Healthy Snacks for College Dancers

In the spirit of everything that is being a college dance major, I wanted to compile a list of healthy/ier snacks that you can buy and/or prepare with only the aid of a microwave and/or mini fridge. There are so many options when it comes to food, and I've spent a lot of time reading and researching to find the best ones. A great place to start is Snack-Girl.com. Snack Girl had some great tips on what you can make in a dorm room in this post, but I wanted to find more! Here are my favorites:

For the dorm (harder to take with you, may need refrigerating):

• hummus and carrots/pretzel sticks (or pita bread for authenticity but more calories)
• apples and peanut butter (or almond butter if you're allergic)
• fruit (berries are a great source of antioxidants and energy)
• cucumbers (mini "snacking" cucumbers or pickle cucumbers are great)
• baby/petite carrots
• celery and cream cheese (with raisins!)
• string cheese (80-90 calories a stick!)
• edamame (soybeans - boiled with light salt)
• miso soup (buy a jar of paste, you can add tofu if you can find it in a grocery store! makes a nice dinner too, if you don't want to leave your room for oily caf food)
• whole grain bread with olive oil
  

Take to go:

• pretzels and peanut butter (take the whole jar with you)
• rice crackers
• go picnics
• beef/turkey jerky
• nuts/seeds (pistachios, almonds, walnuts, soy nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)
• fruit (bananas, apples, and oranges are the most transportable)
• banana/apple chips
• sports/enhanced drinks (I don't personally believe in them)
• kale chips
• toasted seaweed
• popcorn (low/no butter and salt)

If you're having a sugar craving:

• spoonful of pure honey
• toffee (my favorite from Trader Joe's, they're only 90 calories a piece and you get protein/healthy fats from the pisachios and a chocolate/sugar craving satisfied all in one!)
• fat-free sorbet (from Haagen-Dazs)
• handful of raisins or chocolate covered raisins (I love golden raisins)
• chocolate covered almonds (beware of peanuts - a lot of unhealthy oil!)
• Tic Tac (2 calories apiece)
• mini-sized candy bars (some of these go for under 100 calories apiece)
• a small piece of dark chocolate (is both tasty and good for your heart!) - Xocai makes healthy chocolate, and Hershey kisses are so small that they hardly make a dent in your diet
• cup of juice (be careful of the sugar content though)
• popsicle (make your own - pour juice in an ice cube tray, cover the tray with plastic cling wrap, poke toothpicks in each cube, and when they're frozen, twist the tray to pop them out and enjoy)

I love cooking in my dorm room as well! If anyone is interested, I can talk about making healthy and tasty food right in your room while staying in the restrictions of your dorm!