It's summertime, and regardless of whether you're starting a new job, diving into a new internship, or lying comatose on the couch, we all have one thing in common: we need to eat. Instead of making the same soul-suckingly boring foods, here are five new spins on traditional eats that take just a couple minutes longer to make, but come out looking like something out of a display cabinet (and actually taste as good as they look). So, have a read, pick a recipe, and have a go--we could all stand to take a little more time preparing the food we're going to eat because maybe if we learn to do that, we'll learn that it's okay to start taking more time to take care of ourselves as well.

*Note: Take this all as advice from a friend. I don't actually have any professional credentials to back up my assertions (besides like, food labels and accumulated general knowledge), just my 21 years of experience as a student-athlete and a person who enjoys playing with food.

1. PB&J; the revamped model: The Superhero PB&J

Ingredients: Traditional, plus granola, grilled in a pan with butter or olive oil.

This makes the original PBJ look like a moldy loaf of bread next to a fresh-from-the-bakery loaf. Sure, it takes about ten minutes longer to make, but the result is a sandwich that's tastier, more attractive, and more satisfying.

How to make it:

1. Heat a pan on medium flame and drizzle olive oil across the pan where the bread slice will lie.

2. Generously coat each half of the sandwich with peanut butter and fresh jam. Then, take a small fistful of granola and sprinkle it onto the slice of bread with jam (it sticks much better to that than the peanut butter side). Firmly press the peanut butter side onto the jam to create the sandwich, and then place in the pan.

3. Heat each side for 2-3 minutes, depending on how toasty you like your sandwiches. After, turn off the flame and slide the sandwich onto a plate. Use the spatula to cut in half for added colorful effect.

4. Enjoy! The granola adds just a little bit of oomph to a classic meal, as well as a few extra calories to keep you from wondering if you should make a second sandwich as can sometimes happen with the original PBJ.

2. Instant Oatmeal; the revamped model: "Feel Your Oats" Oatmeal

Ingredients: Plain oatmeal, peanut butter, a banana, and cinnamon.

Total time to make: <5 minutes

This is a hearty breakfast that can be ready in under five minutes and enjoyed with a coffee if you've got time, or scarfed down in five seconds if you need to get out the door (although if you toss your bowl in the sink, make sure to run some water into it so it's easy to wash later!).

How to make it:

1. Start with 1/2-3/4 cup of plain oatmeal in a bowl, and water (more for soupier consistency, less for a firmer consistency). Make an impression in the oatmeal using your spoon, and take a spoonful of peanut butter (about 1 TBSP) to fill that impression. The easiest way to get the peanut butter off the spoon is with your finger--just slowly kind of unpeel it and let it plop down.

2. Fold the oatmeal over the peanut butter so you've got a little oatmeal mountain covering the peanut butter. This will warm up the peanut butter and make it very easy to mix. While the peanut butter is warming up, peel open the banana and use your spoon as a makeshift knife to slice pieces into your bowl.

3. Once you've got the banana-to-oatmeal ratio your heart desires, dig into Peanut Butter Mountain and start mixing it all together. Top it off and add an extra dash of flavor, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon on, and you're good to go!

Why it's better: Oatmeal is a really good option for those who need some kind of carbs in the morning but don't want to be hungry again in an hour. The fiber in oatmeal keeps you feeling full for longer, and the peanut butter and banana provide healthy sources of fat and sugar.

3. Scrambled eggs; the revamped model: Garden Omelet Roll

Ingredients: Two eggs, tomato (1/4-1/2 of a whole), spinach, shredded cheddar cheese, and basil

Total time from entrance into the kitchen: 15 minutes

This two-egg wonder is sure to brighten anyone's morning! There's something about working with fresh produce to make your own meal that is incredibly satisfying.

How to make it:

1. Place a frying pan on medium heat and swirl a bit of olive oil onto the pan (this will be for sauteing the spinach as well as prevent the omelet from sticking when you fold it).

2. As the pan is warming up, crack two eggs into a bowl and mix until ready to be poured into the pan. Then, take a couple (or a few) handfuls of fresh spinach and drop onto the pan to saute.

3. Once the spinach is in the pan, chop up a bit of tomato and mix into the bowl with the eggs. Take your spatula and move the spinach around in the pan a little for even cooking, and then take the bowl with the eggs and tomato and pour into the pan over the spinach. Play with the pan so that the egg spreads out over the whole of the pan and completely covers the spinach and tomato. This will allow the spinach to cook into the omelet shell, which, while not necessary, has a definite aesthetic appeal to it.

4. Once the egg has cooked enough so it doesn't break when you move the spatula along underneath it, sprinkle on a small handful of cheese, and work the spatula around the pan and fold each end of the circle towards the center so make a kind of funk rectangle like the picture above. Once it's cooked the way you like it, slide it onto a plate, and sprinkle with basil for added flavor.

Why it's better: Starting off a day with a meal this healthy will inspire you to keep the momentum going throughout the day. The combination of protein, fat, and veggies will make for a happy tummy and you'll feel proud of yourself for actually cooking something in the AM.

4. Pasta; the revamped model: Colors of Summer Pasta

Total time: the same amount it usually takes you to make pasta.

I fully believe the key to truly enjoying pasta is by inventing little recipes that make the prep require just a smidge of conscious thought (because by now even the most incompetent moron knows how to boil water, dump in some noodles, and stir occasionally for eight minutes or so). The great thing about this dish is that it looks like it actually took time to prepare, but actually you just alternated between stirring and chopping up some tomato.

How to make it:

1. Get pasta going (pot, water, heat on high--you know the drill). Once the water boils, shake some salt in andthen add pasta, stirring so the salt is evenly distributed.

2. Set time for 8-10 minutes. While the pasta is cooking, chop up some tomato, and have pasta sauce and spinach ready on standby. Don't forget to stir the pasta every couple minutes.

3. After draining the pasta, scoop some onto a plate or into a bowl, and immediately add sauce and stir (this will simultaneously warm the sauce and cool the scalding-hot noodles, which means you'll be eating sooner rather than later).

4. Tear up some spinach and sprinkle in, mixing thoroughly. From there, add tomato and continue to mix. Parmesan cheese is also a great option at this point.

5. Aaaaand enjoy!

*You may have noticed in my picture a small chicken breast peeping out from the side of the pasta. Alas, this makes the pasta dish significantly longer to make if you're cooking it all at once, however, I highly recommend making chicken breast at the beginning of the week and refrigerating so that you have some quality protein to add to any meal. A great, easy recipe for how to cook chicken breast can be found here.

5. Peanut butter and banana sandwich

Revamped model: Open-faced Sweet n Spice

Ingredients: Fresh bakery bread, peanut butter, 1 banana, honey, and cinnamon.

If ever there was a fast food to make you feel like a princess or prince of good eats, this would be it. Preparing it makes you feel like you're weaving a magical spell, what with slicing real, fresh-baked bread with a bread knife (so much freedom! you get to choose your own bread thickness for once!!) getting that perfect toast-y bread smell, (if you like your bread extra-thick, as in too thick for a toaster, heat in a pan on medium for about two minutes on each side), spreading the peanut butter, slicing the banana as thinly as possible, (this makes it look fancier), and drizzling honey in fun patterns before adding a dash of cinnamon for kicks.

How to make it: See above and you decide!

Final thoughts:

While new adventures can be an exciting time, they can also be lonely and frustrating. Finding ways to take old recipes and make them your own can add a sense of balance and control to life even when it's at its most hectic. Also, learning to take those few extra seconds or minutes to prepare yourself a truly quality meal is important because it gives us the opportunity to teach ourselves that we are important and deserve to be taken care of--and at this stage in our lives, we're the ones primarily in charge of our day-to-day care, making us the starting source of our sense of importance and confidence.