Hi guys!
Wow…first of all a HUGE thank you to all of my wonderful friends who commented on my last post regarding my decision to transfer and my issues with a bit of exercise obsession.
It’s so great to know that I am so not alone in a lot of these feelings! I wish all of us could just move into one big blogger community and all be neighbors and best friends! 
I don’t know about all you other college girls out there, but the beginning of a new semester always makes me feel a little overwhelmed. Attending classes for the first time always makes me feel sort of uneasy.
A million thoughts tend to bounce around in my head all day and all night regarding the books I need, my homework assignments, and adjusting to a brand new schedule.
Luckily, a sweaty workout always helps me out! My number one stress reliever this week has been keeping to the routine of my half-marathon training. I’m following kind of a mixture of Hal Higdon’s Intermediate training plan and one that I found in Runner’s World a few years back.
The other place I find comfort when I’m stressed or uneasy is in, of course, food.
This morning after a sweaty elliptical + weight session, I made something for breakfast that I haven’t had in ages.
Malt-O Meal!
Anybody but me practically grow up on this stuff? When I was little, my sister and I used to have this for breakfast all the time. It’s a hot wheat cereal, very similar to cream of wheat. (I’ve never had cream of wheat, but that’s what I’m told!) Our favorite flavor was of course the chocolate kind…
What kid doesn’t love chocolate cereal for breakfast?!
I saw Malt-O Meal a while back at the grocery store and had to buy some to see if I still liked it as much as I used to when I was a kid.
I made it on the stovetop with water and added a splash of almond milk at the end.
Definitely not the most attractive breakfast in the world…
To give it a little more flavor and protein, I added a big scoop of PB and some frozen blueberries.
(Sorry for the terrible picture quality. Dark kitchen and no natural lighting = photography disaster)
Alongside a hot cup of coffee, this breakfast definitely hit the spot. It made me feel like I was a little kid again, eating Malt-O Meal with my sister while we were pretending we were Goldilocks eating porridge :)
Life was a lot simpler when we were kids, wasn’t it?
Jordan and Bailey Christmas 1995
Definitely made me miss my big sister!!
Happy Weekend, everyone!
Any meals that spark childhood memories for you?
Best comfort in stressful times: food or exercise or none of the above?
Exciting weekend plans?!
Bailey
/ January 20, 2012Malt-O Meal is the best! I need to buy some of it soon. I miss you and love you so much! I’m so lucky that I got to grow up with you as my little seester
. xoxo
Laura @ lauralikesdesign
/ January 20, 2012Ah I loved that cereal! Have you ever had the maple brown sugar flavor? It’s so good!
myhighonlife
/ January 20, 2012I always would eat chocolate cream of wheat with my daddy when I grew up! I have a box sitting in my cupboard still and may have to have some tomorrow since it’s a snowy cold mess in WI.
I like to go on a run when I’m stressed. Or shut down and sleep… but I don’t like resorting to that. This weekend I have a 13.1 mile run on schedule for the marathon training. Should be interesting with all this snow =/
Hope the semester starts off well for you girl!
In Sweetness and In Health
/ January 20, 2012I’ve never heard of malt o’meal! But it does look exactly like cream of wheat haha. I think ego waffles would definitely spark some childhood memories for me
.
happyhoneycrisp
/ January 20, 2012I know exactly what you mean about being stressed with new classes! Not knowing a professor or what EXACTLY is expected of me freaks me out. Being so comfortable with a previous schedule and having to re-adjust is tough. Hmm.. childhood breakfast makes me think of graham crackers broken up (bite size pieces) and eaten from a bowl with milk! Good stuff.
GOtheXtraMile
/ January 21, 2012I’ve never heard of that! Is it like farina?? There are so many things that remind me of my childhood. I think the sugary cereals and pop-tarts are up there. I always get stressed at the beginning of the semester. Actually, I’m almost always stressed about school! Lol
Cheryl Madliger
/ January 21, 2012I can totally relate with the beginning of the semester anxiety. I got two migraines out of it last week…boo!
I try to use exercise to help preventatively deal with stress, but I’m already a regular exerciser. Stuff like yoga or going for a walk really helps, as simple as it sounds. That being said, the temptation to run for the chocolate chips is still there…I am not one of those “I’m too stressed to eat” kind of people.
When I read childhood meals…all I could think of was chili mac! I have a craving for it, but I want my mom’s recipe for home made macaroni and cheese and I don’t even know where to find the canned chili she used to buy! Maybe I could health-i-fy it and use my own recipes, but I think that’d leave me unsatisfied!
Emily
/ January 21, 2012Oh my goodness, I haven’t had Malt-O-Meal in years! It reminds me of my grandma because she used to alwaaays make it for breakfast when I visited her. I definitely need to bring it back into my life. (:
My mom’s homemade mac-n-cheese and garlic bread alwaaays take me back to my childhood. Unfortunately I can’t have the mac-n-cheese anymore, since I’m vegan, but it was sure delicious. Oooh and Life cereal. I think I had that for breakfast every day when I was growing up. haha.
I hope your first week back at school has been awesome!
fitpeanut
/ January 21, 2012Food can be a stress reliever but I rather workout (emotionnal eating is not the best thing for me).
Yoga is really good, because I feel more connected to my body and it relieves my stress =)
This chocolate thing reminds me my childhood too. It wsn’t the same name (french) but it definitely looked the same. But I loved the vanilla, not the chocolate !
Childhood memories > all the candy bars (I ate so much craps, I wonder how I was skinny aahahhha )
You look so cuuuuuuute with your sister <3 Really cute =)
thisfitchick
/ January 21, 2012I’ve never heard of malt meal!.. haha must only be an american food.. kraft mac n cheese= childhood memories!
Kristen @ notsodomesticated
/ January 21, 2012Chocolate chip cookies usually bring back childhood memories for me! And my great-grandmother’s Thansgiving noodles … those are filled with memories!!
No great weekend plans. It’s snowy and cold and I’m not feeling great, so I’ll probably be doing lots of nothing haha!
Have a good weekend!!
Brittany
/ January 21, 2012I have never had Malt O Meal!! It has always reminded me of grits and I hated grits growing up. I wasn’t a fan of oatmeal either and now I LOVE IT! Exercise and food def help me out when I need a pick up!
Kate @ Chasing It
/ January 22, 2012AWWW this is so adorable!!!! I’ve never had malt-o-meal…or cream of wheat actually…but my sis and I definitely grew up on cheerios and kix hah. YES to food AND workouts as stress-relief/comfort too – this week was my first week of classes (after a semester off, eesh), and it was overwhelming. I therefore worked out probably a little too much and also drank tons of hot cocoa hahaha.
busylivinghealthy
/ January 22, 2012Ahh!! I used to be obsessed with malt o meal!! It was one of my favorite breakfasts growing up!
Toast with butter & the smell of coffee remind me of my childhood because my dad would always make me toast before he took me to school when I was little & he would always have coffee with his. 
Running and eating healthy meals are the two things that help me deal with stress especially when classes start again. I always feel like teachers make tests so soon, like right after we start back. Geeze 
Steph
/ January 27, 2012your posts are awesome!!!! post more often girl!
AG
/ April 21, 2012Heyy! I love your blog. I just started my own. Hopefully we can follow one and anothers and keep in touch.