#so onto cold protein went like 4 trays i think?

[ambersky0319]

My assistant manager yesterday, texting me: hey can you come in from like, 5-9 tonight and help with cold protein?

Me: yeah i can come in

The cold protein at the end of the night: *more than when i got there*

[prurientpuddlejumper]

A Lipless Face That I Want to Marry, Ch. 4

<- Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 ->

Summary: Chilton’s recovery is slow and painful, and he is a cranky traumatized bastard who might be determined to push you away.    

1,878 words

Twelve days. Six surgeries. Fifteen blood transfusions.

“Did you bring me something to eat?” he whined. Considering he could barely lift his voice above a whisper, it was an impressive feat that he could whine. “Tell me you smuggled something edible that does not go into a tube through my nose.”

“I’m sorry, honey-bear,” you pouted. “But you know I can’t until the doctors OK it.”

“I am a doctor.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re still at a high risk of going septic—no outside foods covered with outside bacteria. Besides, they won’t let you eat solids yet, anyway.”

“Sanguinaccio dolce. Mango smoothie. Crème brûlée. Yamakake Soba...” he listed off non-solid things you ought to have snuck in for his enjoyment.

“And how would I get them in there?” You rapped your knuckles on the clear acrylic of the hyperbaric oxygen therapy chamber.

He scowled. “This is not a zoo. No tapping the glass.”

You grinned and pulled a chair alongside the chamber so you were sitting next to him.

“Did you bring the laptop?”

Slinging the messenger bag you were carrying off your shoulder, you pulled out a smooth rectangular object and held it up proudly. “That I did. I’m ready to write if you’re up for it,” you said, but added with some hesitation, “Are you sure you want to do this now? You should be resting, and… I don’t know if it’s a good idea for you to relive what happened.”

“I am sure,” he snapped. “I may drop dead at any moment, so we will finish this now. While I still draw breath.”

You stiffened imperceptibly in your chair. The reminder that, despite making it this long, he was far from out of the woods was an unwelcome dagger in your chest, which you quickly plucked out and stuffed away in the box of things you weren’t going to think about.

“As for the wisdom of my reliving it—I feel his teeth every time I close my eyes. I may as well profit from the experience.”

Dr. Chilton was growing anxious that it had been nearly two weeks since his encounter with Francis “The Red Dragon” Dolarhyde, and he had not yet had the chance to publish on the subject. He had wasted far too much time being unconscious and dying—he needed to send a letter in to the American Journal of Psychiatry before some know-nothing crackpot took a swing.

He was the foremost authority on the Dragon—the only person to have communicated with him and lived who was not, himself, a fugitive for murder (or a blind girlfriend, but he doubted Reba was going to publish anything). This was his achievement. His way of staying relevant. The definitive analysis of the Red Dragon for the Journal, and then a spectacular ending for his book once he had his own hands to type with again. No one would take this opportunity from him.

After living with Frederick Chilton for over three years in relative domestic harmony, there were times you forgot what you ever used to dislike about him. Why you hated him so intensely when you first met.

This was not one of those times.

As you took dictation from your glass-encased fiance, you felt a crushing wave of empathy for the man’s poor secretary. He was demanding and fussy, making you read back every sentence to him line by line and mercilessly correcting any mistakes or omissions. He spoke slowly because of his weakened lungs and raw throat, and the thick glass and lack of lips made him difficult to understand, especially with nurses walking through and machinery beeping and whirring in the background—but when you tried explaining that to justify a transcription error, he took it as a personal affront.

You had to support him no matter what, you reminded yourself. This was much harder on him than you. You can always leave if you want you; he can’t. So when he was frustrated and cranky, you were patient and kind.

It took five hours and ten rewrites to get through two thousand words he was satisfied with submitting for publication, and you were nearly crying by the time you left.

***

Thirteen days.

High protein intake is critical to a speedy recovery in burn patients, but Frederick’s mangled digestive system could not tolerate protein very well. Keeping his kidney off the precipice of failure was a tightrope walk involving dietitians planning his every calorie intake, and daily blood work monitoring.

As a medical doctor, Frederick Chilton was aware of, and understood, these things. However he still rejected them as excuses when you once again did not bring him any outside food.

“Then what is the point of you coming?” he snapped, and immediately wished he had not. You stood frozen in the doorway of his recovery room unsure what you did wrong. You were right, of course—his throat felt like he had fellated broken glass. As much as he longed to chew something flavorful, with texture, he could not have swallowed solid food anyway. He closed his eyes. Softer, he asked, “Did you bring the March issue of the Journal of Psychiatry?”

You let out a held breath, unfreezing, and pulled the magazine out of your bag, presenting it with an upbeat flourish. “Delivered to your doorstep.”

“Would you read it to me?” He sighed, humiliated. It was not only that he could not hold the publication—even if you were to flip the pages for him, with only one working eye and no reading glasses, it was hopeless. He was completely dependent on you.

A cough shook his body as if to punctuate how completely he was broken. Useless. Weak.

The metal feet of the visitor’s chair scraped on the white floor like nails on a chalkboard as you dragged it close to his bedside, making him wince until you settled down and helped him browse for an article of interest.

He could barely make himself care about the content of the study. As you read, you rested one arm on the mattress right next to his, where it lay helplessly prone alongside his body, and he could feel the warm weight of you sinking into the cushion. The pressure was uncomfortable on his inflamed tissue, but soothing to something deeper. God, he wanted to be soothed. He wanted so badly to feel any kind of comfort. Anything to latch onto. He closed his eyes and got lost in your voice. For a moment, he could almost forget about the searing pain in each of his limbs and pretend he was at home, in his bed, with you.

The soothing, steady lull stopped, and he opened his eyes, horrified to find you looking intently at his ruined face. His nostrils flared painfully. “Do not stare,” he warned.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to,” you said. “I finished the article. I thought you fell asleep.” You searched for somewhere else to settle your eyes—the metal bar at the edge of the bed. Your lap. A flower arrangement.

You made such a show of not staring at him that he was even more certain that you had been. He was hideous. Perhaps that entertained you. You were probably already planning for Halloween. Red-hot thoughts swirled around his head like cinders.

Before you could get through a second article, a nurse came in with a tray of mushy hospital food. Humiliation stung deep for you to even see the damned tray, and it annoyed him that you did not immediately excuse yourself. There was no way in Hell he would allow you to watch such a disgusting, embarrassing process—being spoon fed like a toddler, the nurse wiping off his toothy chin of the spillage meant to be kept in check by lips.

“Go home,” he grumbled, leaving no room for argument.

You had barely been there for half an hour.

***

Fourteen days.

“Do you want to look at venues?” you offered, tucking him in with the extra blanket you had a nurse bring because he was cold.

“Venues?” he repeated with clear exasperation. He let out a weak cough.

“It’ll be fun! It’ll take your mind off things.” You grabbed your laptop off the plastic visitor chair where you’d left it, and excitedly held it up so he could see the screen from his prone position. There was already a search typed into google with preview images of scenic gardens glowing with string lights and towering ancient library ballrooms.

“I thought it went without saying our wedding date is… postponed.”

Your shoulders deflated. “I know, but… you’ll be out of the hospital by next year,” barring complications, “so we can use the time to plan. We were going to have to postpone anyway if you couldn’t pick anywhere that was good enough for your standards,” you teased.

“It is pointless.” He laughed bitterly, humorlessly, and your brief smile dropped.

“It isn’t… pointless.”

“I will not be able to visit any of the locations.”

“But we could make a list of places you want to visit when—”

“Stop!” he hissed.

“Oh,” you said quietly. “OK.” You sounded small. Too small.

“I… uh...” Frederick tried to say something. Something to make you sound less small and wounded. Fragments of thoughts and half-formed apologies stuck in his sore throat. Fuck, his skin hurt. Parts of it were starting to heal, but in the short-term that only made it worse, because now it itched, too. Pain. Itch. Guilt. Cold. You deserved so much more than him. “You should go,” he said at last, finally settling on the only way to make it better.

“Wh-what?”

“Just… go,” he croaked.

“I’m sorry. I won’t bring it up again. What do you want to talk about? Or, I can shut up and we can listen to music, or...”

You were apologizing. Again. Because he was being an asshole. It disgusted him how weak he made you. You used to be so fierce. Stubborn and unstoppable. But being with him was slowly killing your fire.

“Get out of this place. I want to be alone.”

It was better this way, he thought. It was better for you to get away from him.

You stared at him silently across what now felt like a vast distance of white laminate flooring. His beautiful, pale, mismatched eyes were fixed on the ceiling, hard and uncompromising. He blinked rapidly.

You wished you knew what was going on in his head. You wished you could fix it for him. But right now, as much as it pained you, he wanted you to leave, and maybe that was the best you could do.

“OK,” you relented. “I’ll be back tomorrow, all right? I love you.”

The only sound as you packed your laptop away and slipped your coat over your shoulders was his ragged breathing, the beeps and tones of hospital machines, and the occasional cough. He waited until you were almost out the door before replying, “I love you, too.”

[mariogman25]

The Great Lakes Marvel Universe Part 1: The Stupendous Spider-Man

Here’s a sort of pitch idea for an alternate universe of the regular marvel universe. It’s been an idea in my head that basically started, inspired by Spider-Verse, “What if I were Spider-Man?”, and it kinda spiraled out from there. The other questions I asked myself were “How can we ground the heroes even further than now?” and “Oh right Great Lakes Avengers are a thing, I wonder if I can sort of flip the script with this?” And so I’ll just kind of pitch ideas out into the ether to see if people are interested.

From “The Middle of Nowhere” Wisconsin, a college-goer is off on science field trip with his class near Milwaukee, let’s call him... Jacob. He isn’t terribly interested due to the whole reason he’s on this trip is he had to take this class to get access to the stuff he really wants to do. He’s not much into deep sciences, he just wants to entertain people, make people happy. 

As he quietly listens to some tunes on the headphones around his neck, we cut to a small Brown Recluse Spider, somehow having found a new home in a small cardboard box in a pile of cardboard boxes that haven’t been touched in a while at this building. Jacob is called over by a nearby scientist, his arms holding a tray of closed chemicals, and asks him to help him by moving these boxes, tired of them being in the way for so long. Jacob, kind as he is, obliges the scientist. Grabbing the base of the cardboard boxes he hefts them up. Inside the small box on top, we see the spider freaking the hell out as it runs the hell out of its box on down onto whatever it’s disturbing it’s home. Jacob doesn’t notice it immediately, the dust making him squint his eyes real tight, he turns to the scientist, looking to where to put them. Suddenly he feels a massive pain in his arm as he drops the boxes. 

And suddenly it’s as if everything is in slow motion. The boxes strike the tray of chemicals, they fly into the air. Jacob looks to his arm, seeing a spider biting him there. As he’s about to scream about it, he sees the glass tubes of chemicals flying towards him as he tries to get out of the way, holding his arm up to defend himself, a glass of something shatters against him in the same arm the spider bit him... and he lets out a horrific shriek. The overwhelming pain in his arm, he sees his arm flesh melting, he falls to the floor. As he writhes and screams bloody murder, he sees the sweatshirt burning away on his forearm, the spider is melting too. Something shifts and it suddenly feels as though his whole body is burning, sitting on some giant that’s also screaming, as you sink further into his flesh... wait, that’s himself... He’s looking at himself from the point of view of the spider. They both continue to scream as Jacob eventually blacks out, getting carted out of building as fast as possible to the hospital.

We cut to a week later, we see Jacob in his room, sitting on his bed at night. He lives with his own parents still, it being the cheapest option and they’re good people. He seems to be mourning the damage to his sweatshirt. It was his favorite sweatshirt... He eventually looks to the scar damage on his arm. It’s rather horrific to look at, but something has been bothering him about it. In the middle of his inner forearm is a perfectly non-scarred area in the shape of a spider. He just sort of assumes it’s a fluke, like the spider that bit him saved that skin from burning, and those visions from it’s perspective and seeing it melt into his flesh were just... pain hallucinations or something... he doesn’t really want to think about that day, the pain in his arm spikes suddenly, as he goes to take his pain meds and head to sleep.

Over the course of many weeks, we see him develop... odd tendencies. He likes hanging out in small corners, his own mind keeps making him think of “Nesting” somewhere, and the idea of eating crickets is suddenly more appetizing to him now then ever before. It all comes to a head, when in the middle of the night, in a tired stupor in a cold sweat, he walks over to his closet, stands in the corner of it, and as if out of instinct, places his hand against the wall and sprays web out of his forearm... right from where the spider scar is... and that snaps him out of his cold stupor and the adrenaline hits him. He jumps backwards... far... unexpectedly far... and high too, considering he sees himself suddenly two feet higher than before and not coming down. He then sees himself sticking to the opposite corner of his closet... on the ceiling. He lets out a yelp and scrambles down from the ceiling and out of his closet, his heart pounding. His father walks in, eyes wide from hearing his son scream... “What the hell was that?!” he exclaimed “Uhuhuh... spider...” Jacob responded hesitantly  “...did the spider bite you...?” his father asked “...nnnooooo?” Jacob responded again, unsure how to say “OK. Be safe, alright?”  “Ok dad. Thanks.”  “Yeah.” His father headed out of the room as Jacob turned around and stared wide eyed at the spider-scar on his arm. ‘What the hell was that?!’

And so we go further into through a montage of what’s going on in Jacob’s life. He experiments with what he can do. The webbing seems to only com from that one arm, but he’s got a few different kinds if he concentrates on it. Stuff like a line, netting, and what he likes to call “armor webbing” were it spreads out along himself, giving him a sort of armor or nest of netting. Unfortunately creating this webbing makes him really hungry, mostly for proteins, and overuse starts draining him of muscle mass. So he tries to be more careful when shooting this stuff or he’ll starve himself really quickly. 

Jacob was never the most... active person. Not exactly ‘in shape’, but he was decently strong. But... something’s at least changed now. He can lift things easily that he struggled with before, he’s gotten faster, as are his reaction times. He can also sort of... tell all what’s around him. Like a sort of echolocation that he doesn’t need to scream for. He also checked recently but he was sure his canine teeth weren’t also that long before... and for some reason those teeth taste really bitter for some reason... ‘I’ll get used to it I guess...’

Eventually he gets back to everyday life, having kept that old sweatshirt for sentimental reasons. He has to wear a sort of arm sock as not to disturb anyone looking at him or disturb himself until the scar eventually fades... hopefully. Jacob has always been a fan of super heroes, going to see all their movies, and while not really reading their comics, at least knew he had something special. He sometimes has avid talks to himself in his head, figuring “OH MY GOD I’M A REAL SUPER HERO!” “Oh god what should I do with this power... I don’t want anyone close to me to die because of this...” and talks of that nature. He definitely kept the whole webbing thing a secret while thinking all this over.

Then his chance came one day. As he was cashiering at the store he worked at, a man pulled a gun on him and shot in the air. He complied for the demands of course, until the man was being led to the safe in the back. Almost as if acting on instinct again, Jacob jumped from the register to the man, punching right in the back of the head, laying him flat on the ground. This eventually earned him both congratulations and also condemnation, saying he was fucking nuts for trying to stop that guy, but good job on knocking him out.

At home Jacob was thinking it over. He was really good at the whole crime fighting thing. He didn’t exactly want to do the whole “power corrupts” thing as he was just too naturally good/paranoid to consider going to commit actual crimes with his power. He started with his costume. He bought a brand new green sweatshirt, a pair of jeans, and a pair of sunglasses, and went to work Having watched a few movies with an actual costume making sequence, he pulled a few ideas, eventually sewing a pair of mirrored aviators into the “mask” of the costume, along with adding a zipper to the front of the hood to allow for him to take off the costume easily.

He modified a pair of jeans to allow for flexibility, adding sweatpants material to the knees and other parts to allow him to actually move around very acrobatically. He also figured he’d need a pair of gloves so fingerprints won’t be seen, so he went to his dads workshop and grabbed a good pair of cut resistant gloves. One it was all put together in an ensemble, he looked himself in the mirror at home while he was alone. It needed one last thing to really make it all thematic. He bought some black spray paint, made a decent stencil, and got to decorating his costume. He climbed to the top of his home and stood dramatically on the top.

(Art by: https://twitter.com/Thwipthw1p )

“Alright... I can do this... I can do this...”

And so the training montage begins. He gets to figuring out his limits, and how to use his webs. Due to the lack of tall buildings for where he lives, he learns how to swing and travel through the trees of his home.

And so we begin to watch this blossoming super hero come into his own. Let us watch where he finally proves to himself that he’s got what it takes.

It’s a bank robbery in progress in town. The robbers have everyone on the ground and are in the process of emptying the vault. The police have not arrived yet, and some people are crying on the ground. The robbers, 4 of them in total, hear someone shout “OH SHIT” down the hall, near the bathrooms. Thinking they missed someone, they send one guy down there to stop the guy from calling the cops... minutes pass, and the man hasn’t emerged from the bathroom. They start worrying, and they send another guy, gun at the ready, and when he opens the door he screams “WHAT THE FUCK!?”. He sees his friend tied up in a gross webbing cocoon of some sort, on the wall across from the bathroom door. The man tries freeing his friend before he feels a striking pain on the back of his head and he’s out like a light. The last two robbers look at eachother worried when suddenly from around a corner they aren’t looking down, one of the robbers is pulled away by something they can’t see, right out of a horror movie, both of them screaming as one is out of sight. As the last one runs to the man that ran away, suddenly a gunshot rings out and his knee gives out as he screams once again, in pain this time. He sees only a flash of green before a brown boot strikes him in the nose and he’s out like a light as well.

The cops find the robbers all in various states of pain. One man tied up in a sort of cocoon, eyes covered, crying thinking he was going to be eaten by a giant spider. One was stuck to the first man, face slammed into the webbing with a massive bruise on his head from one punch. Another man was stick to the ceiling tied up and hanging there knocked out, and the final man as knocked out cold on the floor, a broken nose and a bullet wound through the leg, that same leg also being bandaged up with webs and stuck to the floor. There was no bullet left at the scene.

Later that day, Jacob ate a really large sandwich to replenish all he lost from the webbing.

We jump further into the future of Jacob’s life. He’s been given an official job by the police department so that he may no longer work at that store he was at before, but he made sure to space out his acceptance of the police job and the quitting of his store job as not to arouse suspicion. They let him wear his costume to keep anonymity when fighting crimes, and he’s learned some useful skills.

In place of the webswinging the other Spider-People have, this Spider-Man can surf on cars and essentially “water-ski” behind speeding cars like an expert. He does eventually figure out a way to stop that from wearing the hell out of his shoes (metal plates for the bottoms of shoes). Though he’s still not wholly confident in his abilities, this spider-man also carries a revolver, for surprises.

(I wonder what villains I’d use in this universe...)

[recesspizza40-blog]

Healthyish Salted Caramel Turtles

Everyone has strong food memories around holidays or special occasions in their life. I can completely recall the distinct taste of boxed cake from my childhood birthdays. Summer vacations were steeped in melting grape juice popsicles made by my grandmother. And one of my favourite treats during Christmas, was undoubtedly Turtle chocolates. The iconic striped box was always within arms reach during the holidays, so as soon as the tree went up, it was like a Pavlovian response…the Turtle cravings began! If you live outside of North America, you may not be familiar with these pecan-chocolate-caramels (and for this, I feel very sad for you), but today, rejoice! I’m posting my own version, which is a healthier spin on this classic candy that you can whip up yourself with just six simple ingredients.

The original Turtle candies are relatively basic: pecans, caramel, and chocolate, but seemingly so much more than the sum of these parts. There is a magical synergy in this trinity, each ingredient complimenting and highlighting the others in perfect union. There isn’t much to improve upon, so my mission was clearly to health-ify the caramel and find some high-quality chocolate to steer us all away from refined sugar, modified milk ingredients, and emulsifiers. Blech.

I started off on my journey by looking online and found that healthyish Turtle recipes exist, but they all use dates and I didn’t want that to be the predominant flavour. Plus, I knew that the caramel needed some serious creaminess, so I started by blending up cashew butter with vanilla as the base, then added brown rice syrup to achieve that distinctive gooey-ness that makes Turtles so crave-able. The results were sooooo right on the money, confirmed by several of my closest, discerning friends, lined up to taste test.

Pecans are one of my favourite nuts because they are tender-crisp and so naturally sweet. I love them in baked goods like pecan pie, on top of waffles or pancakes, or in candies like these babies!

Pecans are native to North America, and grow in tough, wood-like shells on large, sprawling trees, some of which can live up to 200 years. The name pecan is a Native American word used to describe nuts that require a stone to crack – but you can easily open them by crushing two of their hard shells together.

Along with macadamias, pecans contain the lowest amount of protein (5-10%) and the highest amount of fat (80-95%) of all the nuts. The fat that they do contain however, is mostly monounsaturated, with some polyunsaturated fat as well. Pecans are high in minerals, like manganese, copper, and zinc. They also contain a good amount of fiber and protein.

There are a wide variety of pecans, but if you live outside North America, you may only have access to one type. That’s okay! The thing to look for is shelled pecans that are uniform in size and colour. Check the date on the package or bulk bin, and smell the nuts beforehand if you’re able to – they should be sweet, and well, nutty. If you’re shopping in bulk, visit a shop that has a high turnover to ensure that the nuts are fresh. Once you get them home, store shelled pecans in an airtight container at room temperature for up to six months (although try to eat them sooner) and in the freezer for up to a year. Pecans are highly susceptible to absorbing other smells, so keep them locked up tight in glass to prevent them from tasting like garlic, onions, or last night’s casserole.

I had hesitations about using brown rice syrup in this recipe, since I know it’s one of those harder-to-find ingredients, but it’s just SO perfect in this context that I had to! If you cannot find brown rice syrup, try whipped or creamed honey in its place. I recognize that this isn’t an alternative for vegans, but I think it is the only sweetener that would work due to how thick and viscous it is. If the caramel is too runny, if will be impossible to work with. Trust.

It’s best to store your Turtles in the freezer, and take them out about 10-15 minutes before serving. They’re also fine at room temperature, but will keep better cold. I actually dig them a little on the frozen side – the caramel is extra thick and chewy at subzero temperatures!

    Print recipe    

Healthyish Salted Caramel Turtles Makes 30 candies

Ingredients: 1 cup / 100g raw pecans 400g dark chocolate, 75% or higher (chose organic and fair-trade, if possible) 1/3 cup / 80ml cashew butter (raw or roasted) 1/3 cup / 80ml brown rice syrup 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract ½ tsp. flaky sea salt (I used Maldon), plus a little more for garnish

Directions: 1. Find a baking sheet or tray that will fit in your freezer, then line it with parchment paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl, stir together the cashew butter, rice syrup, vanilla and flaky salt until thoroughly combined. Taste (yum), and adjust the saltiness and vanilla levels to your liking.

3. Scoop a teaspoon of the caramel onto the lined baking sheet, using another spoon to help remove it – this stuff is seriously sticky!

4. Press a whole pecan on one side of the caramel blob, allowing the nut to peek over the edge just a bit, then add two halves to the sides, peeking over the edge just a bit too. Repeat until you’ve used all the caramel. Place in the freezer for at least one hour, up to 24 hours.

5. Once the caramels have chilled, prepare the chocolate. Heat a few inches / centimetres of water in a small pot and heat on high. Roughly chop the chocolate bar into small chunks and place it in a heatproof bowl. Lower the heat to simmer, then set the bowl over the pot of so that it is sitting well above the water itself. Stir occasionally until the chocolate has completely melted.

6. Remove the caramels from the freezer. One at a time, drop each caramel into the melted chocolate pecan side-down, flip and ensure that the top is entirely coated. Remove from the chocolate with a fork, and drag the bottom along the edge of the bowl to remove any excess chocolate. Place back on the lined baking sheet and sprinkle with a couple flakes of salt. Repeat until you’ve coated all the turtles in chocolate. Place them inside the freezer until set, then transfer them to an airtight container and store in the freezer or fridge until ready to serve. If you want to see some of the pecans, drop the caramels on their bottom side first, then remove and place on the lined baking sheet. Drizzle enough chocolate over the top to fully cover the caramel (if you don’t coat it completely, it may spill out at room temperature), but allowing a few parts of the pecans to show through.

This will be my last post before the New Year, my friends! I’m off to Bali in a mere 10 days (!!!) and words cannot describe how excited I am for the Wild Heart High Spirit Retreat, and meeting women from all across the world. If you’d like to know more about my retreats, visit the Golden Circle Retreats website. We’re planning another round for 2019, so sign up to mailing our list to be the first notified when we announce the dates.

We are also taking orders for the Life-Changing Loaf of Bread Subscription Box! What better way to start off the new year than with a delicious monthly gift of health to yourself? If you want to learn more, or place your order, visit the shop page here.

All love from Canada, and happiest of holidays to you and yours!

xo, Sarah B

Source: https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2018/12/healthyish-salted-caramel-turtles/

[realtalk-princeton]

@Mia teach me your cheap Nassau Street ways

Response from Princess Mia:

Okay, so bear in mind that this was over the summer, so some things might not be 100% the same, but I was usually able to get by spending ~$50 a week on food, which I thought was pretty good, considering I was eating out a lot. It was pretty important to me to keep my food costs low so I could spend my money on other things that were more fun. Essentially, you want to focus on getting a lot of food when you buy things. Most of the grab-and-go places on Nassau Street cost around the same, so if you go someplace where you can get a huge portion, you can split it up and eat it as multiple meals, which divides the overall cost into very reasonable amounts. 

Usually, I would get some things from nearby areas for snacks or items to accompany meals- yogurt, fruit, protein bars, milk, etc. They sell a lot of these things at the Wa for pretty cheap. In the summer, there was a farmer’s market next to the public library. I’m not sure if that’s started up yet, but it was a good place to get fruit sometimes. Also, there’s a place on the same block as Tico’s called D’Angelo Italian Market. They were great for getting produce, as there’s a large fruit and vegetable display in the back of the store, as well as things like pasta, sauce, rice, etc. if you want to cook for yourself. So I typically would get some of those things to sustain myself or to add if I wasn’t full off of a split-up meal/leftovers. If you do ever get off campus, Trader Joe’s is also really good, because you can get a lot of pre-prepared meals for like $3 each. If you know anyone with a car, just beg them to take you, or offer to pay them for the ride.

For most of my main meals, I would focus on getting the big portions from Nassau Street food. Here are some good options that I found-

Chennai Chimney: Highly recommend this option, especially because I love Indian food. So basically they have this thing called a lunch box, which is offered on most week days (I think TWTh?? I can’t remember but they put a sign outside the restaurant), where you get a lunch buffet for $7. They give you a huge black pan halfway filled with white rice, and then you get to choose from a vegetarian entree, a meat entree, and yellow daal. They also give you 2-3 pieces of naan. What I would do is press the rice down and cover it with daal, and then fill the other side of the tray up with the entree. This was literally so much food. My friend and I used to go there together for lunch, and we would eat part of it, then put the rest of it in the fridge for later. I typically got two meals out of it at $3.50 each, and she would get three meals out of it at $2.33 each, so it was definitely a good deal.

Hoagie Haven: You can order any of the whole hoagies for around $7, then split it in half and save the other half for later.

Princeton Pi: They have a lot of different loaded pizza slices (i.e. pizza with penne on it, etc) for only a couple bucks each. You can also order one of the small pastas for about $7, which comes with a huge bowl of pasta, a sizable side salad, and garlic bread. You can easily split this up into two meals. Another good idea is going with a few friends and ordering a pizza together, then splitting it up. I sometimes went with a group of three friends, and we would order a pizza and split it up for dinner, which came out to like $2.50 each. 

Qdoba: You can lowkey scam so much extra food out of qdoba by asking for extra of anything or by ordering both of something. I believe the only thing that you’ll get charged for when doing this is meat (this works at Chipotle too). So get a bowl and ask for an extra scoop of rice, both beans, etc. etc. and then ask for your cold items (salsa, guac, etc.) on the side. Then when you leave, just put part of the hot bowl onto a plate and add the cold stuff that you want, then put the rest of it in the fridge and heat the hot stuff up when you want it. I could usually get two large meals this way for $4 each. 

Some other places that this works for when getting take-away food: Mehek, Hunan, Mamoun’s if you’re not that hungry. Also, subscribe to the free food listserv, and take advantage of any free food that you can get conveniently! Hope this helps!