Healthy Student Hacks
You were probably healthy at school. You always ate your veggies, kick-started your day with a fruit shake, ran regularly. Heck, some of you might have been ripped, or a certified gym guru. But then you got to college, and everything changed. There are some things that they didn’t tell you on the college brochure. The most common college initiation activities involve binge drinking, all-night parties, and too many pizza or deep-fried binge eating sessions. If that’s not your style, you might even develop a penchant for sleeping all day, binge-eating Netflix and chill days, or stocking up on red-bull for a late night cram session for your mid-terms. You’re also on a budget, so it’s cheaper to eat and drink like this. But here’s some healthy hacks that every lazy and broke student should learn.
Healthier Homemade Versions Of Late-Night Snacks
Most college students will usually end each legendary night out in the hottest local pizza or takeout spot. Pizza is delicious, but you can save plenty of money and make healthier versions of your fave snacks, like pizza toast, pizza bagels, bruschetta or pizza on a pitta. You could even top it with some healthy veggies. Alternatively, buy some delicious dips like guacamole or salsa and dip some pitta in. You could even make sweet potato fries or burgers in the oven, or just boil some brown pasta in a pan. And voila, you’re a little bit healthier and have saved some extra money for the week!
Learn To Cook Some Healthy, Easy Meals
Along the same lines of healthy late night snacks, every college student should learn some simple, cheap and easy meal recipes. Whilst most students staple go-to food is pasta, you could switch it to brown pasta, brown rice or rice noodles. Served hot or cold, the possibilities are endless, as you can flavor it with endless varieties of sauces, like bolognese or healthy veggies. You should also learn how to cook eggs or our fave is to make a tomato sauce and crack poached eggs on it. Other stable student dishes include chili con carne, eggplant pizza with cheese, baked sweet potato and tuna, pasta bake, chicken fajitas. chicken or tofu stirfry, or tomato and avocado toast. You should look up some easy recipes and can even throw in some healthy salads once in a while if you’re up to the challenge!
Stock Up On Healthy Snacks
One of the best pieces of advice every college student should master, is stocking up on healthy snacks for when you get the munchies. Some of the go-to cheap and easy college snacks are chocolate, candy or chips. You can switch these for apples, oranges, bananas or baby carrots or cucumber with dips. Other cupboard-fillers include cans of vegetable soup, oatmeal packets, eggs, brown rolls, tuna cans, berries and yogurt, frozen veggies. You can also satisfy any mid-afternoon craving with some nuts and dried fruit, whole wheat crackers and cheese, apples and peanut butter or veggies and hummus. If you’re feeling fancy, you can even throw in some chip alternatives like unsweetened coconut chips or kale chips.
Hold Potluck Dinner Parties To Get a Balanced Meal
If all else fails, you can always ensure you get one balanced meal a week by organizing a potluck meal with all your friends. Since everyone cooks a different part of the meal, you can taste their cooking skills, cut costs on ingredients and have fun getting to know your new college pals at the same time!
Enjoy!
