By: Courtney Rayppy
Busy school and work schedules are generally the biggest contributors to HANGER. We need food to give us energy to function but it also helps prevent mood swings, grumpiness, stomach discomfort and more. Plus keeping our bodies satisfied helps us combat the urge to eat everything in sight to satisfy hunger, including less healthy choices. Don’t get me wrong I love (like, I would marry it if I could kinda love) pizza, doughnuts, froyo, chips, wine—where was I going again with this? Oh right. Sometimes, it can be difficult to prepare healthy snacks that are easily transportable, affordable and are also nutritionally sound. Worry not, for I have carefully devised a simple, easy and cost-effective way to CURE hanger for even the busiest of schedules. Bring on the healthy snacks for busy college students on the go!
My GO-TO Favorite Healthy Snacks:
• Air-Popped Pop Corn (Favorite brand is Skinny Pop: white cheddar flavor)
• A crisp Fuji apple cut up and drizzled with fresh lemon juice (keeps it from browning too fast and tastes great too!)
• Pretzel-thins with Laughing Cow cream cheese spread (may want to keep cold as long as possible )
• Baby carrots/cucumbers/bell peppers/etc and roasted red pepper or garlic hummus
• Cottage cheese with sliced cherry tomatoes or grapes
• Yogurt with granola and fresh strawberries
• Low Sodium Turkey Jerky and string cheese
• Home-made trail mix
• Homemade “Protein Muffins” (recipe shared below)
• Guacamole (with pepper and lime juice on a sliced piece of whole wheat toasted bread)
• Hard boiled eggs with sea salt and pepper
• Cuties/Halos/tangerines/clementine oranges
PRO TIP: DRINK WATER: Always hungry? Try drinking one to two cups of water every hour that you’re out and about to help keep you full, hydrated and healthy! If you don’t really like plain water, try sparkling water beverages like La Croix or infusing your water with fresh lemon and mint!
Banana Oat Protein Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 2/3 cup oat bran
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder about 1/4 cup
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 small or medium very ripe bananas mashed
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large egg whites or 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or grease well with coconut oil
- In a medium bowl whisk together oat bran, protein powder, baking powder and cinnamon; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix mashed banana, applesauce, greek yogurt, egg whites, and vanilla together until well combined and smooth. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Let batter sit two minutes to thicken a bit. Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups and bake 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from tin and place on wire rack to cool completely.
- Muffins are best served warm with your favorite spread. Feel free to add in chocolate chips, berries, or nuts to the batter!
Being “too busy” should never be an excuse to not take care of your body. All it takes is a little preparation the night before. I have always hated wasting money on food on campus because I knew that if I had just prepared a snack I would have been able to save money and avoid buying a snack that doesn’t satisfy me. What are some of your favorite snacks??
