurpee, kept secret from human beings until one day an elven king names... well, that's another story for another time. (See where her nickname came from?) We know, we know - these frosty gems are extremely bad for us! Guess what? It is OK! We don't drink twenty a day, Lisa and I are both active individuals, and even though we currently live on a college campus we eat a fairly decent variety of foods the majority of the time. By "variety" I mean a good healthy variety, not Cool Ranch Doritos one day and Nacho Cheese the next. My point is, living a healthy lifestyle is not restricting, per say, and eating healthy food is definitely possible on a college meal plan!
Back on topic now... Lisa and I were talking one day while we sat at the student union. We had just finished running and working out, and needless to say, we were HUNGRY. Fresh pineapple is almost always available at the Union's fruit/yogurt/salad bar (not all together! well, unless you're some weirdo who likes yogurt and romaine, but hey, I don't judge... much). I was sitting at the table when Lisa came back with this gigantic bowl of yogurt and fruit. After she sat down and I spotted what she had brought back with her, a very interesting conversation ensued - one that would change the course of my college life!
**THIS CONVERSATION IS TRANSCRIBED TO THE BEST OF MY POOR MEMORY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED BY, WELL, ME.**
"I can't stand yogurt! I mean, I like Greek yogurt, but that stuff [in your bowl] is nasty. How can you eat it? And you ruined perfectly good pineapple!" I said. Lisa laughed and rolled her eyes,
"Nah man! It's actually pretty good. You're right - Greek yogurt has a lot more protein in it, but this stuff is OK. Heck, it goes great on cereal." Dumbfounded and confused beyond belief, all I could say was,
"Cereal?"
The very idea seemed wretched. Putting yogurt on top of cereal was an action that I considered to be almost inhuman in terms of moral ethics. To ruin a delicious bowl of cereal with gloppy, disgusting yogurt, was almost like admitting to murder. No. It was worse than murder. I glared at her until I caught her eye. Looking slightly amused, she said,
"Yup. Yogurt on cereal... every morning before class, dude." I waited for her to continue, but it seemed like she was enjoying the expose that was me wrestling with my inner turmoil at the thought of unholy yogurt and divine cereal becoming one. Finally, she gave in and decided to tell me the secret of the outrageous culinary matrimony. Swallowing her bite, she explained, "Cereal is made primarily of carbohydrates, right?"
"Yea..." I said, not sure where she was going with this.
"And the milk has a few proteins, some carbs, and a little fat too, right?"
"Uh-huh." I was getting ready to call the food police.
"If you exercising regularly, it means your body needs more of what major nutrient?" she asked.
"Protein..."
"Exactly! And what," she said, bringing another spoonful of yogurt to her mouth, "is another food product, easily accessible, high in protein, and dairy-based, that is made from the same stuff you drown your cereal flakes in?"
It finally hit me. By adding yogurt to cereal, you increase the amount of protein in your breakfast without breaking a sweat, so to speak. I knew that eating the proper amount of protein at breakfast time is difficult when you live in a dorm room. All I had to do to alleviate the issue would be simply to put one half to one cup of yogurt in my cereal every morning. That would give me that extra protein that was currently lacking from the morning segment of my diet. On top of that, I discovered the milk and yogurt mix together to create a substance as smooth, sweet, and tangy as fresh vanilla ice cream on a hot summer's day. Sort of.
"You're a genius." I finally conceded. Lisa, ever the most venerable and humble Slurpee Elf, simply responded,
"I know." as she downed the last bite of her fruity dairy concoction.
That's what happened! OK, maybe I adlibbed the parts I couldn't remember, but the original point is still there, and it is that point, ladies and gentlemen, that will be my first college tip:
College Tip #1 - Yogurt in your cereal is a great way to make sure you get through your morning, pull you through those boring math classes until lunch time.
Yogurt adds protein and beneficial probiotic bacteria that help digestion. Additionally, certain types of yogurt contain different percentages of protein vs fat vs carbohydrates. Pick a yogurt without any extremely unnatural flavoring, or at least without and added sugars (most of the carbs in brand name yogurt come in the form of added sugar). Do you have to get plain yogurt? No. I occasionally do if I know I have a sweetened cereal at home (Honey Nut Cheerios, Special K, Raisin Bran, Honey Bunches of Oats, etc.), but my personal preference is Honey Greek Yogurt! Greek yogurt is smooth, firm, rich, and has about twice the protein content of the same amount of regular yogurt.
Next time you are at the store, meander on over the the yogurt section. Take a peek at some of the offerings there and consider trying a cereal-yogurt combo for the next week or so. The yogurt itself doesn't matter so much as the concept behind the idea: you can do small things that will, over time, increase your overall health. Adding yogurt into your morning supplements your body with an extremely important nutrient (protein) early on in the day. The added protein in turn provides the body with more energy and stamina to remain functioning long enough to make it to lunch without running out of steam half way through your 11 AM class and missing half the lecture. No... that has never happened to me... really... never... not once... or twice... or more times than I can count... ahem. Anyhow, just make sure your yogurt is free from depictions of white rabbits chasing after kids who like yogurt just a tad too much, and you should be fine!
I don't guess I have to be very good at this yet since this is my first personal blog post, right? I think I'll end with this:
Thanks for your time! Hope you took something away from my rambling, and feel free to comment below.
