It’s 2 a.m. on a Friday. You’ve made some coffee to get the feelin’ right. At any other time of year this would be the moment to switch on the Barry White. But this month is the beginning of finals season, and all your Friday nights are now owned by your professors.
When your coffee per hour ratio reaches 6:1, don’t despair: no matter how bad things get, you can always eat. During exam week preparation time needs to be at a minimum, so here are some overlooked yet easy foods to help you put down the raw roll of cookie dough and get some better food.
Whether you’re walking around Leo’s looking for a snack or you’ve sealed your door and become a hermit, a good old PB&J can take you out of your cave and next to the fireplace back home. At Leo’s try a toasted Sub Roll as your bread and use sliced bananas for a varied taste and texture.
For a side dish, grab a bowlful of cinnamon, a gob of butter for protein and heat up your own cinnamon toast for that feeling of completeness you know you’ve been missing.
Once you’ve got that gooey jelly feeling in your belly, it’s time for something to warm you up. To light that fire you crave, you need to get some chili. Although homemade chili is in many ways superior, canned chili is the way to go here since time is a factor. If you’re a bean fan, Hormel’s may be the choice for you as their meat to bean ratio is lower than Campell’s. But if the meat is what you want, try the Campell’s Firehouse for more meat and arguably tastier chili overall.
Now if there’s still a whole in your stomach craving more, or the Firehouse was a little too much, drown it out with a little bit of milkshake. Although hot chocolate is a popular choice, a mint chocolate milkshake will give you the zesty mint to get you going while still being a comforting pillow to lay your hat on. Although milkshakes may seem daunting, just grab a pint of ice cream and a little bit of milk and blend away. The only thing you have to worry about is devouring the carton of ice cream before you get to the blender. But if you can, a mint chocolate milkshake is a healthier way to get that fix of creamy goodness.
When your plates and cups are finished, slink back over the stereo and let Barry do his thing for a while. Take a moment to savor the memory of your meal before setting back into reality and, above all, don’t forget to keep eating!
Additional reporting by Richard Umbrecht
