#helpful things

You know how like 80% of sewing is actually ironing? This is how I make it less terrible:

Get a table, desk, Kallax, or similar. Throw a tabletop ironing board on top of it. Place it somewhere near your sewing machine table (next to in an L shape, behind, whatever works for your setup). The key is that you can reach it while still seated at your sewing station. If you don't have space for a permanent table, get a regular folding ironing board that can fold to the correct height. This setup works best with a swivel chair.

Put an iron on this table. Make sure you plug it in and turn it on when you are seated at your sewing station (and turn it off and unplug it when you are finished sewing)

When you need to press a seam, simply turn yourself to the side without getting up and press it. Easy.

I find that if I don't have a setup like this, I simply will not get up to press my seams. If I can reach the iron and have it waiting for me, though, I can work "pressing seams" into my regular sewing workflow in a way that isn't terrible for my brain and doesn't add a ton of extra steps (getting up, making sure the iron is on and set up, pressing the seam, walking back to the sewing machine...) and it reduces the amount of ironing in sewing from about 80% to about 50%

Oh, Gecko of the Lake. Please impart thine knowledge.

... How do you balance your nutrition in college? I really sucked at it last year-

Eheheheeehhhhhhhhh unfortunately I don't think I'm exactly super knowledgeable on proper eating and food balance, but I can share what I do (or try to do)! I won't say I've been super good about it either, I have no idea, but I did in fact survive for three years so maybe there's something good in here XD

Whole-wheat versions of bread, pasta, etc. are good ways of getting a little more fiber into your diet, and they generally taste just fine (and will always taste better when you're actively hungry). I started using these a little more recently and it has been Good™.

Have meat on hand! That's protein! Get some as affordable as possible then when you get home immediately pre-portion it into individual servings and freeze it. Now you can thaw one serving at a time and not worry about it spoiling in the meantime.

Oh also, for actual cuts of meat, salt it sometime the day before you're cooking it. The salt will have had time to work its way in and tenderize the meat, and it will taste so much better I promise you.

(Note that fish doesn't want to be salted very far in advance of cooking. More like 15 minutes tops. Also fish is brain food, good stuff. Imitation crab is great for fish content too.)

Veggies for snacks! Those are good. I like carrots, especially with a dip of some kind. They're pretty neutral. Also bell peppers and cucumbers.

Trying to eat veggies, but you don't usually like the taste/texture? Cook 'em until soft and use them to make a soup. Seasoned well and with other stuff, you're at least less likely to notice, and if it's a texture issue especially, you can add liquid to cooked, soft veggies and then blend/immersion blender/food process them into liquid and use it as the soup broth/sauce. No more texture!

if you're craving sugar sometimes, especially after classes and homework, that's probably because your brain needs sugar to function and you've just been using a lot of it.

Apple sauce

Protein cereal. More expensive, so not necessarily the greatest option, but it will keep you fuller for longer by a bit. Alternatively, just make sure part of your breakfast includes protein.

Cereal in general. Not always the most filling, but also it's quick and easy and sometimes all you have a chance to slam down in the morning, and some is better than nothing especially in college.

Sammiches!! Egg salad is super easy and can also be reduced to just "hardboiled egg + mustard + mayo". Lunchmeat and cheese work well too. Can be assembled day-of or night before.

I like Greek yogurt and some sort of cereal. Add honey.

Meal prep! Prepare in advance over the weekend or somethin'! I like to make a batch of soup or something then portion it out and freeze it. That can be my lunch (and dinner in a pinch) for the next while.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I.e. if you've got a food that's decently good for you and meets a nutritional need that you are ok with eating over and over? do it. It's very functional.

Pick out what you're gonna take for lunch or make for dinner sometime in advance. Could be beginning of week, could just be the night before so you aren't figuring it out day of.

Don't grocery shop while hungry.

Have snacks in your backpack, just in case. Even if that's just a protein bar or two, or a packet of almonds, or somethin'.

If you are hungry, that means your body needs food. Listen to it. If you are not hungry but are instead looking for something to occupy your mouth, use gum, drink water, or find a low-calorie snack so you can have a munch without worrying about it. (That's pretty much the only time I get terribly fussed about low-calorie things, is when I'm not really hungry but I need to chew on something.) Alternatively, find another source of stimulation.

Speaking of, it is better to eat food just before bed and not be lying awake hungry than to not eat and be awake and hungry for the next few hours.

Eat fiber and drink water, it helps everything feel better. If that means finding an apple sauce or a fruit that you love, do that and have it on hand. If additional steps and long processes drain your motivation, cut 'em out.

Have a "bad morning food" on hand - usually for me it's apple sauce and ginger ale. This is for mornings where you are actively hungry, but everything sounds nauseating. Get a *little* bit of sugar in your system. Also great for if you get sick.

Check your clearance section in the grocery store.

Rice is a Good Thing to have around.

Beans have lots of fiber and can be snuck into many foods nigh undetectably.

Bagels and cream cheese

The Safeway where I live has pretty decent relatively cheap sushi. This makes for a) a good treat and b) good for brain and some nutritional variety. That said I only do this every now and again. Maybe once or twice in the quarter, if that.

Greek yogurt and sour cream are frequently interchangeable.

If your milk goes bad, make irish soda bread (or any other recipe that uses buttermilk).

Mommacusses has a low-effort recipes series that is great for when you are so freaking tired.

ThePlantSlant also has good thoughts and often collects good content.

Looking for "disability friendly" recipes can be a life saver because often those involve minimizing the amount of energy you need to cook, and sometimes you don't got any energy.

Be mindful of caffeinated drinks, they're a double edged sword because they tend to suppress hunger signals in my experience. This can be helpful if you're getting distracted by hunger and can't actually have food yet, but also, it can inadvertently make you not eat food when you need to because you don't realize you're hungry.

If your head hurts, check whether you've had enough to eat. Often times the culprit is either dehydration or not enough protein.

Sugar is not evil, your body quite literally runs on it. Your brain needs it. Be mindful of how you consume it and how much, but it's not poison like some people will act.

Carbs give you short-term energy (and make you feel good usually), protein gives you long term energy. Fats help break down the fat soluble nutrients in a number of different foods (hence why some salads really need a little bit of oil or what have you). Fiber helps your gut break down all of the above better and keeps your system moving.

Fiber without water is a plug.

When it comes to balancing nutrition? Here's two of my go-to's picked up from folks on the interwebs:

Everything in moderation. Too much or too little of anything will be harmful. Find the happy medium.

See what you can add to a meal, not what you can restrict (i.e. "What can I add to a bowl of milk and cheerios to make it more filling?" instead of "I shouldn't eat cheerios because they don't last very long").

My tutorial on painting elf ears appears to be making the rounds on Pinterest again, so I thought I'd share it here. 😊 If you have any questions about the process or if you used the tutorial to paint your own set of ears, let me know!