cheap, healthy, filling snacks?

[matas]

I have decided to watch what I eat and I started going the gym regularly to get back in shape. My biggest problem now is that I am always hungry at night. The dining hall is closed at that hour and I am forced to eat whatever I have laying around, which is usually unhealthy. What kind of convenient and healthy snacks can I store in my dorm room? I know cottage cheese and greek yogurt are really great, but they are too expensive and it would require driving somewhere far to get them. Protein bars are also expensive. Any suggestions?

 

[Powermoloch]

Apples, bananas, pears, nuts (walnuts, peanuts), & oranges.

 

[highland145]

Korger has walnuts and almonds for $3 to $4 per 1lb bag.

Protein plus good fats.

 

[rcpratt]

Water. Don't keep any snacks in your dorm room and you won't snack. Win.

 

[highland145]

Water. Don't keep any snacks in your dorm room and you won't snack. Win.

This would help but then he may piss all night.

 

[shortylickens]

Celery.
And dried fruits.
And the general advice that always seems to apply: If you feel hungry drink a big glass of ice water. Wait. Still feel hungry? Now its OK to eat.

 

[matas]

Eating a lot of fruit to get full is not exactly good either right? I am trying to cut down on calories a little bit.

 

[douglasb]

Eating a lot of fruit to get full is not exactly good either right? I am trying to cut down on calories a little bit.

Fruit is typically not very calorie-dense, so it's actually an excellent choice. Cottage cheese may be another good choice.

 

[Kaido]

I have decided to watch what I eat and I started going the gym regularly to get back in shape. My biggest problem now is that I am always hungry at night. The dining hall is closed at that hour and I am forced to eat whatever I have laying around, which is usually unhealthy. What kind of convenient and healthy snacks can I store in my dorm room? I know cottage cheese and greek yogurt are really great, but they are too expensive and it would require driving somewhere far to get them. Protein bars are also expensive. Any suggestions?

Taking a broader view here -

I struggled with that too. I found that eating small meals every few hours, starting from when I woke up, helped to curb that. I never had a chance to get hungry during the day, and then at night, I had already eaten 6 or 7 meals so I was usually doing OK.

Just something that helped me.

 

[Zargon]

Fruit is typically not very calorie-dense, so it's actually an excellent choice. Cottage cheese may be another good choice.

depends on the fruit, but protein is more useful than sugar pretty much any time.

nuts are a great choice, especially walnuts(especially if you ldl issues).

 

[thatsright]

Fruit is typically not very calorie-dense, so it's actually an excellent choice. Cottage cheese may be another good choice.

+1

Apples are prob your best friend. I use to eat them all the time and very filling. Low cal. I don't eat them anymore as I'm trying to cut down on carbs. Its healthy, but more carbs than I want now.

Cottage cheese is great. I go crazy when its on sale at the market.

 

[psyjsay]

depends on the fruit, but protein is more useful than sugar pretty much any time.

nuts are a great choice, especially walnuts(especially if you ldl issues).

Fiber is another good filler. a bowl of oatmeal will curb hunger.

 

[Atty]

Protein powder.

Mix with water.

Snack ahoy.

/end

 

[ichy]

Fruit is typically not very calorie-dense, so it's actually an excellent choice. Cottage cheese may be another good choice.

Just avoid dried fruit.

 

[Texashiker]

I like cheese, peanut butter on whole wheat bread or mixed nuts as a quick snack before bed.

My wife and I will buy block cheese, and cut off a chunk for a snack, or we will buy some string cheese.

Mixed nuts seems to kill the hunger pain faster then just about anything.

 

[vi edit]

Cottage cheese is my suggestion even though you ruled it out. I don't know what you consider "not expensive" though. I think you can get gallon jugs of it at Sam's club for like $8. You'd be hard up to find a leaner, cheaper, easier and more enjoyable source of protein.

I guess the only other thing I'd suggest would be oatmeal.

 

[spamsk8r]

Hard-boiled eggs. beef jerky, pickles.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Some of you have some really retarded suggestions. Dried food is almost worthless. Water = life. The cells in the fruit are more nutritious when they're alive and fresh (full of water, basically). It doesn't matter what it costs. Peanut butter, brown rice + beans, cold-milled oatmeal with preserves, chicken breasts are all really low cost and healthy. But, it also depends on each person's body what is digested more completely, and I also think variety is key. Just make it a variety of healthy foods. Healthy, tasty food is actually LESS expensive because you need to eat less of it to get the sustenance and be good to go. Do not eliminate a food from your cart just because it costs more than some cheap snack junk, that's just illogical.

Also, dried fruit is really, really expensive, and not a good suggestion for affordable, health foods. Fresh fruits are always more healthy and usually taste better. Frozen is second best.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Some of you have some really retarded suggestions. Dried food is almost worthless. Water = life. The cells in the fruit are more nutritious when they're alive and fresh (full of water, basically). It doesn't matter what it costs. Peanut butter, brown rice + beans, cold-milled oatmeal with preserves, chicken breasts are all really low cost and healthy. But, it also depends on each person's body what is digested more completely, and I also think variety is key. Just make it a variety of healthy foods. Healthy, tasty food is actually LESS expensive because you need to eat less of it to get the sustenance and be good to go. Do not eliminate a food from your cart just because it costs more than some cheap snack junk, that's just illogical.

Also, dried fruit is really, really expensive, and not a good suggestion for affordable, health foods. Fresh fruits are always more healthy and usually taste better. Frozen is second best.

I'm sorry, what? Most nutrients dry up just fine and return to an aqueous mixture when you moisten it with your own digestive juices. Dried fruit is just as healthy as fresh fruit. You can look up some of the resources. You must not understand how drying works. Things don't typically denature, they just dehydrate. When you put them in water, they're just as good all over again. Fruit doesn't magically go to crap, losing all of its fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants because you suck the water out of it. And what you're saying about good food being cheaper isn't true. As much as I'd like being healthy to be inexpensive, it's frequently not.

 

[Squirtmonster]

Anything with lots of protein is very filling and good for your muscles, and rice crackers are an inexpensive, healthy, and tasty way to keep off the unhealthy food as well.

 

[RFE]

Another suggestion: Whole Grain Oatmeal (Quaker Oats, not the 1 minute kind) mixed with lowfat or nonfat yogurt is pretty good and very filling. I don't bother cooking the oats, but thats entirely up to you.

 

[ElFenix]

if your dining halls were anything like mine you can basically snag as many apples/bananas/oranges as you want. just walk out with several.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

[edited for correctness]

You are so F'ing wrong.... haha - go back and read / re-evaluate what I said, sheeple-boy.

And, just 2 reasons why:
-junk food is advertised because the people who eat that crap are correlated to being the ones who believe advertisements and the media...
-your body doesn't just rely on calories. cheap food is empty calories + whatever cheap vitamins they add back to it. healthy food has many things not listed on the "Nutrition Facts" that are essential to exist and function.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Anything with lots of protein is very filling and good for your muscles, and rice crackers are an inexpensive, healthy, and tasty way to keep off the unhealthy food as well.

People need to stop thinking that protein is the answer to questions like this. Just to make a point, there is a recent study that shows too much protein causes diabetes, just like sugar...

rice cakes are NOT inexpensive. They're just processed chips, like any other chips... and rice is just carbs, unless it's brown rice which has some fiber. Pistachios are one of the most dense sources of fiber, but are somewhat pricey, like most nuts.

 

[irishScott]

Assuming you have a microwave, baked potatoes.