5-minute healthy, tasty snacks to help you power through finals studying - Daily Californian

Snacks are crucial for fueling a pick-me-up during that afternoon lull as well as providing some sustenance when you’re on the go. At the same time, it’s easy to fall into unhealthy snacking habits that leave you feeling sluggish instead of rejuvenated. Our previous recommendations have been too time-consuming and have required special ingredients. We at the Clog have got your back with few quick ideas for healthy and easy snacks with minimal ingredients that you can make when studying feels like studying.

Apples and peanut butter

An elementary school classic. Snack on these alongside a glass of milk and boom, you’re back in first grade. Sure, you could get fancy and cut your apple into slices, but my favorite method is to spoon a dollop of peanut butter onto each bite of a whole apple.

Carrots and peanut butter

Yeah, this one may sound a bit odd. But if you think about it, peanut butter is only slightly sweet in flavor and carrots taste good either salty or sweet — think herbed carrots versus honey-glazed carrots or carrot cake. Besides, is carrots and peanut butter really that far off from ants on a log?

Cured meats, fruit, cheese and any type of pickled vegetable

Ah yes, the poor man’s charcuterie. Remember that scene in “Ratatouille” where Remy shows his friend the beauty of eating a grape and some cheese at the same time? With this snack, you have the freedom to mix and match salty, savory, sweet, dry and moist altogether. A personal favorite of mine is dried salami, beef jerky, parmesan and string cheese, grapes and jalapeno-stuffed olives. 

Popcorn

Go healthy and prepare it plainly, or add toppings to your heart’s content. Whether you lightly season it with salt (and maybe a little bit of MSG) or add a bag of M&M’s to the mix, popcorn is an efficient snack to eat while you work. 

Yogurt

Make sure you start with plain yogurt here — stuff such as flavored yogurt has a bunch of sugar you don’t really need. Plus, if you add toppings such as honey, a sprinkle of sugar, blueberries or raisins, you can adjust the level of sweetness to what fits your palate and dietary goals.

Fruit

Fruit is great for you, plus it contains lots of fiber. Remember that Minute Maid advertisement where you’re shown how many oranges are stuffed into a carton of juice? You could easily kill a whole container of juice and not feel full at all, but if you ate six oranges in one sitting, you’d be full for at least an hour or two. That’s the importance of fiber — it’s bulky and satisfies your hunger. Plus, it’s basically like a pipe cleaner for your digestive system.

Hopefully, this article helps provide a starting point for snacks you can make all on your own. Modern dietary guidelines suggest that eating multiple small meals throughout the day is better than a feast or two. Eating in smaller portions more frequently keeps your metabolism running and prevents that dreaded food coma you get from eating a lot in one sitting. Happy snacking, and good luck on your finals!

Contact Abhi Varma at [email protected].

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5-minute healthy, tasty snacks to help you power through finals studying - Daily Californian
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