Article and Photos by Haley Wehner
As the school year progresses and the semester’s remaining piles of schoolwork stack up, finding the motivation to keep our nutrition in check becomes hard once the dining hall chef serves a tray of fresh, cheesy pizza. However, I have some recipes and easy tips to aid you in reminding yourself of the worth in that happy and healthy feeling you get after clean eating.
If you have a bullet blender like this one, you have the perfect tool to making the yummiest, healthiest breakfasts, desserts and snacks. Smoothies are a convenient way of fitting various fruits and veggies into your diet. If you’re in a time crunch, smoothies only take a few minutes to make. Also, the to-go cups that usually come with these single-servve blenders mean you can bring your refreshing fruit treat along when you’re out and about. Smoothies are super easy to change up and customize, so you’re less likely to get bored of them.
My favorite recipe is what I call the Frozen Fruit Rainbow (Jamba Juice really should hire me):
Ingredients:
1 handful of frozen chopped pineapple
1 handful of frozen strawberries
1 handful of frozen blueberries
1 banana
1 handful of spinach/kale leaves (optional, but recommended)
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1 cup almond milk
For PB&J Lovers:
Ingredients:
2-3 spoonfuls of peanut butter (for taste)
1 banana
2 handfuls of strawberries
1 handful of spinach/kale leaves
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp vanilla protein powder
Since most of us only have mini fridges without ice machines in our dorms, using frozen fruit is a simple way to keep your smoothie from getting too smooth or watered down. Also, bags of frozen fruit are generally pretty small — perfect for maximizing storage space in the tiny compartment of your mini fridge’s freezer.
Another way to tighten up your diet can be executed when you’re studying and you get those cramming-cravings.
Here are some of my favorite healthy(ish) snacks that can easily be prepared in your dorm and are ultra yummy but without the guilt:
Celery with peanut butter; carrots and ranch dressing; organic unsalted popcorn; pita chips and hummus; mini sandwiches made with Ritz crackers, thinly-sliced turkey breast and thinly-sliced cheese. For a refreshing drink, cut up a cucumber and throw it in a glass of iced water.
Finally, because we all need those cheat days, here are a few ideas that are on the sweeter side, but still not too high-ranking in the calories department:
Cheerios with bananas and/or strawberries; strawberries dipped into melted dark-chocolate chips; dark chocolate; apples dipped into Speculoos cookie butter; almond/coconut milk hot chocolate; and Healthy S’mores: graham crackers sandwiching bananas, melted marshmallows and melted milk-chocolate bars (microwave the marshmallows and chocolate on a plate for about 1 minute).
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