You’ve got a 20-minute presentation on Wednesday, a group project due by Friday, a final at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, and you’re about one paper away from crying in the library. I’m convinced that professors enjoy watching us scramble to take our finals and finish off the semester without falling apart.
I could write a novel about finals nightmares, but what’s something we all seem to have an issue with around this time? Food. Either you’re forgetting to feed yourself or you’re stress eating. The secret to finding a balance is snacks. Yes, snacks. You’re gonna snack anyway, so let’s do it the right way.
If you’re stress eating, make sure to have a lot of water. Without water, you won’t make it. Feel free to have juice, coffee, or tea as well, but don’t forget the water.
Fruit & Veggies
It’s not very hard to throw something that nature has already prepackaged for you into your backpack. Literally anything you like.
- Banana
- Apple
- Grapes (the black ones are like candy)
- Oranges
- Cut up strawberries
Prepackaged Life Savers
Before you judge my long-parenthesized whispers, they’re helpful I promise. Anything you can buy prepackaged and in bulk is perfect.
- Nutella & Breadsticks (Sam’s & Costco come in clutch for these)
- Mini Popcorn bags (I personally love Skinny Pop. Again, Sam’s too)
- Granola Bars
- Chex Mix / Trail Mix
- Gummy snacks (Sam’s has a box of 80 small bags of gummy dinosaurs for like $8)
Creative I-Don’t-Have-Money Home Snacks
We’re all in college. I FEEL your struggle. And we’re also at the point of the semester where we’re starting to pretend other drinks are coffee because coffee has gotten too expensive. Or we have a “Finals Coffee Budget.”
- Salt crackers
- Teddy Grahams with Nutella or PB
- PB sammich
- Cheerios or your favorite cereal in a baggie (remember portion control)
- Rice cakes
- Any other bite size food you like and want to snack on that won’t go bad through the day
At the end of the day, it’s better to have 5 small meals, or 3 medium meals with 2 snacks throughout the day instead of having one huge meal and no snacks, or just random crap here and there. I know finals is going to drive you insane, and you might not have time, but please don’t forget to take care of yourself. Sometimes we set aside our personal health for the sake of our grades or GPA, and the dedication is admirable, but it shouldn’t be that way. You can handle both, I promise.
Happy Finals season, and happy snacking.