10 snacks for the stressed student

1. Frozen grapes
A good friend of mine who's constantly on a diet told me that grapes taste like sorbet when they're frozen. And he is absolutely right. I prefer frozen green table grapes to red, because the red ones don't have such a smooth consistency.

2. Bob's Red Mill Apple Strawberry Granola
I snack on these when I'm craving something chewy and sweet, but not too sweet. You can get it from Cold Storage outlets. I get mine from the Cold Storage at Ngee Ann City.

3. Toasted seaweed
One sheet is perfect for that salty craving.
I store the open packet in the chiller, but sometimes it still goes soft. When it does, heat up a pan and just place the sheet of nori on it. It'll become crisp straight away.

4. Yogurt popsicles
Adapted from one of Heidi Swanson's recipes in her book, Super Natural Cooking. I blended 3 cups of Greek yogurt with 8 ounces of mangoes and 3 teaspoons of vanilla extract, then sweetened the mix with honey diluted with a little hot water. Froze them in little plastic cups with ice cream sticks and they were the perfect cold treat. Swanson used acai berries puree in her recipe, but you can probably replace them with other types of berries, or sweet, soft fruit commonly used in smoothies like peaches and mangoes. If you're really lazy, then just use freeze store bought fruit yogurt. But don't forget the ice cream sticks!

5. Celery sticks with peanut butter
The combination sounds odd, but trust me when I say it's awesome. Organic peanut butter preferred. I favour Waitrose Smooth Organic Peanut Butter.

6. Heidi Swanson's Olive Oil Crackers
I threw sundried tomatoes and Italian herbs into the dough, and topped them with grated Parmesan or White Cheddar cheese. Delish, and so natural too.

7. Carrot, celery and cucumber sticks with ssamjang
Ssamjang is a spicy sauce Koreans eat together with meat. Here's the recipe I got from Maangchi's Korean recipes site.

To make ssamjang, combine these ingredients in a small bowl and mix them well:
1/4 cup soy bean paste
2 tbs hot pepper paste
1 stalk of chopped green onion
1 clove of minced garlic, 2 tsp honey or sugar (natural organic cane sugar if you have it!)
2 ts sesame seeds
1 tbs sesame oil

8. Carrot, celery and cucumber sticks with Thousand Island dressing
Chop a shallot and combine with store bought Thousand Island dressing. It's yummy but only for the desperate. When I'm stressed I get pretty desperate, so. :D

9. Kettle Chips Honey Dijon flavour
Not the healthiest of options either, but at least it's better than brands that are laden with transfat and preservatives.

10. Tempura sweet potatoes fried in olive oil
These are wonderful on their own, but even better when dipped into soy sauce. I like to think of them as a healthier alternative to McDonald's french fries. I could be wrong, but these taste so, so good.

I hope these help since exams are around the corner!