ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN LIP SERVICE WEB MAGAZINE’S ‘MEATLESS MONDAYS’ COLUMN
Remembering the days when I had to go back to school, I think of them fondly. When I was there? Not so much.
Back-to-school is a hectic, exhausting time, juggling life while readjusting to a new schedule. Time and patience are often in mighty short supply. Gearing back up feels like a Herculean effort, especially in those first few weeks. Weekends are almost a tease, when they’re all too short and followed by a *feh* Monday.
Breakfast is normally the first part of the usual routine to get tossed out the window when you have to start getting ready for class, bleary-eyed and a bit pissed off at the world for making your brain have to work SO DAMNED EARLY. It seems too much, at that point, to even muster enthusiasm for pouring cereal and milk in a bowl, much less cook anything.
That burrito place on the way can start looking awfully tempting. Fast, tasty, and affordable is a tough combo to beat. So, counter it with faster, equally tasty, even cheaper, and – ta-da! – healthy, too. Muffins make a nice, kind of (not too) indulgent but quick to-go nosh that wrecks neither diet nor Meatless Monday pledge.