Check out my progress on Is This Supposed to Be Work?
Enjoyable homework. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? While tedious article reading and seemingly meaningless writing assignments will never top my list of things to do, I have found a type of homework that I not only don’t mind doing…but I actually enjoy it. Before you scoff at my enthusiasm and label me as a loser forever, allow me to explain:
As one of my required tasks for my Evolutionary Anthropology class (“Food for Thought”), I am to wear a pedometer for 14 consecutive days and to keep a food journal for that same time period. Given my infatuation with my heart rate monitor, I am delighted to track yet another statistic (i.e., my daily step count). As for the food journaling part, I am almost tempted to skip the written food record and insert “see www.thebroccolihut.com.” However, I don’t think my photographic representation of my daily eats would quite satisfy the professor’s requirements for the assignment (such as macronutrtient breakdowns); instead, I am using the suggested Health Tracker feature from Prevention. I started my 14-day period on Monday, and I have been relishing the whole experience. Have you ever had an assignment or task that you found to be strangely pleasurable?
Photographic food journal starts…now:
Wednesday
Peaches and mango make one kick-ass combination.
peach-mango smoothie with hemp protein, soymilk, & Pumpkin Flax granola
Thursday
Savory oats, round two! After last week’s success with Southwest Savory Oats, I did a little globetrotting via my taste buds and prepared a spicy Thai version. I cooked the oats in a combination of red pepper flakes and ginger, then stirred in broccoli. With a generous dollop of Heat Is On PB, I was in business. I also had a sliced banana, and I added coconut because…well, do I really need to have a reason to add coconut anymore?
Spicy Thai Savory Oats with red pepper flakes, ginger, broccoli, & Heat Is On PB; banana & shredded coconut
close-up of the spice factor
My EvAnth class was headed to The Refectory to sample some vegan eats this afternoon, so I tried to keep lunch a little lighter than normal. I picked up that Spicy Black Bean burger from The Loop and doctored it up in a new way. Rather than simply transporting it to whole grain bread, I turned it into a tasty salad.
Spicy Black Bean patty atop spinach, corn, & avocado; mixed fruit
As for the Refectory samples, I didn’t get to photograph any of the masterpieces; I am still a little camera-shy when I am amidst my peers. Anyway, my light lunch still managed to fill me up (must be all that fiber!), so I took just a few bites of the offerings, which included vegan chili, dal, sweet potato fries, shiitake potatoes, veggie burgers, and tofu in spicy peanut sauce. Thanks to Laura for the wonderful presentation!
After some homeworking (not the enjoyable kind), I made a quick dinner, inspired by a recent issue of Vegetarian Times. That medley you see below includes potatoes, artichokes, white beans, & olives with oregano and a dash of paprika. As a side note, have you ever noticed that some organic produce tastes SO much better than ocnventional? Case in point: grapes. These things are so magically sweet, they seem like candy.
Artichoke Potato Medley (VT); yogurt with cinnamon; grapes
organic grapes=Nature's candy. Seriously.
Unfortunately,more of that pesky article reading awaits me. Ta-ta for now.
Filed under: Meals
Caroline Yoder, dietitian-to-be and all-around foodie.
Hehe… I had to track my food for 3 days for nutrition. I loved it
That sounds like the most fun homework ever. Can I take that course online? haha. And I love those oats; I’m always looking for ways to use The Heat Is On other than spicy thai noodles or tuna salad sandwiches
Yep, I feel the same way about my Screenwriting class assignments
That’s so weird! I just finished doing that project in Bio!
Of course, I only had to track for four days.
I never got to do fun homework like that in college! Have fun! Those oats look really good….I still have yet to try savory oats. Fruit just tends to make it’s way in there first
I love artichokes and forgot about them…til I saw your post! Cool, inspiration, yay!
Haha I saw that pedometer on you during yoga and I was like ‘umm we don’t really take thaaaat many steps in yoga!’ Cool assignment though!
i love that you love your homework! it feels great to learn and enjoy it!! so rewarding!
those savory oats look and sound the bomb!!
OMG jealous of your classes ;p
I hope glander offers that class next semester… I’m soooo taking it ;p
hahaha i love your countdown to christmas!
what a fun assignment – i might try and write http://www.thebroccolihut.com and see what happens
ohhh and i want to hear how many steps you track – i have always been tempted to do that just because i think it sounds like fun.
gotta love fun homework. have a good night dear caroline!
You did it!! I had been considering putting The Heat is On into my oats, but I was scared
Spicy spicy oats? But you’ve shown it is possible and delicious!
I’ve been seeing savory oats everywhere but I’m still scared to try them! If I do I think I’m going to take your idea of adding that pb!
how many steps a day do you take? I was getting around 8000 to 10000 this summer but now that I’m in school it’s more like 2000-6000! lol
omg~~~ miss the savory oats!
pleasurable assignments? mmmmm…… can’t remember one , maybe because I haven’t had an assignment for too long!
I really like your black-and-white plate:)
Good luck with the assignment!
xxx Julia (Taste of Living)
I love your assignment! I used to get so excited for things like that in school. Taking home a mechanical baby in high school and having to take care of it was fun. I’m pretty sure I did that on my own with a bag of sugar too, possibly in middle school lol.
Wow, you’re savory oats are so creative! I love how balanced, healthy, and pretty all your meals are
One of my favourite assignments was writing up 3 day meal plans for different requirements- toddler, vegan, low-cholesterol, etc.
What’s next with the round-the-world oats?! Scottland? You could do veggie haggis
Did you hear about the pumpkin pie yogurt?!
i enjoyed my entire nutrition class! it didnt feel like work at all bc i was learning such interesting things the entire time.
getting pretty daring with those oats there!!
I loved doing the nutritional breakdown that I was required to do in my class, but after 3 days I felt so beat. haha…it definitely takes a lot of work to record all the nutritient intake.
Glad to hear you’re really enjoying it!!!
Once I was in the professional program for my degree, I loved every project we had to do. 1. I was actually interested and 2. I could use the majority of those projects in the ‘real world’ so it was like killing two birds with one stone.
My mom gushes about organic bananas the way you love organic grapes – I don’t like naners so I can’t say anything but she says they taste SO much better
HAPPY FRIDAY!!
I used to wear a pedometer but stopped – it would frustrate me when I didn’t come even close to 10,000 steps a day – sometimes you can’t do anything about it though (meetings, work responsibilities). I definitely did start parking further away from my office and will walk around the grocery store when I shop – things I still do now.
I have never heard of vegetarian times – I have book marked the website and hope to look for some good recipes to try. Do you get the magazine?
hahaha I would die if you wrote “see broccolihut.com” on your paper. do it.
I’m reallllly excited to hear your pedometer results!
I would love that homework assignment too!!! I need to go back to college!!! One of my majors in college was child development and child psychology. I had to work at a day care for a certain amount of hours per week. I LOVED it! So much fun! Let us know how your pedometer stats are and if you meet your step goal!!
-A
your classes sound so cool and fun !
such a great idea with those savory oats! i usually only have them in the AM but wow that recipe looks sooo good!
http://onefitfoodie.blogspot.com/
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