“You always have food with you!”  “You’re eating all the time!”  Yes, those statements might seem a little concerning, but I would be lying if I didn’t agree with them.  I always have a snack or three in my bag because I know that when I get hungry, I seriously turn into those sassy, angry, moody characters from the Snickers commercials.  It seems like I am snacking all. the. time, but I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, because I aim to eat whole, healthy and simple snacks.  (Okay, disregard that when you see my cheese puffs).  The meals I eat on my meal plan are very vegetable heavy, so as you will see, my snacks are carb and nut-heavy.  Balance, right?

As a nutrition major, one question that I get asked fairly often is what I eat on a day-to-day basis, and more importantly, what I eat while living in the dorms.  Since I’m an RA, I still have a meal plan, so most of my big meals are taken care of for me, but snacks and breakfast are up to me.  Sometimes people ask if I only eat carrots, or lettuce, or rabbit food, and while those are all tasty options, there are a number of other snacks that I keep on hand for studying, late-night munching, and everything in between.

SnacksI am a huge, HUGE snacker.  I snack throughout the day because I can’t seem to make it from one meal to the next without my stomach grumblin’ up a storm.  Since I know that I need snacks, my dad and I did some good old quality bonding at Trader Joe’s the day before I left for school and I was able to pick up all of the necessities.  I keep a lot of food on the top of my mini fridge for easy access.  These are the non-perishables that I use most often:

• Barbara’s Shredded Wheat
• Oatmeal
• Baked Sea Salt and Pepper Rice Crisps
• World’s Puffiest White Cheddar Corn Puffs
• Sweet ‘n’ Salty Trail Mix
• Golden Raisins
• Creamy Peanut Butter
• My mom’s homemade AMAZING granola!Full of oats, blueberries, craisins, raisins, almond slivers, coconut, brown sugar and love!

My mom knew I was feeling a little homesick when I got back to school, so she cooked up a big batch of this and brought it to me over the weekend.  Food always makes me feel better 😉

And then there are the go-to items that need to be kept cold:Perishables

• Trader Joe’s Vanilla Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Sunflower Seed Butter (which I don’t think I like very much)
• Eggs
• Raw Mixed Vegetables
• Baby Carrots
• Toasted Coconut Vanilla Oikos Yogurt (The BEST flavor!  Try it frozen)
• Raspberry Lime Seltzer (<—-Love this for when I’m studying in the afternoon!)

I know the eggs and parmesan cheese are sort of strange for a dorm room, but I’m not ready to let my oatmeal/ cheese/ egg breakfast end quite yet, so I have been using my microwave as my own versatile kitchen!Of course, everything you’ve seen so far isn’t all the food I have here with me.  I keep a stock pile of ready-to-eat lunches, granola bars, and extra peanut butter and snacks.  One must be prepared in case of a peanut butter emergency.  Nah mean?Pantry Extras

• Trader Joe’s Indian Fare (It sort of comes in astronaut food bags)
• Cream of Tomato Soup
• Multi-grain Crackers
• Peanut Butter
• Mini Mojo Bars and Mini Clif Builder’s Bars
• Nature’s Path Pumpkin Granola
• Un-photoed extra bags of Salt ‘n’ Pepper Rice Crisps, Trail Mix and Cheese Puffs

Last, but certainly not least (trust me), is what will get me through this next insanely busy year:I am still learning how to make the perfect cup of joe with that french press, but I’m getting there.  Every cup I have made so far has basically tasted like coffee-flavored water, but I will make coffee one of these days.  I anticipate having PLENTY of practice this semester, and that thermos will get a whole lot of use.

It’s going to be an insane, fun, busy and TASTY semester.  I’m ready.