During exam time I really struggle to keep my motivation and spirits high especially with the sheer content overload. I constantly feel overwhelmed, exhausted and my anxiety levels go sky rocketing. Though I know that I’m not the only one going through these emotions it does tend to hit me harder than normal. This year was extra challenging as I had to manage study & rotations up until a week before, tackle a poorly structured year with vague learning outcomes and a new examination system.
My secret to exam season survival is having routine and actually sticking to it. Forcing myself to wake up early was such a chore - I had to put my alarm at the bathroom door so I’d have to physically get out of bed! But waking up an hour earlier every morning definitely has its perks. Somehow it made me feel so much more productive and it also meant I had time to do a workout or yoga, take a shower that lasted longer than five minutes, have a substantial breakfast and make a to-do-list (lifesaver!) for the day. Eating a clean healthy diet was just as important as sticking to routine. I practiced intermittent fasting (16:8) with my clean diet and surprisingly, never felt more energetic. Finally, every night before bed I would try to unwind by meditating for 10 minutes as I typically suffer from stress insomnia and chronic headaches. During this period I developed more self discipline than I realised I was capable of!
And of course whenever I was too overwhelmed and needed to destress I would cook with Netflix playing Offspring (bloody hilarious) in the background. I did share most of my exam destress recipes on my instagram, @ishedfoodgasms, at the time but didn’t get a chance to blog because priorities *eyeroll*. Not to worry cause here ya go!
Dairy-Free Cashew Pesto
unsalted cashews, fresh basil, lemon, olive oil, garlic
Toast the cashews slightly on a hot pan. Throw into a food processor roughly 2 cups of fresh basil, a few cloves of garlic and zest and juice of one lemon. In the processor pulse until its roughly chopped. Then with the machine still running slowly drizzle in about half a cup of good quality olive oil until the pesto is at your desired consistency, Season with salt and pepper to taste.
I stored my pesto in a air tight jar in the fridge for about 2 weeks. It was such a treat with eggs, chicken, pasta, salmon - pretty much anything!
Next time I’ll probably experiment with other nuts and a bit of coriander, maybe even some chilli. If anyone has tried any interesting ingredients that worked well do let me know :)
