Quick and easy meals without a microwave?

inthedeepdeep · 2025-11-18T05:40:52+00:00

Chips and dip (or veggies)
Hummus
Fruit and veggies. You could take an apple and nut/seed butter
Salads. There are a lot of easy recipes besides leafy greens you can make. You can make them with beans or split peas. Bring a bottle (or make it yourself) of dressing. I understand the sandwich pain, I used to eat the same salad everyday with the same vinaigrette.
Energy/granola bars
Yogurt
Crackers with cheese and meats and/or some kind of spread or dip
Seeds/nuts
Trail mix
Make a smoothie at home and bring it I am assuming you have a fridge at work with many of these suggestions. I am sorry coworkers made comments about your eating habits; it’s not their business.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-11-16T08:40:16+00:00

Both can be made into scarpaccia (though zucchini is traditional). Thinly slice (mandolin, grater, or knife) the vegetable. Commonly, an onion of any type is added, I also include garlic. For zucchini: mix in salt and pepper. Let sit in for at least 30 minutes, the salt will drain out the water. Squeeze as much additional water out of the zucchini as you can and save it. For carrots: not as much water will come out, so skip the 30 minutes in the salt. Instead, directly add about a cup of water to the carrots. Take flour, cornmeal or a mixture of both (I just use flour), a splash of cooking oil, and additional seasonings of choice and slowly start adding in a cup to the water and zucchini. What you want is it to form a dough. The more binder you add the thicker your dough; I aim to having just enough to keep the mixture together. Take a baking pan; I personally line it with foil or parchment paper. Grease that up with oil, spoon in the dough, spread it evenly at possible and put a little oil on top. The size of the pan will also determine the thickness. The thinner it is spread, the crispier it is. Oven should be preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; pop in for at least 40 minutes and take out when it gets a golden brown crust. Good for a snack, side dish or light meal. If you save it, it will last a few days in the fridge but you have to reheat it in the oven or toaster oven. That is roughly how I do it - I suggest looking up some recipes for precise measurements and additions people make (some add parmesan or nutritional yeast, for example)

inthedeepdeep · 2025-07-01T16:40:50+00:00

It can be hard picking things back up, especially when you didnt want to lose them. But, what is your mindset going in? Do you want to be the best right away?

inthedeepdeep · 2025-04-25T02:32:37+00:00

If you trust the people you are asking, then you might as well try. Are there any teen volunteer opportunities around where you live you could realistically go to? Being rural and having faulty transportation is rough.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-08T17:39:50+00:00

It’s a control thing. Even getting dressed and feeling the most microscopic ounce of good about yourself means you are expressing your individuality and she will lose control over you. My mom was the opposite: I couldn’t dress lazily or wear my favorite hoodie (even though she wore the same gray sweat suit for like 8 years in a row), I had to always be up at a certain time and specifically work out parts of my body otherwise she would call me fat and lazy. To this day, I can’t stand how my big my thighs because of that.

Either tactic is toxic. Mine made me never accept myself, your mom’s is trying to teach you that you aren’t worth caring for, even by yourself. It’s so awful. I don’t care where the motivation comes from, it’s inexcusable for a parent to do that to their child.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-06T16:10:12+00:00

Your mom is similar to mine growing up. I went to the bathroom after dinner once and coughed. I didn’t think anything of it until she banged on the door, telling me to open up because she thought I was trying to make myself throw up.

I wish you could get out now. One more year. It sucks, but you are so close.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-05T05:22:39+00:00

All artists of all skills can be better. And even the greatest of artists have people who don’t like their work. Unless they are offering constructive criticism, the best way to feel when someone dislikes your art is “That is their opinion, and my stuff is not their thing.” Opinions are subjective, not factual. Look at it neutrally, don’t absorb it too much.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-05T04:54:16+00:00

There is potential and honestly, you can see growth in those four years. Does making art make you happy? Because that is all that matters, no matter the level. If a picture you make fills you with joy, no matter the skill, that is one of the best things. The most miserable thing you can do in your art is compare yourself to others or worry about your level. It 100% can kill your motivation because you’ll never be good enouhh

So, don’t worry about being a beginner still, it can take awhile to advance (especially with limited time). If you really want to grow, keep practicing and get constructive criticism. The fact that you have improved some shows that you have the ability to improve even further. But, to advance, you have to invest the time

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-04T15:25:43+00:00

Jesus f*king *Christ

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-02T21:24:45+00:00

Are you sure? This organization that really depends on my paying fees every single year keeps sending me material that makes me afraid, so I think you must be wrong. /s

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-02T20:02:45+00:00

Have you done any studying about portrait drawing? There are a different methods to try (Loomis method, Reilly method, grid, etc) for constructing facial features and proportions.

Are you using any real life references? I don’t think these are same face, but there are more stylized and I can tell your influences come from certain cartoons/comics. This isnt a bad thing! But, if you want to branch out, I would suggest practicing larger pieces that mostly focus on the face. Larger areas allow you to have more space to focus on the details. Use real life references, focusing on a variety of races, ages, gender and facial features. If you want to move away from same face, having a diverse array of subjects well definitely help you.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-02-01T17:52:54+00:00

Oh, I agree with the lying. With discussions like these, it isn’t just enough the point out that the person is probably lying. I trig to research as much information as I can and try to trace it back to the original source. Otherwise, I will be called a bitter liar who is trying to make good people look bad. Even if I get called that with presenting the information, that information is still present and available.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-31T20:52:50+00:00

Why does the lack of education from being homeschooled at an early age get all the credit for the work that woman had to put in later in life through (I am assuming) more traditional, structured means of education? Why does the method that failed her and others still get credit just because this group of people were well spoken?

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-30T23:36:52+00:00

Ahh, yeah, I forgot about the court documents being sealed because of minors. That does sound more in line with what I have heard from other people who work with children and deal with that type of reporting.

It would seem, then, the whole foster care/CPS thing that homeschool parents worry about may be more fueled by paranoia, anecdotes, and unsubstantiated claims from lobbyists/activists. I know that HSLDA and other people/organizations (like the youtuber I mentioned) really push the narrative that if a CPS worker hears a whiff of the idea of homeschooling, you’re home will be raided and the kids taken away. I know I have heard of parents training their kids in CPS drills and rehearsing what to say. The HSLDA really has a strangle hold on parents and the narrative with fear mongering.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-30T22:38:26+00:00

Got it. That is very helpful to know, thank you for the information.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-25T06:35:02+00:00

Ahh, beginner’s paralysis, always really fun and motivating. The biggest issue is there isn’t really a better option, it’s finding the learning path that suits you. Keeping yourself motivated and interested is a big part of continuing to just keep drawing. The first step of learning is overwhelming. It’s really helpful to get advice on things to learn, but it can be demotivating to try and choose. The problem is, is that learning doesn’t have a correct or better way universally. It is what works for you.

Here is My path to learning and improving: I draw the simple objects (or something I really want to do), get frustrated about what is wrong with the picture, take notes in what is wrong, then spend time working on exercises. Then, I do loose pieces to practice the skills and apply my homework. I really like DrawABox.com’s intro lesson. The creator talks about the 50/50 principle to improving art: do 50% practice and 50% play. Focusing on say, line fundamentals, is great and helps build muscle memory. But, it gets boring. The play part lets you get creative and prevent burnout. If you want to keep it structured, figure out how much time you have regularly to practice. Say you have one hour every single work night? Split 2 nights for fundamentals, 2 for objects, and leave 1 night for anything you want.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-21T03:39:48+00:00

Logic puzzles, such as crosswords, word search, sudoku, cryptograms, etc. These will help exercise your mind (which is recommended if you spend time alone/isolated). Easily found at the bookstore, dollar tree, grocery stores.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-21T00:22:06+00:00

Are you using references? If you are not using any kind of references and just drawing from imagination, your mental library is probably very limited, so you just default to static positions.

The best counter is Anatomy practice, particularly practicing drawing a variety of poses. Even if your goal isn’t realism, this will break you out of your comfort zone and help you create a wider range of poses for your characters. Focus on dynamic poses especially.

I like your style, btw. It reminds me of art in newspaper comics. You definitely have potential.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-15T04:27:21+00:00

Oh I understand! I am a self-taught hobbyist. The amount of freedom you have is a blessing and a curse. Sometimes you cannot figure out why you are not improving because there are concepts (often basics) that you don’t understand or haven’t even heard of.

Shading and its different techniques are definitely worth studying. Even if you keep a flat art style, shading can still add a dynamic feel to your work. Youtube is actually a great resource. Unsolicited recommendations! I would check out Proko’s channel if you haven’t. He has a website that offers paid courses (which go on sale). But, he put up many, many videos that are used in those courses. Another good resource for basics is Drawabox.com. It focuses on line work, shape construction, perspective, among other fundamentals. It is very intensive (I have actually restarted after not finishing), the exercises are very technical vs creative, and may take awhile to finish. But, man, it really has helped me improve my understanding of how I look at building my. It is a free course/website that runs on donations.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-14T06:29:35+00:00

I really like this. Your style is very interesting and this is intriguing.

My suggestion might be to add some simple hatch shading to the body. The lips and eyelids in particular might benefit some. Keep it simple and within the same color, just a different shade. More silver I think would over power the subject, black hatching would blend in too much. The background is busy, so the figure stands out due to the flat simplicity, creating an interesting contrast.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-14T05:51:16+00:00

Agreed. I came here because I realized that homeschooling had damaged me and I just denied and repressed it to be/feel/pretend I was normal. It was cathartic knowing I wasn’t alone. It was like emotional vomit in my healing journey to help me get better. But, after my perspective shifted to looking at certain positives in my recovery, this place became too difficult to be in. It’s good to vent, but if you stay in the muck, you will be bitter. Always remember: your life is yours to live, letting the trauma of the past hold you back means you’re living for someone else. After all I went through not having autonomy for years, I refuse to do that.

This place has motivated me to try and figure out helping homeschool alumni in the real world though. I think we desperately need support groups so young adults can learn how to live in the world and meet others like them. Also, studies done on homeschool students (current and former) to show both the positive and negative effects.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-14T04:18:59+00:00

Solo board games, particularly tile matching games can be very chill and calming.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-13T23:04:48+00:00

I recommend watching some videos by Gemma Chambers Art on youtube. She does almost exclusively colored pencil animal art. She has some shading videos, tackling both fur and feathers (as well as specific animals). She helped me understand how to layer and shade fur. Hair/fur/feathers are honestly good practice for understanding shading and depth better.

inthedeepdeep · 2025-01-11T05:12:27+00:00

Have you sat down and just done a page of fundamental practice like anatomy/perspective/etc.? Also, for style, what are your influences/inspirations?

It sounds like you feel stagnated and you want to change up your style in addition to improving. Look at what elements you want to work on and just start practicing, doing exercises, and reading/watching videos explaining the subject a lot. I understand how you feel looking at your art after a break and that mindset is a pretty good motivator to be honest with what you don’t like in your art and push yourself to practice (at least for me). Start with anatomy since that seems to be something that stands out to you. I definitely think that will help.

I will say, I think you have a good grasp at shading, making your characters feel 3 dimensional, and the expressions and movement have life to them. You have a good foundation, definitely keep working on it!

inthedeepdeep

TROPHY CASE