Snack Attack

Going to college presents many challenges to a first year student, especially when living in a basic dorm room.  One of these many challenges is figuring out what to eat and what snacks to keep in your room. The dining hall supplies you with meals, but lets me honest no college student can endure an entire day without consuming at least one snack.  In fact, it is actually better for you to eat about six times a day (three meals and a snack in between each meal).  Living in your basic dorm room I  have a microwave and a mini fridge, when it comes to cooking utilities.  There is a kitchen in the basement of my dorm, but I think it is dirty and I don't have pots/pans to cook things anyways.  This leaves me with what one would think of as limited eating possibilities.  However, this is not the case.  I have learned that you just have to be creative with what you eat.  You can actually cook a whole bunch in the microwave. My Pinterest Board has some ideas for snacking. 

Food Essentials for the Dorm Room 

1. Fruit: I always keep bananas and apples in my room.  It is important to have fruits and veggies in your diet.

2. Pretzels: I always keep pretzels in my room. Personally I like the Snyder's snaps pretzels.

3. Peanut Butter: This is a good source of protein.  I eat peanut butter with bananas or apples and I dip pretzels in it too.

4. Yogurt: I like the Trader Joe's Yogurt cups.  These are small but mix them with granola and they may a great breakfast.

5. Granola: I enjoy munching on granola right out of the bag, but it is also good in yogurt too. I usually buy the Nature's Promise Maple Cashew Granola.

6. Tortilla Chips: These are great to just grab a handful and snack on. If you have shredded cheese they can be used to make nachos.  They go well with dips like salsa or buffalo chicken dip.  I usually make buffalo chicken dip when I am at home, so that I can put it in a container and bring to college as a snack.

7. Cheese: I like to have both shredded cheese and a block of cheese in my fridge.  This is a great source of calcium.  Paired with crackers or apple slices this is a great snack.

8. Granola bars: These are a great for on the go breakfast or a quick bite before you go to the gym in the morning.  I like the kind bars or quaker chocolate chip granola bars. 

9. Crackers: I usually have the tin crisp triscuits.  They are really yummy with cheese.

10. Something Sweet: I always like to have something sweet after I eat a meal.  While I was home I picked up power berries at Trader Joe's.  These are a good healthy version of something sweet. 

I know this isn't a snack but I just had to include it.  The one item I that is a necessity when it comes to college dorms is a brita.  It is important to consume eight cups of water every day.  Buying bottled water becomes expensive and is not green.  I am not a fan of tap water, so this buy was well worth the $30 I spent to get it. 

My fellow bloggers what do you consider as essentials for dorm room food, is there anything you can't go without?

xoxo

-mQs-