She may still be in high school, but that hasn't stopped Heritage Hall senior Vivian Armitage from writing a book about dorm living.
Armitage, who plans to attend Yale this fall, wrote "Dorm Room Dining: A College Student’s Guide to Healthy Cooking" while attending a boarding school in Texas her first two years of high school.
"I didn't really have access to healthy food there," she said of boarding school. "I had a roommate in a dorm room so I created all these recipes and tricks for eating healthy while living on campus."
She got so good at perfecting her recipes and finding healthy ways to prepare meals without a kitchen that she decided she wanted to compile the recipes into a book for her to take to college. That's when she decided she should self-publish the book to help other students prepare healthy meals at college, too.
The 18-year-old Oklahoma City student wrote all the recipes and took all the photographs in the 200-page book. She said she feels fortunate to have figured out the publishing world at such a young age and is excited at the prospect of the book helping other people.
"I didn't write it to get credit, I just wrote it for myself," she said. "I know living out on your own can be a really challenging transition period in your life but it can be a healthy transition."
The book is organized by appliance, Armitage said, so the reader knows exactly which recipes they'll be able to create depending on his or her access to kitchen tools. There are 15 recipes in the book that don't require any appliances at all.
The book is available for sale on Amazon or at Full Circle Bookstore (1900 N.W. Expressway), where Armitage will be signing copies at 2 p.m. April 23.
Here's one of Armitage's favorite recipes from the book:
Antioxidant Smoothie Bowl
- Serves: 1
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Total time: 10 minutes
vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free, soy-free, oil-free
Ingredients:
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 cup frozen mango
- 2 cups frozen mixed berries
- 1 navel orange
- 1/4 cup water
In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until smoothie has a uniform consistency. Pour into a bowl and serve with desired toppings. Enjoy with a spoon.
Optional toppings:
- fresh berries
- sliced bananas
- coconut chips
- sliced almonds
- chopped pecans
- chia seeds
- goji berries
