I have a morning schedule that I stick to pretty religiously. I wake up early, workout, eat breakfast, and then catch up on my favorite form of reading: food blogs. It may not seem like a super fun thing to do, read food blogs that is, but it is truly enjoyable. The blogs often feature new recipes, workout tips, comical anecdotes, and spectacular photography. Since I am the author of my own food blog, I find inspiration from these other blogs, ways to adapt recipes to college life, and healthy living tips. These are not your grandma’s blogs, many are written by young adults, fresh out of college. The way I see it, these blog authors are the big brothers and big sisters that I have never had. They are a means to prepare for the future without having to first undergo the torture of learning a life lesson, which is how life goes more often than not. It is time to change all preconceived notions regarding food and health blogs with my top five recommended blogs.
This blog features Matt, a young man who is a fresh college graduate. The most appealing aspect to this blog is how relatable Matt is. Since we are all in college, he has gone through many, if not all, of the troubles that we try to tackle on a daily basis. He even frets about what he will do in the future, a topic in which I always have on my mind right before falling asleep. His recipes are very easy to follow and really delicious. A favorite of mine is the recipe for peanut butter granola. Additionally, he is a long distance runner and often posts about how he prepares for a run, what his goals are, and his history with running.
Many times, food blogs (especially healthy food blogs) tend to feature mostly vegan and vegetarian dishes. To me, eating a vegan or vegetarian dish every once in a while is not a bad thing, I could definitely use more tasty vegetable recipes that I actually enjoy eating! Healthy Food for Living is great because the author is neither a vegan nor a vegetarian. She is concerned, however, with healthy and enjoyable eating. Her recipes range from divine cinnamon buns (that are actually good for you!) to beef fajitas. Healthy Food for Living is well rounded in that it contains a little bit of everything. I would recommend looking into any of the egg salad recipes. I had never made hard-boiled eggs before, but with this author’s help I discovered it was a piece of cake. These egg salad recipes are quick, easy, require few ingredients, and can be made up the night before, all of these characteristics are great for the college student on the go!
I highly recommend this blog to anyone who is first starting out their journey to healthy eating. The author, Tina Haupert, has published a book also entitled “Carrots n’ Cake” and is a writer for health.com. Carrots n’ Cake is a great source of fitness tips, often featuring tips for sneaking in exercise, workout routines, and workout advice. The blog also features a great many of the pictures of the author’s pug, which makes for some very amusing blog posts.
Une Vie Saine is French for “a healthy life”, which is a wonderful goal! This blog is one of my favorites because it offers workout routines, recipes, and great stories. The young lady who is the author of the blog site is a recent college graduate and is very personable. The way that she writes is very inviting and she often features creative ideas in regards to food. What I enjoy most about this blog is the fact that she has just recently graduated college, so many of her older posts feature college friendly cooking tips and exercise tips. I especially admire her taste in breakfast foods, since she is as much of a cereal eater as I am! I do recommend checking out her “pancake bake” recipe, which features a pancake like batter, berries, and a delicious way to kick off the day.
1. Oh She Glows
This blog blows all the other blogs away, in my opinion. The author of Oh She Glows is Angela Liddon. Angela suffered from an eating disorder for much of her collegiate life. She abandoned her work as a sociologist to pursue happiness and eventually started her own bakery. This blog is truly an inspiration! The recipes are really wonderful and range from fun breakfast pancakes to superb pesto pizzas. Oh She Glows is a vegan blog, but the recipes can be easily adapted for those who are not vegans, like myself. I would recommend any of her recipes for overnight oats. I have become hooked on overnight oats and I am afraid that it is because of this blog. On the plus side, overnight oats are golden for college students because they require inexpensive ingredients and no cooking. That’s right, no cooking! I highly encourage you to check out this blog, meander through some of the recipes, and challenge your cooking/baking talents to one of her amazing dishes, you will not be disappointed.
Rachel Kengle is a junior at the University of South Florida majoring in Psychology. She is an avid yoga student, loves to run, and is open to trying different fitness classes. Rachel is also the Resident Assistant for the Wellness Learning Living Community at the University of South Florida, which is devoted to encouraging and assisting residents to maintain a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle. Among being an active member in many other student organizations, she is a member of NSCS. Rachel is the author of her own food blog and enjoys spending her free time trying and creating healthful dishes, taking pictures of her creations, and writing posts about her latest culinary cuisine.