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Ever woken up and needed a pick-me-up for your body and your mood? Most of us have, at one point or another – it’s just one of those days when a cup of coffee will get you going but won’t really get you ready for the day.
These days seem to get more and more frequent as finals and the holidays approach. You wake up after four or five hours of sleep and your shoulders are tense, your hands are shaky and you already have a headache. This is not how you are supposed to be waking up, you think as you roll out of bed and stagger out to get a cereal bar and cup of the cheap coffee your roommate bought on sale at Shaw’s last week, wishing it was a cup of cappuccino and a biscotti or fruit parfait.
You don’t have to drink the cheap coffee from Shaw’s or eat the cereal bar if you don’t want to. Well, maybe you did this morning because there was nothing else in the kitchen, or it was all you had in your food drawer in the dorm, but that doesn’t mean you have to repeat this scenario tomorrow morning, too. You can still get a cheery start to your day, even if you’re not a morning person, even if you’re still waking up stressed out from studying for finals, or from working 40 hours a week because it’s the Christmas season, then studying for finals when you get home.
The next time grocery shopping needs to happen, go yourself and pick up a couple extra things. Either buy these with your own money or come to some sort of consensus with your roommate(s) about who’s going to pay for – and eat – what. Then steer clear of the basics and head for the “want-its.”
Let’s start with coffee. Whether you live in an apartment, off-campus or in DTAV, or if you or a roommate either has a coffeemaker in your room or the dorm kitchen, coffee is an important part of any college student’s day. In fact, it is usually important several times a day. Start the day with a little cup of happiness by buying good coffee. Yes, it will be more expensive than the Hannaford or Shaw’s brand coffee that’s on sale for 37 cents a pound, but it’s not incredibly expensive, and the results are well worth it. My favorite brand is New England coffee. It tends to be somewhere between $2 and $4 for a pound of coffee, and it comes in an almost overwhelming array of flavors. If you just want plain old coffee, their Breakfast Blend is bright and refreshing, without the stale bitterness of Folgers or Maxwell House that’s been on the shelf long enough to be on sale. If you’re really looking to indulge first thing in the morning, flavors like French Vanilla or Chocolate Cappuccino are good ones to try. Yes, I know, it’s cappuccino flavored coffee. Holy redundancy Batman! But seriously, it’s yummy. You might want to buy two bags at once – one of the regular blends for everyday consumption, and one of the specialty flavors for those days when you need a pick-me-up. And, honestly, just having good coffee will be a massive pick-me-up in itself, even without any special flavors or roasts.
But maybe brewed coffee isn’t really your thing. If you’re one of those people who get up, shower and go straight to Starbucks in the Union for a mocha latte with cinnamon, you can still get the same effect for a fraction of the price at home. Instead of spending $2.85 for a venti latte, or whatever it is that they’re calling a big cup of deliciousness, take that $2.85 and go back to the supermarket. There, find the cappuccino mixes. These can usually be found with the tea selection, although sometimes the store will cater to the obvious and put the cappuccino with the coffee. One costs about the same as one latte or cappuccino from Starbucks, but you’ll get dozens of mornings out of that one little tin box. And they come in just as many flavors as the Starbucks coffee does, too. Just follow the directions for a yummy cup of cappuccino, and if you’re so inclined, get a little container of cinnamon while you’re at the market to sprinkle on the coffee at home.
Now that you’re loaded down with gourmet coffees and cappucino mixes, the final step of your morning is to think about breakfast. I realize many people don’t eat breakfast – I usually don’t myself. However, I will admit that breakfast is a good idea once in a while. Especially when you’re having a crappy week and you’ve just woken up with muscle spasms and a tension headache. If you’re a fan of starting off healthy, avoid the cereal bars that are supposedly “fortified with 321,678 vitamins, minerals, and chemicals!” and go for fresh fruit instead. You’ll have to go to the store a little more often, because fruit doesn’t keep as long as the genetically modified cereal bars, but it will be much tastier; plus, the fruit can provide you with a much-needed sugar-buzz, always helpful first thing in the morning.
If carbs are more your speed, then biscotti would be a nice way to start the morning. If you’ve never had biscotti, keep in mind, they need to be eaten with coffee and/or tea, because they are hard as a rock and are supposed to be that way. So don’t think you’ve bought a stale bag and try returning it for a refund when you bring it home, plunk it on the counter, and the countertop breaks. It was made that way for a reason. The biscotti, that is, not the counter. Other delicious – and slightly softer – carbohydrate options include bagels, which are scrumptious with cream cheese and jam or peanut butter. Or try buying muffins at the supermarket in a two or four pack. That should last at least a couple days, if your roommate doesn’t scarf them while you’re not home.
Mornings suck, if you’re anything like me and 90,367 other college students in the United States. So make the best of them by making them yummy. And caffeinated.
Erin McNamara routinely ignores sleep as a viable option over caffeine, and enjoys citing unrealistic and fictional statistics. These two things may or may not be related.
