With summer quickly approaching, I can’t wait to go home and…go hiking. I’ve been in my freshman year of college for the past 8-some months, and the closest I’ve gotten to a hike was pumping up the incline on the treadmill and trying to imagine some form of shrubbery around me. In the summer, I pretty much go hiking every day. Whether it’s with my dad or my best friend, hiking is one of my favorite forms of exercise because I don’t even realize I’m exercising. I can have a really nice, interesting conversation with whomever I’m hiking with, burning calories the whole time.

This burning of calories requires some form of energy-replenishing, however. It’s important to bring water and snacks, especially when the hike is really difficult and takes a long time. In this case, granola bars are my favorite thing to bring on a hike. They’re easy to throw into a backpack, they’re tasty and they just go well with nature. I started making my own granola bars (recipe courtesy of my favorite chef, Ina Garten) for this exact reason, and let me just say that I think they’re pretty damn good. Read More »

Every week, I write a list. Definitely not a to-do list (because it’s not satisfying checking “browse J.Crew’s website” and “Re-watch every episode of Rachel Zoe” off a list) and not “that list” (because I haven’t added to that list… in forever). No, my lists are more about whatever is relevant and weighing heavy on the CollegeCandy readers’ minds (or just mine) right now. And right now the only thing on my mind is M-M-M-Monday. Shoot me.

It’s Monday. It’s 9 AM. I really, really hate my life right now. The week ahead of me has nothing but schoolwork, actual work, an overwhelming TV schedule, events and encroaching cold, rainy weather. I wake up late on Mondays (okay, almost every day). My shirt might be on inside out, but who knows – my eyes are too bleary to look in a mirror. My Sunday was spent shopping and gallivanting instead of cleaning and preparing myself mentally for the upcoming hell week.

Seriously, and if you even quote Office Space “Case of the Mondays” at me, I will smack you.

I hate Mondays and you know what, Garfield? You’re not the only one allowed to hate Mondays. All you do is clog up my newspaper, eat lasagna and rag on poor Jon all day long. Tough life.

Here are the top ten ways to pick up your Monday (aside from picking up the funnies page, clearly). Read More »

Melanie Jatsek is a speaker, author and registered dietitian who teaches college students how to eat to look better, feel better, think better and stress less!  She is getting ready to publish her book, written especially for college students, called “Brain Food for College Students,” so we thought we’d bring her on board to share some of her best advice with our CollegeCandies. Get to know Melanie here, then come back every week for advice on staying healthy from welcome week through finals and beyond.

5 Questions We Ask Everyone

1. What’s your favorite college memory/the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
I was a bit of a nerd in college, so I didn’t get into much trouble. (I got into enough trouble my senior year of high school and must have gotten it all out of my system.)  I would say that my favorite college memory was taking advantage of NOT going to the Ohio State University football games and going shopping!  There were no crowds and I had the whole campus to myself because everyone (except me) was at the game!

2. Name 5 things you can’t live without:
My running shoes
My Smartphone
Cheese
My earplugs (when I sleep)
Coffee!!

3. What is your favorite song to belt out in the car/at the bar/for karaoke?
Even though I am married, “Single Ladies” by Beyonce

4. What is your motto/the advice you live by?
I have two. The first is that I can choose to be happy and make the best out of any situation or complain about it and be miserable. This always helps me stay positive even during the most challenging times! The other is that everything happens for a reason.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I will have written 3 books for college students and completed my second or third college speaking tour! Read More »

People are talkin’. Could it be true?

Is Jesse James competing with Tiger Woods?

Ed Westwick has a diva moment.

Eat breakfast. Lose weight.

This is your brain on drugs.

Isla Fisher totally keeps Sacha in check.

So you went out hoping to have a wild night of drunken fun with your friends. And you totally did. And then you woke up the next morning. And felt like you were going to die. Yep, we’ve all been there: the lovely hangover.

Nausea, headache, stomachache, you name it. Your day is wasted because you just don’t want to can’t move. Without wanting to vomit. Sitting in your bed all day just seems like the best option. Well, that and eating a big, delicious stack of pancakes. And a bagel. And some pizza you found on your floor.

But what if you have to be somewhere? What are you supposed to do about it? Let’s settle this debate between what really cures a hangover, and what is just making you fat. Read More »