It’s late at night and you’re in your room, or maybe the upstairs common room, simultaneously glancing at your Facebook newsfeed and doing homework for math that you know the teacher will collect tomorrow. Suddenly you find yourself losing all concentration and in dire need of a food fix. You could run downstairs and hit the vending machine, but what could you get from that? You see potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, gummy bears, and some pop tarts. You could eat them, and they might make you less hungry in the meanwhile, but an hour down the road you would be hungry again and hanker down for something more. Or even worse, experience a sugar crash and fall asleep right on the desk. And let’s face it: none of these foods are great for your waistline either!
Instead, try something healthy. They might take a bit more preparation, but in the long run, it will be worth it. These treats will curb your hunger for a longer period of time, won’t lead to the same sugar crash, and will power you for hours. The bonus: they’ll satisfy your sweet and salty tooth in fewer calories.
1. Gourmet popcorn
Pop some light popcorn with no added salt or butter. Pop it in a large mixing bowl, and then begin adding your toppings of choice, mixing as you go.
For something sweet, go with honey and a bit of melted dark chocolate or cocoa powder, then top with cinnamon. In you’re hankering for salty, add a bit of light dressing or hot sauce and mustard.
2. Frozen banana ice cream
Spread Greek yogurt onto a banana and top it with some peanuts, almonds or fruit. Now pop the entire banana in the freezer for a couple of hours, until it reaches an icy solid consistency. Eat it whole when you take it out, or cut it into smaller pieces. Either way what you end up with is a super healthy frozen treat that tastes exactly like ice cream.
3. Avocado Fudge
This might be a bit trickier unless you have a blender at your disposal, but its still decadent and a ridiculously healthy dessert. Take an avocado and mash it up as best as you can unless it’s smooth (a riper avocado makes this easier). Take some cocoa powder and blend it in along with a bit of sugar or sweetener of choice. What you end up with is a creamy blend that looks like and tastes like chocolate fudge.
4. Greek yogurt parfait
Tired of the same old parfait and want to change it up? Even if you’re having an ice cream craving this may just do the trick. Take Greek yogurt and add fresh fruit of your choosing. Then sprinkle some granola onto it and mix it together. Now add some roasted nuts onto the top and garnish with cinnamon and honey.
5. Cinnamon oranges
Peel and cut up a couple of oranges. Then mix together some of the orange juice, cinnamon, sugar, and little bit of lemon juice, and microwave it for a little bit to warm it up and thicken it. Pour this over the oranges for a delicious treat.
6. Cheesecake bites
Take graham crackers and spread a generous amount of Greek yogurt on each. Top this off with a bit of fruit and dark chocolate and enjoy!
7. Black bean brownies
This is the most complicated out of the batch and will take some preparation time. However it’s become one of my favorite desserts because it’s so nutritious and delicious. Take some black beans (canned is easier) and mash it up; use a blender if you have one. Add a good amount of cocoa powder to this as well as sugars, eggs, and a bit of flour to thicken the mixture. After everything is evenly blended, put it in the oven and bake it for half an hour. What you get are chewy decadent brownies that fill you right up and give you plenty of protein!