9 Healthy Snack Ideas For College Students
Eating healthy in college can seem difficult, especially if this means eating solely at your dining hall salad bar. But it’s easier than you think! Here are my favorite healthy snack ideas that I ate when I lived in a dorm. Let’s get started!
1. Pretzels and Hummus
If you have a mini-fridge in your dorm room, you will love this healthy snack. If you don’t have one, your dorm may have a communal fridge you can use for storing the hummus. Just make sure to put your name on the container so randos don’t jack your food. Dip some pretzels in your hummus and you have a perfect, salty afternoon snack.
2. Peanut Butter and Celery
Peanut butter and celery sticks is like the signature elementary school snack. But it’s so underrated! If celery isn’t your jam, you can substitute with apple slices. You can store the peanut butter at room temperature and again, if you have a mini-fridge, great, otherwise just stick with peanut butter and pretzels. Plus, peanut butter is loaded with all the healthy fats your body needs.
3. Fruit
Fresh fruit is a perfect healthy snack and helps you get your daily dose of healthy nutrients. You can choose from strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, bananas, etc. If you don’t have a fridge, then you can get freeze-dried fruit from Trader Joe’s or another grocery store. Freeze-dried strawberries and dried mango are my favs!
4. Oatmeal
Oatmeal makes a great healthy breakfast or midday snack. Try to use old-fashioned oats and top with berries, cinnamon and nut butter. If you don’t have a microwave in your room, chances are you have one in your dorm’s communal kitchen.
5. Toast
Whole-grain toast with nut butter, avocado, and berries is such a yummy healthy snack. If you have a toaster, or your dorm building does, then great! But if not, you can always just leave the bread untoasted. This makes a great breakfast or afternoon snack. You can’t go wrong.
6. Trail Mix
Trail mix is perfect for all my nut lovers out there. You can even make your own trail mix and customize it with whatever you want, like cranberries, almonds, dark chocolate and granola. Yum! You can get trail mix in bulk at Costco or WinCo. Plus, you can take this snack on-the-go to classes or the gym. Makes for a perfect afternoon pick me up.
7. Protein Bars
Protein bars are great for busy mornings where you don’t have time to rush to the dining hall for breakfast. My favs are Rx bars, Go Macro bars, and Perfect Bars. They fill you up and have tons of clean, healthy ingredients to fuel your day. Stock up on these babies because you will be addicted like I am!
8. Dark Chocolate
Yes, that’s right! Dark chocolate is good for you. It’s packed with antioxidants and healthy fats, just make sure you get a high percentage of cacao so you get all the amazing benefits. I like to have dark chocolate as a sweet treat after dinner. It’s something yummy to look forward to. And plus, it’s perfect for dorm room snacking because it can be kept at room temperature.
9. Healthy Snack Ideas: Greek Yogurt
Greek yogurt is packed with protein and gives you the energy to conquer the day. Make a cute little yogurt parfait in a cup with yogurt, granola, and berries. Looks straight out of a magazine. Plus, you can trick your body into thinking you’re eating ice cream for breakfast. Yum!