As classes get into full swing, your time is suddenly filled up with reading, late nights spent writing papers, and of course, eating. If you’ve been wondering why you’re always hungry when studying for History 210, researchers have an answer.

In a recent study done by Angelo Tremblay at his lab at the Universite Laval in Quebec, it was found that those performing mental tasks like trying to solve problems (e.g. Calculus 111), while working at a computer stimulated their appetite so much that they tended to eat more calories than their bodies actually burned while performing the task.

The psychological logic for the rise in appetite?  According to the study, mental work “destabilizes” our levels of insulin and glucose, which in turn stimulates the appetite.

Is this why after a weekend of total dedication to homework, I suddenly find I’ve depleted me and my roommate’s entire snack supply?

According to Tremblay’s study, participants consumed far more calories after performing a mental task like reading for a class than relaxing for the same amount of time. In addition, they concluded that time spent surfing the Internet, as well as instant messaging, may very well be a significant factor in the obesity epidemic amongst college students.

So studying is really to blame for the freshman 15? Read More »

I was 14. My parents were getting a divorce. My father was also simultaneously dating a new woman. I was fighting with my brother all the time. So what did I do instead of properly dealing with my feelings? I internalized it and took it out on myself.

I was never a heavy person, but at 14, I was 5’8’’ and 160 lbs. Sounds big, I know, but I was a competitive swimmer and full of muscle. I used to eat whatever I wanted; I swam seven days a week so I had a good balance…I wasn’t heavy, but not stick thin, and I was happy with the way I looked. But when I abruptly quit swimming as a rebellion against my father, I realized that my eating of whatever I wanted had to come to a hault. I couldn’t snack on McDonalds Chicken Nuggets if I wasn’t spending two hours a day in a pool.

It started gradually…not sitting with my parents at the dinner table because I was upset, throwing lunches out that my mom made me at school, and making subtle attempts at lessening my food intake. Eventually, I narrowed it down to eating one single Pop-Tart or small sandwich a day…any single item with enough nutrients to get me through.

I also started stationary biking every day as a way to add exercise to my already starved body. I biked around 8 miles a day and did 400 crunches, so any food intake I did have was quickly wasted away by burning these calories. If I needed a boost to keep myself going, I’d pop a few sugar candies. Read More »

I scanned the menu of the dimly lit Thai restaurant where we had chosen to have lunch. It was really breakfast, being our first meal of the day. It was still only 11:30 in the morning.

My tongue ruminated on memories of peanut sauce and bean sprouts, quickly tasting each dish with which it was presented and re-shelving the phantom platter for a later craving. When my eyes came to rest on the Spicy Green Curry, I knew my mouth had found what it wanted.

Something in me was telling me that this was the dish I should order, despite the warning label under the menu description advertising this as a “very spicy dish.” Or maybe precisely because of that label.

As I barreled my way through that burning sensation that was my breakfast, I wondered why on Earth I was doing this to myself. There was so much spice that I could barely taste anything else. There were hints of coconut milk here, and eggplant there, but mostly my mouth was a wasteland of curry on fire.

That got me thinking about my whole relationship with spicy food. I can’t say that I really like how it tastes. So why do I love eating it? Read More »

There’s some foods that naturally go together. Like peanut butter and jelly. Or fries and ketchup.  No one makes a weird gagging sound when they see you chowing down on some cheese and crackers. But sometimes chips and salsa gets boring and you realize that you crave something a little…more interesting.

Sure, people may run away screaming in horror, but there are just some weird food combinations that you can’t help but want. Stop hiding out in your bedroom dipping the pretzels in frosting; embrace that delicacy! (Seriously - that sh*t is good!) Your friends probably have some weird cravings too.

Gross Foods That Are Actually Delicious

1. Ketchup With Everything. To me, ketchup is its own food group. And while I slather this tomato paste on fries, hamburgers, and hotdogs, I like eating the stuff with mashed potatoes too. My friends think it’s disgusting and can’t stand to watch me eat it, but ketchup and mashed potatoes together are seriously delicious (and it is not that far off from putting that stuff on fries!). I have also seen people put ketchup in chicken noodle soup and or those who slather it on a slice of pizza. Delish. Read More »

Once upon a time, man survived by cooking his dinner over a fire. Then someone came along and invented The George Foreman Grill (I guess that someone would be George himself). And now? Now we don’t know how we could live without it.

But Georgie isn’t the only brilliant inventor out there; there are tons of kitchen thingies that will change your life.

I’ve compiled a list of cooking gadgets you don’t realize you need, but that is only because you haven’t used them yet. Forget DVR; these things are the best inventions since sliced bread.

1) I love corn on the cob, but I absolutely refuse to eat it unless someone cuts it off the cob for me. And since the only person who loves me enough to cut the corn off the cob for me is my dad, I don’t often get to enjoy it. But now that this gadget has been introduced into my life, I’m going to start eating it at every single chance I get! The corn on the cob stripper is the perfect dad replacement. If only it also gave me money… Read More »

The first date… those three words alone are enough to fill my soul with terror. The person likes you enough to go out with you, but did they just agree to be nice, or do they really like you? Do they mean to be friends? Have you just completely misjudged their advances? What if they act really overzealous? What if they act really uninterested?

It’s clear that there’s a lot to worry about when you meet up with somebody for the first time, so try to cross at least one thing off of the Worry List by having a low-stress meal. These five things are not the way to go for first date fare:

1. Mexican.
Refried beans are soooo delicious, yes, but the effects are musical, and you really don’t want that to happen at an inopportune time.

2. Sandwiches/burgers more than three inches thick.
Honestly, these are the most annoying things ever, and they will embarrass you when you least expect it. When you finally maneuver the thing so that it’s possible to put it in your mouth, everything inside it will inevitably spill out onto either your hands or your lap. (Editor’s Note: Sounds familiar to the bedroom festivities later. Ayoooo!) You can’t eat them with a knife and fork, either, for fear of looking like an extreme neatnik. Read More »

The New York Times recently came out with a list of the top 11 easily accessible foods of which people should really be eating more. While I can’t say there are any real shockers on the list, I am pretty happy with my diet where it stands.

It’s definitely nice to know that the Times was thinking about regular people and regular grocery stores when they made this list (for example, you won’t find any pleas to track down and eat foods like arrowroot or Cornish game hens), but honestly, who is going to read this list and think, “Swiss chard and fresh beets! Now that I know this, I’d better get a move on to the grocery store!”?

Without further ado, I present to you the list and my own personal commentary on each food:

1. Beets. I’m not going to lie; I actually kind of like beets, but I haven’t eaten them for years, not since they were prepared for me from a can in my school’s cafeteria. Actually, that’s not true—I did buy some actual fresh beets a few weeks ago and try to cook them in the oven, but it was a disaster. They ended up not softening enough and dyeing those hard-to-reach spots between my fingernails fuchsia for two days. Read More »

Quick! What’s one food you could live off of? For me, it’s peanut butter. I dream of a peanut butter that’s fat-free, calorie-free, and sugar-free, so I can just eat scoop after scoop without feeling any guilt. Alas, that is probably a dream that will never come true; but it doesn’t stop me from eating scoop after scoop. And since I’m eating it anyway, I figure I may as well combine it with another delicious love of mine: chocolate.

I started drooling the second I saw the recipe for Peanut Butter Blondies with Chocolate Ganache. And I didn’t stop until I had made them and ate the entire plate. Come to think of it, I still haven’t stopped. They are that good.

So, if you consider yourself even a slight fan of peanut butter and chocolate, you should probably make these now. And figure out a way to healthily add a tray of them into your food pyramid. And when you figure it out, please let me know.

Here’s what you need for the blondies: Read More »