Bloggers’ Bites: Midterm Munchies
Bloggers’ Bites is a series of posts chronicling the foodie adventures of Penn Appétit’s blog staff. With midterms steadily approaching, we asked our intrepid bloggers, “What do you eat when studying/prepping for midterms?“
Carolyn Koh: Last year, I used to indulge in every baked good I could get my hands on, but that’s the last kind of snack I look for now. My go-to treat is brie and crackers! I usually take around 4 to 5 crackers (usually Carr’s whole wheat or toasted sesame water crackers), spread each of them with my mom’s homemade peach marmalade or blueberry jam, and top them all with a nice slice of brie cheese. It’s not as simple as throwing some chips in your mouth but it’s definitely one for the foodies who need a boost of energy for studying. Good luck on exams, everyone!
Rachel Dinh: I usually grab anything chocolate in sight! I’m a sucker for a good marble poundcake, or chocolate cheesecake brownie to complement my caramel mocha frappucino from Starbucks. It usually gives me the sugar boost I need to get through my study sesh, and the endorphins are a plus as well!
Chase Matecun: I’m not usually a big snacker, but when I do feel the urge to munch on something I grab a bowl of baked cinnamon chickpeas. Each little ball is crunchy, nutty, and oh so sweet. You can make them in the oven by tossing some chickpeas with cinnamon and salt, but for those busy midterm nights I settle for buying a bag. “The Good Bean” sells them at Whole Foods—pick up a pack of the Sweet Cinnamon flavor and you can study for hours lost in a cloud of cinnamon and vanilla.
Chelsea Stellmach: I’m definitely not your typical junk food eating college student. I tend to eat either apples dipped in honey or dark sweet frozen cherries. Most importantly, it’s all about the tea. Tea makes the stress of midterms fade away.
Chelsea Goldinger: My go-to item during stressful moments is banana bread. It’s easy to make, comforting, and does a beautiful job of filling up the kitchen with equally enticing smells. The best part of making banana bread is that it allows for lots of creativity; each time I make it, I change it up slightly. I’ve done oatmeal banana bread, Bran banana bread, coconut, strawberry, Nutella, peanut butter, bourbon, almond, brown butter, coffee, zucchini, chocolate…… The list goes on. My next mission is to give ricotta honey banana bread a whirl.
Alex Golub: As far as study snacking goes, I usually want something that I can keep grabbing handfuls of, but hopefully not feel terrible about myself afterwards for indulging. Popcorn, if done right, can be the perfect up-all-night-cramming-for-my-
Sophie Litwin: I love eating seasonally, so I’ve been stealing lots of apples from the dining hall. My go-to study snack is an apple with peanut butter, which I like to jazz up by mixing cinnamon and/or chocolate chips into the peanut butter. I’ve recently fallen in love with freeze dried apples, which are lighter and crunchier than their dried counterpart. Instant oatmeal is another great late night (or early morning) snack that fills me up and gives me the boost of energy I need to pull all-nighters (no caffeine necessary!). Some of my favorite oatmeal toppings include banana slices, dried cherries, and pecans.
Byrne Fahey: Midterm season is no time to count calories. Reading a textbook? I put a white chocolate chip (or even better, a kernel of candy corn) on each section of text. When I’ve read it, I devour it. Chapter’s over? I deserve a spoonful of chocolate-hazelnut love. My spoons are just large enough, just round enough, to balance half a spoonful of Jif peanut butter aside half a spoonful of Nutella. Licked together, I have a Nutella peanut butter cup on a spoon. Don’t judge until you’ve tried it. Study break? It’s time for a Nature Valley, sweet n’ salty almond bar – the kind dipped in a sweet almond butter jacket. Perhaps, for a change, accompanied with a peach smuggled from Hill. Dinner time? Great, can’t wait.
Katie Behrman: I like to have a snack that lasts me for a while: something that I can continuously munch on as I write papers late into the evening or study for hours on end. My first round of midterms, I chose cereal. And, then I ate the entire box. In one night. After that slightly traumatizing experience, my go-to midterm snack is less of a snack as it is just something to chew on: gum. I’m a big fan of Orbit White’s sweet mint and 5 Gum’s rain. I also love sipping on a hot cup of tea (English Breakfast, Awake, Lipton to give me a burst of caffeine and Tazo’s mint tea for a calming before bed tea), and the occasional brownie is a welcome treat as well!
Casey Lipton: There is nothing better than watching the plastic peel back on the double stuff oreo box and spreading a large spoonful of peanut butter on the oreo during a midterm study break. Maybe the comfort comes from the reminder of the “Parent Trap,” one of my favorite childhood movies, or maybe it comes from the mixture of my two favorite foods. Either way, the sweet and salty combination is enough to take away my stress for a brief moment. When I need a little bit extra, I add nutella to the mix and make an utterly irresistible study snack that satisfies any craving.
Devyani Gupta: It’s not so much what I eat as what I drink. For me, it’s green tea all the way. Seeing as I’m one of the only people on campus to not drink coffee, I get my dose of caffeine from green tea. It’s my morning cup of joe on the way to class and my sleeping potion just before going to bed.