The Super Bowl is finished and no doubt the large amounts of food that lounged around dorms across the University Sunday night are now gone as well. Now, should students whip themselves back into shape after game day’s sacred binge? That’s for them to decide – but they can easily trim themselves by just replacing those pizza boxes and heat-ups with the food choices below. Keeping healthy snacks around living spaces can be easy.

Unsalted Almonds

Don’t let the level of fat calories fool you – almonds contain nutrients that enhance brain activity and increase energy so reading those tedious textbook pages can be finished quickly and with ease. A small bag, which is available across several vendors at the University, is high in fiber and therefore much more filling than a large bag of chips.

Fruits and Vegetables

Sounds obvious enough, right? But these healthy foods, particularly apples and bananas, pack a lot of fiber to keep you full in between meals and can even serve as great late-night snacks so that students can stay energized while finishing up coursework that’s due in several hours.

Air-Popped Popcorn

In the last year, health studies have shown that particular types of popcorn can be just as healthy as most fruits and vegetables. Pinch yourself if you want, but the whole-grain snack packs higher levels of antioxidants than a lot of greens to help prevent diseases. But make sure to avoid movie theater popcorn and most microwave brands – these ones can be as unhealthy as a fast food burger.

Low-Fat Yogurt

Yogurt’s high level of protein provides students with an efficient snack to fill them up quickly and keep additional pounds off. Bacteria such as acidophilus and bifidum are great ways to help digestive systems flow accordingly, especially when that last slice of pizza really didn’t need to be taken.

Granola Bars

Great for students who are always on the go, granola bars are great to satisfy stomachs that only have the chance to eat during opposite ends of the day. Like many of the foods above, they contain a lot of protein and fiber so that midnight cravings won’t be as common. Brands with additions like chocolate or extra flavoring are best to avoid because of excessive salts and sugars.

Adlai is a freshman in Media and can be reached at [email protected].