Ayanna's Studyblr!

8.24.16  ♡   4/100 days of productivity

I think we all know that feeling when you sit down to work, get all comfy with your pens and pencils, and then suddenly realize you’re missing something important. Here’s a checklist of items for your desk that you might not think to grab before sitting down to work, complete with links to some suggestions!

Hole punch: keep yourself organized (x, x, x)

Timer: for taking practice tests and pomodoros (x, x)

Hand cream: moisturize! (x, x, x, x)

Lip balm: prevent chapped lips (x, x, x)

Snacks: keep hunger at bay

Pencil lead: don’t let yourself run out! (x, x, x)

Letter opener: useful for more than just letters (x, x)

Scrap paper: for lists or workings out

Batteries: in case your calculator dies

Staples: keep your papers together 

Tape: fix any damage (x, x)

Bookmark: don’t lose your place! (x, x, x)

White out: in case of mistakes

Bin: recycle what you don’t need (x, x)

Ruler: straight lines look tidier! (x, x)

violets are blue 

I’m so fucking tired 

Hi guys! I haven’t seen many posts about recipes to make for school, so I decided to make one.

We all know food is important, especially when you need your brain to be active and at its full potential. There are a few general tips I’d like to share before going into the actual recipes:

the most important nutrients we should be consuming are carbs, proteins and calcium

the British Nutrition Foundation recommends “ a diet rich in a variety of fruit and vegetables, include moderate amounts of low-fat dairy products, moderate amounts of lean meat and fish and other non-dairy protein sources and limited amounts of foods containing fat or sugars.”

healthy diet: how to

how to eat healthy on a small budget

always compare branded products to generic brands: look at the nutrients because most of the time they’re either the same, or better. 

also I’ve found that many times I like the generic brand products better. For example, I don’t like the Lipton iced tea (1,49€), but I actually love the generic brand iced tea from the major grocery stores over here (around 0,50€)

in order to save money, limit the amount of times you’re allowed to eat out each month/week

What you should be eating

Firstly, I’d like to address how important it is to drink a lot of water. It genuinely is good for every single thing: it helps with your skin, with detoxing, with weight loss, with muscle growth, etc.

Here are a few example meals you should eat at different times of day:

Breakfast

Wholegrain cereal with milk and glass of orange juice

Wholemeal bread toasted with chopped banana and glass of milk

Lunch or Tea

Bowl of vegetable soup and wholemeal bread with an apple and yoghurt

Chicken / tuna salad wrap and pure fruit smoothie

Baked beans on whole-grain toast

Baked potato topped with tinned tuna, baked beans or grated cheese

Scrambled egg on toast with grilled tomato

TOP-TIP! A ‘baked’ potato can be easily prepared in a microwave in about 5 minutes

Dinner

Chicken or beef stir fry with noodles

Egg omelette with cheese and baked potato

Pasta with tinned tuna topped with cheese

TOP TIP! Frozen vegetables are packed with nutrients and are great when you are pressed for time.

Source: Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute

What to keep in your kitchen

Tea and coffee

Dried mixed herbs/spices

Low-salt stock cubes: for chicken, beef and/or pork (Knorr makes good ones, but there are always the generic brands if you want a cheaper option)

Tomato and Pesto sauces (for a quick pasta sauce)

Garlic and onions

Olive or vegetable oil

Pasta, rice, noodles and couscous (choose wholegrain ones if possible)

Porridge oats

Granola

Plain flour (for baking and thickening sauces)

Canned chopped tomatoes

Canned fruit (in fruit juice not syrup)

Canned pulses such as chickpeas, lentils and kidney beans (not in salted water)

Canned fish e.g. tuna, mackerel, salmon, sardines (try and make sure these are sustainable and canned in water or unsaturated fats)

Fresh fruit (fruits of the season are cheaper)

Butter

Water bottles (just a couple, you can refill them)

Snacks

When you’re going to study, whether it’s at the library or at home, it’s important to snack on something nutritious in order to keep your brain working. There are lots of different things you can just pick up, or wash (maybe slice too) and throw in a Tupperware box

tea: green and black tea are highly energetic (here’s an article about different kinds of tea)

various nuts: walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, etc

fruits: apple, banana, blueberry, avocado and orange are good ones

I also love to snack on watermelon. It may not be super nutritious, but it’s fresh, it fills you up and is low calorie

vegetables: carrots, broccoli, string beans and pea pods can (and should) all be eaten raw

greek yogurt: you can literally throw anything in there and it will taste good, or you can just eat it plain, because it tastes good and the consistency is great

dark chocolate

peanut butter

17 power snacks for studying

10 ways to boost your brain power

another studyblr food masterpost

Recipes

by time of cooking/preparation

10 minutes tops

granola: either plain in a bowl with a little bit of milk, or mixed with whatever you want, granola is a great snack (also low to no-sugar, and high in fiber, so if your intestines tend to give you a hard time, this will help)

salads: any kind will take you less than 10 minutes (unless you have to boil any ingredients, like pasta or eggs); they mostly consist of healthy ingredients, and are customizable to your liking

5 green smoothie recipes

3 ingredient banana cookies

banana oatmeal cookies

chipotle avocado sandwich

apple peanut butter sandwiches (super yummy; if you can, get organic peanut/almond butter because it’s a bit healthier)

wraps are extremely simple to make, and not very time-consuming at all (unless, again, you have to boil any ingredients) - 1, 2, 3 and 4

Jamie Oliver’s “quick fixes” (some take 10 minutes, others take longer)

3 easy breakfast ideas

10+ minutes

baked apple chips

green cheese & avocado sandwich

gluten free muffins

pasta salads in a jar (doesn’t have to be in a jar)

healthy lunches and snacks by Bethany Mota

Jamie Oliver’s wraps take a little longer to make but they look delicious

chicken satay salad 

27 healthy high-protein snacks

chicken fattoush

stir-fried beef with hoisin sauce

88 cheap and healthy recipes (includes vegetarian dishes)

34 healthy breakfasts for busy mornings

My own recipe: Tuna Pasta 

(IG picture from like 2013; remember when Aria was into that guy Jake lol I think we were all into him tbh)

If you don’t know me too well: Hello I’m Vanessa and I eat pasta like there’s no tomorrow. Also, tuna is one of my favorite things. Nice to meet ya!

I make this all the time, it’s super easy and quick (if you don’t count the time it takes to boil pasta, which is the boring part). Here are the ingredients:

pasta (any kind; however much you want to eat)

a can of tuna (or more, depends on how many people you’re cooking for)

garlic (1 clove)

olive oil

tomato sauce or pulp

salt

oregano

This is how to do it:

boil water for the pasta; add salt before putting the pasta in the pot

while the pasta is boiling, open the can of tuna just a little and set it on the sink upside down so the oil/water (whatever the tuna is conserved in) comes out

when the pasta is done, put a bit of olive oil in a pan and chop up a clove of garlic in little squares

turn on the stove and wait until the oil starts to sizzle a little bit before putting the tuna in

stir the tuna around for a minute or so, and then add a bit of tomato sauce/pulp

after the tuna is covered in the sauce, you can add the pasta and a pinch of salt

stir everything around for a bit so you can see how much more sauce you need to add (no need for useless extra calories), and then add it

stir everything again, to “spread” the sauce

turn the stove off, put your dish on a plate, and sprinkle some oregano on top

Voilà!!

I found a similar, fancier version of this recipe on BBC Good Food.

Note: most (if not all) of these recipes are easily portable, all you need is a couple tupperware boxes and your knife and fork. Throw them in your bag before heading out the door and you’re all set!  If your school doesn’t have microwaves (which it probably does), focus on making the cool recipes, like salads, wraps, quesadillas, etc.

Free recipe apps

Yummly (my favorite)

SideChef

Kitchen stories

Tender (iOS only)

Chefsteps

Cookpad

Epicurious (iOS only)

Allrecipes Dinner Spinner (also available for Windows Phones)

BigOven (available for all devices, including iPad): also has website

Cheftap (Android only)

That’s all folks! Hope you enjoyed my post, and that it actually helps you.

Feel free to request any posts you would like me to do, and I’ll gladly do them if I’m qualified to.

Check out my lastest back to school 2016 post if you’d like some scholarly advice :)

TIP OF THE WEEK:

12:36am // AP Psych // 10-25-15

I started using this study method my 2nd month of college, when I realized that it was better for study-life balance and my emotional wellbeing. It makes me feel productive and alert all day, and gives me plenty of free time to pursue hobbies, clubs, and personal interests. It sounds kind of hardcore at first, but it’s seriously wonderful if you give it a try! Here’s the game plan:

After the first few days of the semester, I sit down with all of the syllabi from all of my classes and write down every single assignment for the rest of the semester into my planner. Include exams, readings, lab report due dates, worksheets, essays, etc. Everything.

Every weekend, I set aside however much time I need to knock out every single assignment for the upcoming week that is possible to do in advance. I do my textbook readings, textbook practice problems, my humanities readings, short essays or write-ups to accompany those humanities readings, etc.

Even though I’m doing more work, I generally spend the same amount of time in the library as my friends who only do their work for Monday over the weekend. This is because if you don’t commit to doing a large number of assignments, you tend to spend a lot more time on minor assignments than is truly necessary - do I really need to spend 3 hours on this 1-page essay for my English class if it’s only graded on a 10 point scale? Couldn’t I finish this in 1 hour and then devote more time to the rest of the readings I need to do for that class this week?

I still have enough time to sleep in, have long lunch breaks, go the gym, go to parties in the evening, etc.

You can do this, no matter your workload. I am a pre-med science major taking 20 credits (max course load) a semester, with two labs, and I can get it done. My roommate is an English major with heavy novel reading assignments and she can get it done. (Disclaimer: this mostly applies to undergraduates.)

Research papers and midterm exam studying generally get their own day separate from homework assignments. I like writing essays in 1 or 2 sittings, but if you like to spread it out just break up the essay into manageable pieces and do it over multiple weekends, or do the pieces between classes (see next bullet point).

After blasting through most of my assignments over the weekend, during the week I generally only have to do busy-work that is assigned at the end of classes and continue studying for midterms that week. I easily finish these assignments in the breaks between classes during the day.

With this strategy, I always complete all of my homework well before dinnertime, and often have days when I don’t have any assignments to do. I use this free time for club meetings, hanging out with friends, going to the gym, marathoning Netflix, pursuing hobbies, working a job, whatever.

I also use this extra time to be able to study for exams much more effectively - when you don’t have busywork assignments floating in the back of your mind, it is much easier to focus. You will study more productively and effectively, and with much less stress. Exams are worth way more of your grade than the homework assignments you blast through each weekend, so it’s best to be able to focus exclusively on them Monday - Friday.

The best part about this strategy is that your workload is heavy on Sunday and sometimes Saturday, but you get to relax Monday - Friday. You basically have a 5 day weekend every week, assuming you enjoy going to class.

If anyone also uses this method, I’d love to hear from you or hear your variants/study suggestions! If anyone tries out this method for 1 or 2 weeks and finds that it works for them, I’d love to hear about it! If you try it and hate it with a fiery burning passion and loathe me for even suggesting it, I’d love to hear about it!

And mainly directed at all the AP Art History exam takers!

I was in your shoes 3 years ago. I sat through that horrific exam. Multiple choice, essays…it sucked. It was long. My hand cramped up. But I survived, and you guys will too! It seems like a ton of information (and it is), but I bet you all are going to do great.

So, for the next few days, I’ve queued up over 100 posts of what I call “CtC’s Crash Course in Art History.” There will be artworks starting from ancient to modern, all in chronological order. Some will have “study questions” that I wrote up with them, some won’t. I’ve tried to pick images that I remember being on the exam, key works, or pieces representative of a movement.

They’ll all be published before the day of the exam (roughly 25 posts a day, finishing up on Thursday), and tagged with “ap art history crash course.” You can either look in the archive, or use that tag to find the posts. Hopefully just having an overview of some major works of art will help them stick in your mind - that’s the goal! Just let them wash over you, and I’m sure you guys will realize how much you really do know.  

On a final note, make sure to check out my tips for taking the AP Art History Exam.