I think I speak for thousands of students when I say that one of the major struggles in college is eating the right kind of food. I thought that battling with food was not going to be a problem because I believed my dorm meal plan would have me covered. Unfortunately, when I started college I found out that the junk food outnumbered the healthy options, and temptations that did not exist in my kitchen back home abounded. My sweet tooth is a curse, which is why the dull meals plus the availability of a dessert bar seemed like the worst possible combination. Google became my best friend during this time because I realized I had to come up with cleaner options that did not require a kitchen.

I made different recipes in my dorm room and these were the ones that my friends liked the most. The key ingredients that were added in most recipes were oatmeal flour, almond butter, almond milk, bananas, stevia, semi-sweet chocolate chips and honey. They were very satisfying as snacks and/or desserts.

Notes:

• You can substitute the almond butter for any other nut butter.
• The almond milk can also be replaced by whole milk or soy milk if desired.
• You can swap the stevia for regular sugar.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

• ½ Medium sized banana
• 2 Tbsp of oatmeal flour
• 1 Tbsp of almond butter
• 2 Tbsp of almond milk
• 2 Tbsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

1. Mash the banana in a mug and incorporate the oatmeal flour. Mix well.

2. Add almond butter and stir.

3. Incorporate the almond milk, mix and add the semi-sweet chocolate chips (if desired).

4. Cook in the microwave for one minute.

Oatmeal Balls

Ingredients:

• ⅔ Cup of oatmeal flour
• ⅓ Cup of almond milk
• 1 Tbsp of honey
• 1 Tbsp of stevia
• 2 Tbsp of almond butter
• 2 Tbsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a cereal bowl, mix the oatmeal flour and stevia.
2. Melt the almond butter and add it with the honey to the mix. Stir well to combine all the ingredients.
3. Incorporate the almond milk and add the semi-sweet chocolate chips.
4. Form small balls and place them on a plate.
5. Leave them in the freezer for 30 min. before eating.

Banana Blondies

Ingredients:

• ½ Cup of oatmeal flour
• 2 medium bananas
• 4 Tbsp of almond butter
• 4 Tbsp of honey
• 2 Tbsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions:

1. Smash the bananas in a cereal bowl and mix them with the oatmeal flour.
2. Melt the almond butter and add it with the honey to the mix and stir.
3. Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips if desired.
4. Transfer the mix to a plastic Tupperware and leave in the freezer for three hours before eating. If you want to save some of them for later, keep the blondies in the freezer because they melt quickly at room temperature.

Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp of oatmeal flour
• 1 Tbsp of stevia
• 1 Tbsp of cocoa powder (I used Hershey’s)
• ¼ Cup of liquid egg whites
• ¼ Cup of almond milk
• 2 Tbsp of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Mix the oatmeal flour, cocoa powder and stevia in a mug.
2. Slowly add the liquid egg whites, semi-sweet chocolate chips and almond milk while stirring the mixture.
3. Microwave for one minute.