This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at McGill chapter.

Rumor (and, quite frankly, experience) has it that students tend to put on weight towards the end of the semester. Sure, with all the papers due and exams to cram for, all-nighters and late night snacking become inevitable. And before you know it you no longer fit into your favorite jeans, and find yourself thinking about spending the entire holiday season in onesies.

If you’re anything like me, even the thought of depriving yourself of sweets for the sake of weight control is too painful to bear. These are trying times; you need all the motivation, all the energy, and, possibly, all the chocolate in the world to function. So this upcoming finals season, save yourself the regret of a Tim Horton’s doughnut and try these super easy and quick healthy snack ideas from the YouTuber Tess Christine.

Mini Peanut Butter-and-Banana Sandwiches (with a side of apples)

I know this is a classic, but its so delicious and it’s definitely better for you than any of the packaged snacks you will find in the vending machines in McLennan cafeteria. Take a banana or two and cut them into slices (make sure you have even amounts). Take small amounts of peanut butter and place them on half of the pieces, and put the bare pieces on top. So easy and simple! If you want to go the extra mile, you can even dip these cute little sandwiches into dark chocolate, let them sit in the freezer, and you’ll have yourself a yummy desert!

If you’re allergic to peanut butter, you can try this recipe with almond butter. And if you’re not a banana type of gal, you can go for apple slices which taste just as good with both peanut butter and almond butter.

Carrot Sticks and Hummus

If you need to satisfy your crunchy craving, try some carrot sticks with hummus instead of reaching for potato chips. For those of you who haven’t tried hummus, it is pureed chickpeas and has a number of heath benefits such as promoting weight loss and reducing belly fat!

Chocolate chip cookie popsicles

This one is for those of you who need their daily dose of chocolate. All you need is popsicle molds, some coconut milk, unrefined coconut sugar, unsweetened almond milk, vanilla extract (or honey) and cacao nibs. Take one and half cups of coconut milk and three-fourths cup of almond milk, and put them into a saucepan. Add one half cup of unrefined coconut sugar along with one tablespoon of vanilla extract (or honey). Turn your stove on to low and continue stirring the mixture until all of the sugar is dissolved.

Next, take your popsicle molds and fill their bottoms with cacao nibs (I recommend filling them about a fourth of the way up the bottom). Fill the popsicle molds with the mixture from the sauce pan, and put them in the freezer for an hour until they’re semi-frozen. Don’t forget to pull them out to put their tops on with the sticks to hold, and put them back in the freezer so that they freeze to be completely solid. Do this overnight, and start your morning with these delicious popsicles to get you going!

Avocado and Egg Sandwich

Not only is this sandwich a great pick-me-up snack, but it’s also a great breakfast alternative! Take 2 slices of bread and toast them (you can skip this step if you don’t own a toaster). Next, cut up your avocado and spread it on one of the pieces of bread. Then move on to cooking your egg. I suggest you cook them over easy so that it’s easier to put in your sandwich. You can take this sandwich to the library with you – just make sure to warm it up before eating if you’re not a fan of cold eggs!

Happy snacking!

Images obtained from:

Author’s own

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHEFWOanqqI

Information obtained from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smK9E6lcYaE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPVZxhMwMlE&feature=iv&src_vid=0lMw7LfQqlw&annotation_id=annotation_2926343587

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHEFWOanqqI

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/12-surprising-health-benefits-hummus-that-make-even-more-irreplaceable.html