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6 Healthy Alternatives to Fast Food for Students

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Ok, no one probably wants to read another article about avocados and super-healthy-good-for-digestion chia seeds. Yet, we cannot overlook that the battle between fast-food franchises and healthy living still has no winner. 

Fast foods have become so firmly established in everyday life of the average student and office worker that few people notice what kind of rubbish they regularly eat. But still, most people keep constantly poisoning their bodies with chocolate bars, hamburgers, and soda. 

How so? Being a student means following a lifestyle of constant lectures, homework, and other stuff that makes every day scheduled down to a minute. There is time to cook or find places to eat out healthy food somewhere. So, every day you feel:

  • the lack of free time
  • the lack of money.

Thus, the first thing is to deal with these issues. A quick snack is, of course, a substitute for a meal that takes little time to consume. This may help save some time on going to the cafeteria, pacing an order, waiting for it, and the rest of the process. 

Another way to deal with this issue is to save time for cooking at home. For instance, students may go to Essayhub and order papers and other home tasks that take up too much time. The experts working there can handle the load you’re struggling with.

Consider cooking healthy meals and getting used to new diets during weekends and holidays. Developing a new habit takes about twenty-one days, so start with small things that can be included in the daily routine without extra effort.

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Healthy Fast Food Trends

Delicious and cheap recipes for students may sound like a figment of imagination. Everything gets more and more expensive day by day. Not every student knows how to cook, and fewer of them have time to prepare a full-fledged meal set for the whole week. Moreover, taking a lunchbox with soup or some cereal is not a good choice (the chance of spilling it all over your handbag is too high to test this option).  

So how can one eat healthy food, do it fast but avoid chocolate, burgers, soda, and generally stay away from vending machines? Now it’s high time to learn ways to cook gourmet dishes you can eat during breaks and keep your handbag with books intact.

A healthy diet came in vogue quite recently and quickly took root. Modern grocery stores and food service outlets immediately picked up this trend and offered customers healthy alternatives to unhealthy snacks.

Here is our list of healthy snacks that take little time to cook but can help you last through all classes.

1. Salad bar

This option is a kind of salad constructor offered by most canteens – come and collect the ingredients you want into a container. Then pick the dressing (oil or vinegar or else) and sprinkle the salad with some additives (sesame or sunflower seeds, dried tomatoes, etc.) right at the counter. This offer is in high demand as it helps people save time and eat what they like. No need to look for ingredients, buy, chop, boil or grill them, and cook the dish yourself. Everything is at hand: select and pay for it.

2. Superfoods

These are products rich in vitamins and minerals ready for consumption. This category includes nuts, many types of fruits and vegetables, chia seeds (alright, we do talk about chia seeds, but they are really cool), and more. 

Supermarkets offer ready-to-serve mixes of superfoods such as fruit chunks, nuts, chia, and yogurt. These are healthy and easy-to-eat snacks, but they may cost much that it may be better to make the mix at home and take it in a lunchbox. It will not take much time, but it will save a lot of money.

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3. Smoothies and fresh juices

It is not necessary to buy a juicer or run to a cafe to drink freshly squeezed juice. Modern supermarkets offer ready-made bottled juices or even juicers for independent use. But still, pay attention to the price: it may be cheaper to make juice or smoothies at home.

4. Protein bars

Usually, protein bars are made from nuts and whey protein powder used by athletes to keep energy levels up. Go easy on those because a body needs more than just protein. Yet, it is a great alternative to sugar (chocolate bars and candies) that our brains demand when overloaded with work.

5. Homemade sandwiches

Sandwiches are a great alternative to burgers. They comprise the same ingredients, but those can be made more health-friendly.

For instance, to make an omelet and greens sandwich, you will need the following ingredients:

  • 2 slices of whole-grain bread (better for digestion than buns used for burgers);
  • 1 egg;
  • 2 leaves of lettuce;
  • cheese;
  • spices.

Beat the egg, add spices, and pour into a hot frying pan with a drop of oil. Cook for five minutes. While waiting, rinse the lettuce and dry it on a paper towel. Then lay it on a slice of bread, fold the omelet to fit your bread, and put it on top of the lettuce leaf. Put a slice of cheese on top and close the sandwich with the second slice of bread or leave it open on the top (pick whichever you like more).

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6. Oatmeal cookies

Cookies do not get into the pantheon of healthy foods, but they are fast food for sure. Yet, oatmeal cookies are closer to granola than Oreo’s. By the way, even a definitely-not-a-chef type of student can cook them at home and bring them to class in a lunchbox. Besides, offering homemade cookies is also a great conversation starter!

Ways to Live Healthier

  • Split meals. Take small portions of food about four or five times a day instead of large meals. Thus, the body will never feel hungry and have a faster metabolism.
  • Drink water. Doctors recommend this method to avoid mistaking thirst for hunger and running to the canteen during breaks.
  • Include more proteins and fiber-rich products in the lunch. For instance, a handful of nuts (if you are not allergic to those) provides enough sustenance for several hours. The best set is vegetables plus some protein-rich foods. 

Students need their brains to function at maximum capacity for lectures and exams. Eating a hamburger provides sustenance for about forty minutes. A chocolate bar boosts neurons, but this effect does not last long either. Nutrition and mental performance go hand-in-hand, so keep that in mind when choosing your lunch options.

You Are What You Eat

It can be hard to resist fast food at first but start by replacing one fast-food item with a salad and work your way up to a healthier diet. Pay attention to those cafes that offer whole-grain bread sandwiches with fish, baked chicken, or vegetables as a snack. Set foot on this path, and it will change a lot in your life. It can even make your brain function increase which is great for studies.

Philip Okoye
the authorPhilip Okoye
Your favorite recipe author, faithful to every course. Mail me at chef@foodwellsaid.com

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