Life with Laura

I think everyone can agree that the past 15 months have been unexpected and strange, and I think most people can agree that they're ready for things to go back to 'normal.' I'm not sure what 'normal' will feel like again after over a year of adjusting to 'unprecedented times' and 'the new normal' (as so many emails said), but I wanted to take the time to reflect on what the past year has been like. When the pandemic started, I was 2 months into the spring semester of my freshman year at the University of Florida. I had just changed my major from Exploratory Engineering to Health Science and was trying to make my way on the pre-med track. I was working on joining some new clubs, meeting new people, and was excited to spend time with my new friends. I came back from spring break, excitedly reuniting with the girls in my dorm, the guys I'd met in the common room, and whoever I hadn't seen for a long 9 days. It was the beginning of March and ...

 Just a warning - these turned out to be possibly the worst cookies I've ever made.   So, this morning I decided to make cookies. I wanted something easy and quick, something tasty, and just something productive. I opened Instagram and pretty quickly saw an interesting recipe:  Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies . I know toying around with healthy desserts isn't always a recipe for success, but these cookies looked pretty simple and pretty darn good. So I got to it. I pulled up the recipe on my phone, preheated the oven and got to work. My first challenge: oat flour. I didn't have any, but a quick search showed that a blender or food processor combined with oats would do the trick. My first mistake: I didn't really grind up the oats enough. My next challenge: almond butter. I didn't have any on-hand and the most common substitute for one nut butter is usually just a different type of nut butter, but I didn't really have this either. The best I could do was either Nu...

 Hello! Welcome to my blog! I'd like to use this post as a way to introduce myself - my name is Laura Poelstra and I am a Dietetics undergraduate student at the University of Florida! I've been meaning to start a blog for a while, but I figured now is just as good a time as any. I'd like to use this blog as a place to document my failures and successes as I experiment in the kitchen, share some advice that I wish someone could have shared with me for school/life, and maybe even document some tips for exercise habits. I'm an avid runner and I love the outdoors, and I also love learning about the science of foods that makes baking and cooking work. So with that being said - welcome!