Alpha Five Tattler
Volume II Edition XIV
Quote of the Week!
Tea Appreciation!
Tea Facts!
» Tea can also help regulate cholesterol.
» Drinking tea is also good for the heart.
» To get the most flavor and benefits out of tea, try brewing it by loose leaf instead of by tea bag. You will find a whole new world of tea awaits!
» A cup of tea may keep the dentist away. This is because tea helps fight cavities.
» Drinking tea helps boost the immune system do to its natural antibacterial properties.
» One cup of white tea contains the same amount of antioxidants as 10 cups of apple juice!
» Although many tea facts point to white and green teas as being the healthiest, a cup of black or oolong tea proves just as good.
Winter Break & Checkout Information!
Splash Bash is coming!
Looking to take some time out from finals? Join IRHC for our last social of the year and celebrate with some Abu Dhabi sunshine!
The all new IRHC Splash Bash will be held at the Hilton Capital Grand and includes pool access, towel service, unlimited soft drinks, a barbecue buffet, DJ & Dancing, Pool Games and Outside Pool Games (board games, twister, etc.). Transport will be provided. This event requires an AED 50 co-pay.
What better way to end the semester? Spaces are limited so sign up ASAP here.
Saturday, December 12th - 12:00pm - 4:00pm
Sexual Health Education!
NYUAD is facilitating it's first Sexual Health Education! This will be an opportunity for students to learn accurate information about their sexual health and dispel some common myths heard around campus. We will cover a number of topics, including: reproductive health, STIs, being safe, hygiene, and share information about laws and cultural practices in the UAE.
Students can submit anonymous questions that we will try to answer in each a session by filling out this simple form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7THDWH2
This is a joint collaboration between the Health and Wellness Center and the Office of Mental Health Promotion, and we've partnered with Residential Education to facilitate this new initiative in each of the Residential Colleges over the next 10 days.
Self Care During Finals !
It’s 8:30 a.m. on the Thursday of finals week. You wake up from four hours of sleep, wipe the crud from your eyes, grab some pretzels, and hop on your bike. As you make your way to your final, you realize you forgot to brush your teeth. You haven’t worn anything but pajamas for the last two days. You wander through the lecture hall and slump into an empty seat. Your sleepy eyes can barely make out the signature line on the front of the test booklet. It’s going to be a long three hours.
Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but the “Finals Zombie” I describe above isn’t actually that far from reality. At one point or another, we’ve all been guilty of kicking our wellbeing to the curb in an attempt to study a little bit more, read one more chapter of the textbook or memorize a few more theorems.
By now, it may be hard to remember the long naps, food, friends and family from Thanksgiving break. It often seems that as soon as we’re back on the Farm and back in the academic grind, the sweetness of break is just a flicker in the past. We’re good at operating in two opposite modes of being – either absolute indulgence in rest, family and friends or pedal-to-the-metal, stay-up-all-night-in-Meyer craziness. As we transition back to school this week and look ahead to finals week, I encourage you to replicate some of the relaxation and rest that I hope you found over break.
So as you look ahead to finals week and start making study guides, to-do lists, and timelines, don’t forget to create a self-care plan for yourself. Seriously. This may seem like a trivial exercise, but I dare you to sit down and come up with a way to fit Dish walks, coffee dates and hot showers into your schedule. Use pen, set reminders, make plans with a friend and ask them to hold you to it. Chances are, these little things you add in to take care of yourself – which seem like they should be the first to get bumped off the schedule when time gets tight – will be the difference between a healthy, happy and successful finals season and you turning into that sleep-walking, sniffling zombie we all know all too well come the end of finals.
What’s your secret to self-care success during finals week? The person who emails me(sa2632@nyu.edu) the most creative response wins a prize!Song of the Week: Sia, David Guetta & Fetty Wap: Bang my Head ! What a collabo !!
White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Cookies
Let the holiday baking begin and let these cookies be at the top of that holiday baking list! These cookies will simply tantalize to your taste buds because they are anything but boring. These White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Cookies are oh so dreamy! They are loaded with gingery goodness which is deliciously complimented by all the other spices and the molasses just give them such a tremendous depth of flavor that you just don’t find in nearly any other cookie. Then that perfectly luscious white chocolate coating adds just the right amount of mellow flavor and tone of sweetness which it really just balances it all out.
These cookies are more on the soft and chewy side with those nicely crisp edges, which is the way I prefer them, but if you’d like more of a crisp throughout ginger cookie just bake them a few minutes longer than listed.
Whether you were asked to bring a dessert to a party or if you are looking for that perfect treat to make for your friends and neighbors I highly highly recommend making these to share! Luckily this makes a fairly large batch of cookies so you’ll have plenty to test out yourself before taking them. Plan on sharing half and keeping half home for yourself because you simply just won’t have it in you to give them all away :).
Happy baking!
Directions
- In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg for 20 seconds, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar until well blended. Mix in egg, then blend in molasses and vanilla. With mixer set on low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees during last 10 minutes of chilling.
- Scoop dough out about 1 1/2 Tbsp at a time, shape into balls then roll in remaining 3 Tbsp granulated sugar. Transfer to Silpat or parchment paper lined baking sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart (keep dough chilled that is not currently baking), flatten tops just slightly (to evenly level). Bake in preheated oven 8 - 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt 1 cup white chocolate chips with 1 Tbsp shortening at a time in microwave on HIGH power in 10 second intervals, stirring between intervals, until melted, smooth and fairly runny (I did batches of it because it will cool as your dipping, plus its easy to burn so you don't want to work with too much of it at a time. Then once you've used it up melt more, you may not need all 3 cups). Dip half of each cookie in melted white chocolate mixture then run bottom of cookie slightly along edge of bowl to remove excess, then return to Silpat or parchment paper to set at room temperature.
- If doing the holly decoration, melt candy melts according to directions on package (I worked in small batches because it sets quickly, maybe 9 chips at a time, plus you won't need much). Pour into a piping bags fitted with a #4 tip and pipe decorations. Allow to set a room temperature.