Take a 100 Meal Journey!

Hiya! On Monday evening I attended a workshop focused around my favourite topic of all time: food. (I have Italian origins and I can quite happily discuss food forever). The workshop was hosted by a UofT Dietician on behalf of the Dieticians of Canada, to celebrate March as Nutrition Month. The title,100 Meal Journey, represents the average number of meals that one person will eat in a month. The workshop focused on goal setting and planning to create small changes in eating habits that make a big difference over 100 meals.
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The idea is that the journey is broken up into weekly tasks, but it is not too late to join. You can make a pledge and dieticians will send you motivational tips on how to achieve your goal.

Meet the Crew!

Hey y'all! Inspired by Annette’s post about the MoveU Crew, I’d like to share some of the fabulous features of the HealthyU Crew that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of in a communications role. I love being able to share our successes and achievements around campus— especially because an awesome team of students and volunteers are responsible for planning and executing the campaigns and events! Perhaps you’ve seen them at Clubs Day, Street Festival, in libraries and common spaces, and at walkabouts around campus... Here's a snapshot of each of the four themed-teams that make up the Crew!
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The HealthyU Crew is a combination of four healthful initiatives: HappyU, FuelU, MoveU, and SafeU

Happy Nutrition Month!

The month of March brings with it many things:
  • Midterms
  • Papers
  • Movie releases (London Has Fallen comes out tomorrow (sequel to Olympus Has Fallen), I’m excited but also skeptical… then again, how bad can a Gerard Butler-starring film really be?)
  • Warmer weather (hopefully!) AND
  • Nutrition Month!
Registered Dietitians of Canada celebrate Nutrition Month every March. This year, they’re encouraging Canadians to take a 100-meal journey over the course of March, focusing each week on a new goal such as making quality food decisions and being aware of portion sizes.

Meaningful Mindfulness

Hi there! Last week I wrote about being ill, and I speculated that (in addition to cold weather and a nasty cough virus circulating in the air) my sickness was due to being out of touch with my body. It happens every once in a while when we get so busy that it can be a challenge to keep tabs on how we are (really) feeling and what our body (really) needs. I mentioned to a friend in passing this week that I sometimes attend Mindful Moments sessions on campus to get better connected with my body. He giggled, and said that he imagines me sitting cross-legged with my eyes closed, deeply concentrating on foretelling the future. I think at some point my friend was misinformed—mindfulness, meditation, tai chi, or yoga are not activities done to prophesize about the future. Quite oppositely, the goal is to bring more awareness to the present moment, to the body, and the breath.  

Alternative on-campus food options (or How to Avoid Subway)

Unpopular opinion: I am not a fan of Subway. Or perhaps it’s just that I’ve been there so many times while on campus that the prospect of having to eat one more chicken teriyaki sub makes my stomach curdle.

Me holding a paper bowl filled with mac and cheese and a fried cheese fritter on top. In the background is the ballot sheet with all the names of the chefs who participated in the event.
There's more to campus food life than muffins and pizza! Check out http://ueat.utoronto.ca/ for ongoing food events, like free Vegan Breakfast or this annual Mac 'N' Cheese Smackdown!

Did you know that aside from the usual Starbucks, Spring Rolls, and Subway (i.e. The Holy Trifecta), U of T actually has quite a number of alternative food options for the studious library-goer in search of their next meal? If you’re sick of buying from the same places all the time, consider some of these if you haven’t already:

Healthy Campus 101

Hi all! Sometimes, it can feel as if being a student is a barrier to living a healthy lifestyle. It's easy to get caught up in a mindset that eating instant ramen daily, experiencing irregular sleep patterns, and becoming caffeine-dependent are inevitable consequences of being a proper university student (sometimes I think these things myself). But, really, with all the resources we have at the St. George campus to better our health, is it possible that this mentality is simply an illusion? I have a sneaking suspicion that the student gig does not necessarily need to include attending random clubs’ AGMs for the free pizza. In preparation for this week’s Design For Change conference, I decided to brainstorm a list of ways that UofT is a Healthy Campus in line with some of the themes of the roundtable discussions at the event.  On Thursday, student and staff will get together at Hart House to discuss designing a shared vision for a healthier University at the first annual Design for Change conference, and we (students) are all invited! That sounds pretty super to me. d4c

A Literary Mille-feuille: The Recipe for an Essay

Franz Liszt, Justin Bieber. Gordon Ramsay, you. What do these pairs have in common? Well, Liszt and Bieber are popular musicians and idols among their audience, though during different time periods. And Gordon Ramsay and you are—or can be—revered chefs of mille-feuilles, though of different types of mille-feuilles. While Gordon Ramsay may have nailed his raspberry mille-feuille, you can nail that literary mille-feuille, a.k.a. That Essay You Should Have Started Already. Here are some tips that will hopefully prove helpful in creating your literary mille-feuille, which, though Gordon Ramsay may not appreciate, your profs will.
Three chocolate imitations of mille-feuille.
And here you’ll notice a very unusual kind of mille-feuille. The kind that’s 100% chocolate, disguised as 100% mille-feuille, yet still 1000% delicious.

The Wonderful World of Student Run Cafés

With the new semester, I've found myself with a schedule that leaves me with a lot of time to kill on campus between classes. Though school may have only just started, I've already grown tired of frequenting the same Starbucks every day, and my wallet is really feeling the pinch. This week I decided to kill two birds with one stone: explore as many student run cafés and restaurants as I could in order to find a place that I wouldn't mind spending time in, and that wouldn't hurt my wallet. Diabolos Coffee Bara sign reading "diabolos" with an illustration of a coffee cherry After a hiatus last year, UC's 50 year old student run cafe is back and better than ever. Diabolos' space in UC's Junior Common Room was recently renovated into a bright and airy one, dotted with ivy and tiny succulents. Diabolos specializes in espresso based drinks (all of which can be found under $3!), but also offers delicious locally baked cookies, kombucha, as well as vegetarian wraps and sandwiches. photo of hanging plants above the counter

peanut butter and exam jam

Hey there! The Community Crew has been sharing some great tips recently for de-stressing during exam season. Annette wrote about staying active when we are busy; Tiffany provided some very helpful study tips in her post; Madeline (our Arts & Science Blogger) wrote about remembering to eat healthfully; and Emma recently discussed the importance of taking breaks. Now imagine taking all these tips and tricks, and showcasing them all in one lobby. That's exactly what happened this past Thursday, as part of UofT's annual Exam Jam - 2015 edition!
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Brought to us in the spring and winter exam season by the ASSU and the Faculty of Arts & Science and friends
Somewhere in the building students reviewed with their profs, and elsewhere there were open study rooms to hang out in. The lobby was alive with activities!