I did a little “data digging” on the behind-the-scenes end of the blog this past weekend. The site statistics allow me to view some “analytics” around my readers (no, no specific names or locations…your identity is safe! Haha) like which pages get the most views and which search results brought readers to my website. Reading through the search keywords that lead people to stronglikemycoffee.com was surprisingly entertaining. Here’s a few of the completely random search results that brought readers to stronglikemycoffee.com …

• “I feel like a pig” (I’m sorry you had to Google this. :( But I’m assuming it took you to my Farrell’s Ice Cream Post —-> Sunday Sundae and the Pig’s Trough)
• “Can girls hike” (Ummm it’s 2015, girlfriend.)
• “Snacks for a Coffee party” (I want to be your friend!)
• “Fruit in Disguise” (I’m intrigued)
• “Do I have to workout on Sundays?” Not sure that Google is the best source for that one!
• More than one “Easy Diets” (Easy + Diet? Hah!)
• And a surprising number of searches for “Pumpkin Bra“

Out of the 26,000 search results in the past  2 years, 10% have been some variation of “healthy college meal plan” or “college diet for girls.” First: hate the word diet. I don’t follow any specific food trends or fad diets (unless someone has coined a fancy term for balancing-a-healthy-dose-of-leans-and-greens-with-equally-healthy-doses-of-graham-crackers-and-chocolate-pretzels). ;)

My daily meals and snacks are pretty consistent, full of fruits, vegetables, complex carbs, proteins, and healthy fats. Because so many “healthy college meal plan” searches lead to this page, (and I don’t want you falling victim to the Banana Girl Diet) I thought I’d share a breakdown of what’s worked well for me:

• Everyday begins with a cup of coffee within 32 seconds of waking up.
• 8:00am breakfast at the office:
  • Steel cut oats with half a banana, cinnamon, occasionally some blueberries, and unsweetened almond milk.
• 10:00am snack:
  • Apple slices to quiet the growling belly
• 12:00pm lunch:
  • Almost always a homemade yogurt parfait: non-fat yogurt with ½ banana sliced, almond slivers, strawberries, and whatever other fruits we have at home like nectarines, pears or mangos. Plus a crunchy snack like a serving of honey whole wheat pretzels, cinnamon graham crackers or ½ a protein bar like Quest Bars, Luna Bars, or Larabars.

• Afternoon snacks:
  • square of dark chocolate with an iced coffee.
  • Pre-gym snack: Rice cake with PBFit (powdered peanut butter, 55 calories for 2 Tbs.)
• Dinner:
  • Salad (Greens, bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, sometimes avocado, whatever fruit is in season, lite vinaigrette), roasted or grilled sweet potato circles, and a veggie burger (rotating black bean burgers, quinoa burgers, and garden medley burgers.)

• Dessert:
  • (Unless we’ve gone to the gym pretty late, I almost always have dessert. I have a perpetual sweet tooth.) Could be a homemade peanut butter chocolate chip energy bite, square of Ghiradelli dark chocolate, or some dry cereal.
• P.S.:
  • SO SO much water all day. Dehydration can have nasty effects.  I would say I drink about 75 ounces a day. (But sweat out about 40, hah!)
    
  • Limit alcohol. I love a fruity cosmo as much as the next college girl but the effects that alcohol has on the body keep me from regularly sipping the sangria. I save my alcohol splurges for special social occasions, and I always try to lighten the drink and sip lots of water to prevent its dehydrating effects!
  • I can’t drink my coffee black so I add in about a tablespoon of non-fat non-dairy creamer, but if you like your coffee sweeter, try stevia instead of sugar!
  • Restaurant calorie and nutrition information can be off by about 10% and typically include more oils and salt than you would add yourself. Packing lunches and snacks for the majority of the weekdays is the healthiest way to go, if you ask me!

Clean eating in college requires a little more effort, grocery shopping and washing/cutting all the extra produce. You can’t argue that packaged goods are more convenient but I think it’s absurdly obvious that our country is in a huge health crisis when you see the average size growing and growing every year. I wish we put more of a focus on the quality of nutrition and the impact it has on every part of our life! Eating healthy in college is like an investment in your future, and after you begin making a cleaner meal plan, it just becomes a habit. You start to no longer crave the icky fried foods and sugary drinks because you know they won’t make your body feel good.

Aaaand that’s a typical work day meal plan for me. Maybe that will be more useful for those of you googling “healthy college girl meal plan” I hope? I’m about to play tourist in Wilmington, NC and do some potential future-hometown huntin’….. can’t wait to share more later! :)

XOXO Kenz.