A Few Must-Have Snacks to Keep in your Kitchen (or Dorm Room)

Greek Yogurt and Frozen Berries
As a part of my morning routine, I pride myself on having a light, healthy breakfast. It gives me enough energy to get through the first half of my day and keeps me from bare-handing any loose food in the refrigerator before lunchtime. Greek yogurt. I actually think I’ve eaten this every day for the past year. Normal? No. Delicious? Definitely. And just because I contently devour my breakfast in the morning, doesn’t mean I won’t have it as a snack in between meals. I usually use nonfat Greek Yogurt to keep it guilt-free, and add Stevia and cinnamon to sweeten the typically tart yogurt. (Use any sweetener of your choice, but try to stay away from sugar!) My favorite grocery store find, however, is frozen fruit. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries (so, any type of berry), take this snack from fab to, well, extra-fab (because it’s never drab, you see). Mix in the berries and let it sit for a few minutes; this will freeze the yogurt a bit and turn it into an ice creamy mid-day treat!

Popcorn
There are people I know who hate the smell, texture and thought of popcorn. Others, however, would probably do something illegal for a big buttery bag of movie theater popcorn. I’m the latter. Long gone are my days of snacking on delicious, mouth-watering buckets of buttered popcorn. Tear. Over the years I’ve tried to find a way to incorporate this crunchy heaven into my diet, but couldn’t figure out a way to do so without filling my body with additives and sodium. But I’ve discovered that by microwaving a few teaspoons of popcorn kernels in a brown paper bag will bring me popcorn and give me a blank canvas for creating everything from (close to) movie theater popcorn, kettle corn, cheddar, or whatever your mind can think up. Air popping it yourself strips away oil, salt and all of the ingredients you couldn’t pronounce if someone paid you. This quick snack is full of fiber and will add volume to your food but not your waist! With only 15 calories per cup, air-popped popcorn is sure to be your next favorite thing!

Apples and Peanut Butter
When grocery shopping, there are a few foods that leave me lacking self-control; apples happen to be one of them. Anyone that knows me is aware of my odd obsession, and won’t judge me when I spend an uncomfortable amount of time inspecting apples at my local Fairway Market. My personal favorite is Fuji, but if I’m looking for something a little more tart, I’ll go for a Pink Lady apple. And of course, the second of my favorite lose-all-self-control item is peanut butter, which happens to go perfectly with apples. I’m pretty particular about my peanut butter, as a majority of brands use sugar. The one brand I can trust with my nut butters is Once Again. They keep it simple and don’t complicate the natural flavor of the peanut. The protein in the peanut butter will keep you satisfied until your next meal, so you’ll be less likely to overeat!

Happy Snacking!

— Written by Zoee Silber

Photo credit: Psychology Today

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