healthy snacks

Being in college is one of the most exciting times of a woman’s life—it doesn’t get much better than spending time with your friends and roommates, visiting your favorite campus hangouts and making the rounds at all of the parties.  The only downside to college, besides the actual classwork of course, is that many activities go hand in hand with greasy snacks, copious amounts of alcohol and frequent late-night pizza binges, making it harder to stay in shape and control your weight.

But you don’t have to stop eating to stay healthy at school—in fact, that’s the worst thing you could do.  Since snacking is such a big part of the college lifestyle, why not make sure you’re snacking on things that are good for you?  Try out these healthier snack options that are easy to throw together, won’t break your budget and taste much better than a boring old celery stick:

Trail Mix: Trail mix is the ideal snack for those of us who are a little bit indecisive—you’ve got your salty and your sweet snacks all mixed together so choosing one or the other isn’t a problem.  It’s also one of those snacks that tastes so good that it’s hard to believe it’s not bad for you.  If you use ingredients like peanuts, popcorn, dried fruit and pretzels, trail mix can be a guilt-free snack to get you through a rough study night or to grab a handful of in between classes.

Pita and Hummus: Craving carbs?  Step away from the grilled cheese and grab yourself some pita instead.  Whole wheat pita is a great choice for a filling, carb-filled snack that can actually do some good things for your body.  Whole grains are high in fiber and contain tons of other nutrients that get processed out of normal white breads.  Eat it with some hummus and you’ve got a delicious, low-calorie snack that will make you feel like you’re indulging while still being healthy!

Fruit and Yogurt: Fruit is always a healthy snack option, but if some apple slices just aren’t interesting enough for you, try mixing some berries and fruit slices into plain or Greek yogurt.  Yogurt is so good for you with its high amounts of protein and calcium, and adding your own fruit into the yogurt will be much healthier for you than the high-sugar “yogurt and fruit” cups you can find in the grocery store.  Mix in some granola for some additional good-for-you crunch.

Cheese and Crackers: Sometimes sweet snacks just don’t cut it—when you get a craving for something salty, it’s hard to eat anything else.  And as any good college student knows, cheesy foods are the best kind of salty snacks.  If you’re going to use cheese to satisfy your snack craving, it’s okay as long as you do it intelligently.  Deep fried cheese snacks like mozzarella sticks or deep fried cheese curds aren’t going to do anything good for your waistline, so opt for healthy crackers with slices of cheese on top instead.  You’ll fulfill your cheese craving without consuming boatloads of oil or hundreds of unnecessary calories.

Whip up this easy recipe for Popcorn Trial Mix on a Sunday night, throw it in a gallon baggie and munch on it for the rest of the week!  It’s an easy, yummy and healthy snack that works just as well for a late-night study session as it does for those pesky drunk munchies.  With only three ingredients that you probably already have on hand, it’s one snack that won’t make you feel guilty when you eat half the bag (we’ve all been there!).

Popcorn Trail Mix:

Ingredients:

  • 1 mini bag (1.2 ounces or 5 cups) Smart Pop!® 94% Fat Free Microwave Popcorn
  • 1/2 cup mixed dried fruit bits
  • 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts

Pop your popcorn according to package directions.  Remove all the unpopped corn kernels.  Place your popcorn in a gallon resealable storage bag; add your fruit and peanuts.  Toss well and enjoy!

Fast and Healthy Snacks

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