Thanksgiving break is over, and now we are all back to the reality of work, school, and the series of stresses of our daily lives. After eating that annual feast, it's time start eating "right" again. I don't know about you, but after my classes I come home starving but never want to eat too much right before dinner. Here is a list of some of my favorite after-school snacks that won't fill you up completely, but hold you over until that 6:00 pm meal.
1. Apples, peanut butter, and granola
This snack is definitely my favorite of the bunch. All you do is slice the apple and spread peanut butter on each one. Next, sprinkle granola on half the peanut butter spread slices. Finally, take one granola slice and one non-granola slice and make it into a little sandwich. It is sweet and salty from the apples and peanut butter but also has a crunch from the granola. To top it off, it's relatively healthy. I'm no Food Network star, but I'm sure Bobby Flay would approve.
2. Sweet potato fries
I know these sound pretty fancy, but they're actually quite simple to make. All you need is a sweet potato, olive oil, and some salt and pepper. First, slice the potato into strips and place them into a bowl. Put olive oil, salt, and pepper into the bowl with the strips and mix. Next, put the fries in the oven. It only takes about 15 minutes to cook depending on how crispy you want your fries.
3. Cheese and crackers
Cheese and crackers are definitely one of my go-to's for snacks. I normally just go buy some Wheat Thins from Kroger or even McCracken Market when I'm in that neck of the woods. The cheese I buy is President Wee Brie, which comes in little wedges and is also from McCracken Market. These are a great item to eat between meals, and the cheese wedges are only 40 calories.
4. Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Korn
I discovered this popcorn one time when I was roaming through the aisles of Kroger. The nice thing about Orville Redenbacher's Kettle Korn is that is prepackaged in individual bags that are only 100 calories. This way, you don't feel guilty when you've eaten an entire bag of popcorn. The most important part of this snack is the fact that it's KETTLE CORN, only the best type of popcorn out there.
5. Toast
Toast is one of those easy ones because most people already have bread and a toaster. It is something you can easily make in your house or in a dorm. The other nice thing about toast is that you can put whatever you want on it depending on what you like. It's one of those snacks that's filling enough to eat before dinner without making you full.
6. Banana ice cream
Now, I know what you're thinking: How is ice cream healthy? But this is a little twist on the dessert you find in the frozen section of your grocery store. A healthy banana ice cream is basically a banana smoothie. I normally place four sliced bananas in ziplock baggies in the freezer. The next day, I put the frozen fruit in the blender until the texture is consistent. I like to deck this out even more by mixing in some peanut butter.
Next time you're hungry after your afternoon classes and need something to snack on, try out one of the six listed items. All of them take no more than 15 minutes to create and taste amazing!
