Everyone has heard of the infamous Freshman 15, but people somehow fail to also mention that this threat of weight-gain is present throughout all of college. A lethal combination of a slowing metabolism, increased intake of various types of beverages, struggling to maintain a workout regime despite a heavy class-load and navigating the dining halls with little success puts every college student at risk of gaining a couple of pounds.
Something that I have always struggled with in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is snacking. Even on the days that I manage to work out and eat really healthy for all of my meals, I always somehow manage to sneak in what seems like a 1,000+ calorie snack just before bed. Especially in college, when you finally have full control over what snacks you have available, there are a couple of easy ways to keep snacking as healthy as possible. Here is a list of my favorite ~healthy~ snacks to munch on:
- Skinny Pop
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What is essential here is to buy the INDIVIDUALLY PACKAGED Skinny Pop bag. Don’t even mess around with the family-sized bag. Not only are all of your roommates/friends going to try to mooch off of your stash, but you are going to crush that bag the second you come back from a night out and are hungry. Trust me here, individually-packaged bags are key.
- Trail Mix
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Trail mix is my favorite way of eating candy and still pretending like I’m super healthy. You can pretend like those nuts and raisins are why you picked up the trail mix, but we all see you eyeing those m&ms. Again, this is a good snack to get individually packaged. It also makes it an easy snack to bring on the go!
- Granola
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This is the newest addition to my own snack stash, and I must say I’m loving it. I would especially recommend the peanut butter flavored KIND granola. You can eat handfuls of it, put it over yogurt, put it over cereal or eat it any other way your heart desires.
- Pistachios
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I’m just going through a pistachio phase right now, so I wanted to give it its own section :)
- Mixed Nuts
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This is for the hard-core healthy people out there. Yes, I do have a jar of mixed nuts in my stash; and yes, I may have said no to it every time I am deciding what to snack on––but hey, nuts are very healthy, and they make you full fast! At least having the option in your stash doesn’t hurt.
- Oatmeal
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This one is kind of a bigger time commitment (or maybe I’m just lazy), but making oatmeal in a mug is so cute and cozy, and most importantly, it is also very delicious. I like to get the Quaker and Oats extra protein variety flavor pack and eat it when I’m feeling a little too hungry for a snack, or I don’t feel like walking to the dining hall (maybe I am super lazy).
- Apples/Bananas stolen from the DH
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If you don’t take a piece of fruit with you when you leave the dining hall, what are you even doing? This is key to never having to buy snacks or suffer through the long grab-n-go lines on Friday afternoons. Apples and bananas always make for a good breakfast while walking to class, or for an after-school snack!
I know it can be hard to watch what you eat and work out regularly, and I also know that it is nearly impossible in college. That is why I try to keep my snacking pretty healthy. These 7 snacks that I just listed make me feel full and happy with my healthy choices; not to mention, they are honestly delicious! For me, having healthy snacks is an easy way to maintain a loosely balanced diet. Most importantly, it makes me feel free to indulge on other foods that are more worth it #treatyoself