By Chamberlain Zulauf, Student Reporter
Last edition I wrote about water and my relationship with it so this time I figure I’ll keep the theme going and write about food! It is important what an athlete consumes to get their energy, of course. I would estimate that for one third of the time spent out running I’m thinking about what I’ll eat when I’m finished. Running heavy mileage always has my body craving the usual suspects: cereal and milk, spinach, eggs, Gatorade, beer, peanut butter etc.
I’ve read that the human body is smart enough to crave foods it knows contain nutrients which are lacking. As I’ve said before, I’m the sort of runner who faithfully subscribes to listening to your body over anything else and I feel that extends into more than knowing when my hamstring hurts. If my instinct tells me I should have a pile of grapes in my mini-fridge I’ll get a bag for sure. In the grocery store I try to get myself in tune with gut-feelings, no pun intended, guessing what sorts of things I’ll be glad to have in my dorm that week.
With a college student budget and living away from home, meal preparation is the best way for me to have good meals which are consistently ready. In case you’re not familiar, meal prep is cooking your meals for the next four to five days all at once. You eat your fill then put the rest up for later. Last week I cooked a carload of egg noodles, vegetables and chicken in sesame sauce.
Sure, it gets a little stale having the same thing for lunch and dinner days in a row but that’s nothing hot sauce can’t fix for me. It’s a weight off my mind to already have my lunch in Tupperware when I get back from running in the morning.
I’ll admit, I have referenced plate proportions on google images, like the ones Michelle introduced when I was in elementary school, to make sure I have enough of the right food groups. Clearly, I’m still very much a novice chef— despite how well my cooking may taste, sometimes it still reminds me of Frankenstein’s monster as I throw whatever I think would be good into a dish. Even though my cooking may border on culinary hodgepodge, it’s still quality and I’m still proud. Sometimes, if a meal looks alright, I’ll even send a picture of it to mom.
