It’s that dreaded time of the semester again! Between late night paper writing, cramming in four months worth of notes into two weeks and last-minute job hunting, finals season can make even the most health conscious student cheat and pick up a McDonald’s meal. However, prepare these healthy meals ahead of time, you’ll get the nutrients you need to be successful during finals. Here are some of my favourite meals for on-the-go students.
These little muffins are a great way to start your study day. They’re so easy to make and you can make plenty of them at the same time! Egg breakfast muffin recipes are very versatile. You can add any combination of vegetables and/or meat to the base recipe and the muffins will still turn out delicious. Prepare these muffins before finals start; they can be frozen for up to a month!
2. Oatmeal Jars
Another great way to start your morning is by eating oatmeal in a jar. These jars can be prepared the night before by adding raw oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds and honey as a base then adding all sorts of combinations of ingredients (cinnamon and applesauce for example) to give the oatmeal a general flavour. Since the oats sit in milk and yogurt overnight, they are mushy in the morning making a kind of “yogurt-oat-fruit parfait” as the author of the recipe puts it.
3. Smoothie Bags
Smoothies are the perfect snack to fill you up fast and they can be made with just about any combination of ingredients. Bags containing fruits and veggies such as bananas, berries, spinach or apples can be made ahead of time and frozen in the freezer. These frozen baggies can be taken out of the freezer then thrown into a blender with liquid ingredients (milk, water, juices) and dry ingredients (hemp seeds, chia seeds, protein powder) to make the ultimate quick snack.
This is yet another mason jar recipe that can be super useful for busy students. Unlike other premade salads, mason jar salads don’t get soggy because the salad dressing is added to the mason jar first, followed by moisture resistant ingredients (tomatoes, carrots etc.) and then finally the moisture absorbing ingredients (greens, cheese, quinoa, etc.). Mason jar salads can be eaten straight out of the jar or after being poured into a separate bowl.
5. Chili
Chili is my go-to comfort food. It’s easy to make, it tastes delicious and the ingredients in most chilies are relatively simple provided that you have the right spices. Even better, you can make a massive amount of chili and all the leftovers can be frozen for up to a month!
6. Chocolate-Covered Caramel “Yolo” Balls
After a hard day of studying, everyone deserves a small treat. I found this recipe for “yolos” in one of the recipe books at my boyfriend’s house and boy are these tasty! The caramel centre of these treats is made from Medjool dates, which have a huge amount of health benefits. Dates are a source of calcium, iron, vitamin A and countless other vitamins and minerals. They also help to reduce weight, decrease high blood pressure and maintain a healthy heart, lungs and digestive system.
Sources: Cover, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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