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I have to be honest, when I am at school I miss the food my mom makes. I mean of course I miss it because it requires absolutely no effort on my part, but also because some foods are just better when mom makes them. They are comforting and make me feel like I am a little kid again. I don’t care how much I am teased for still eating the foods I ate when I was little I will never give up grilled cheese sandwiches, pizza, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I have just made some healthier modifications. ☺
Healthy Grilled Cheese
Ingredients
2 piece of Wheat or healthy Bread
1 piece of cheese
1-2 slices of tomatoes
Directions
Take 2 pieces of bread and toast them in a toaster.
When the bread pops up place a piece of cheese in between the bread and let the heat melt the cheese and then it’s done!
Add a slice of tomato. It’s easy to take the sandwich apart to place inside.

Number of Servings: 1

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user HEALTHY4JESUS

Healthy Peanut Butter and Jelly Alternative
Healthier Snack-Sized PB and J Alternative
First, start with one slice of 100% whole grain bread that has:
• 1 gram fat
• 132 milligrams sodium
• 12 grams carbohydrates
• 1 gram protein
• 2 grams fiber
• 70 calories
Add one tablespoon of strawberry spread (without sugar, just fruit and juice) for:
• No fat
• 10 grams carbohydrates
• 40 calories
Finish the sandwich with one tablespoon of reduced-fat peanut butter that has:
• 5 grams of fat
• 86 milligrams sodium
• 3 grams carbohydrates
• 6 grams of protein
• 1 gram of fiber
• 83 calories
Compliments to Shereen Jegtvig
http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutritionforchildren/a/pbj.htm

By Elizabeth Hernandez

I am lucky to say that “dorm life” for me has long been over. I have been living in my own apartment off-campus for the past 2 years and let me just say; it has its advantages and disadvantages. I attended Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina when I lived in the dorms and the one good thing about that was “The Commons.” This was a student cafeteria that offered just about any kind of food you wanted. There was the “southern” section which consisted of fried chicken, grits, waffles, etc. Healthy huh? Then there was the pizza section, the salad bar, main courses, breakfast for dinner, and build-your-own sandwiches. I had an unlimited meal plan which most students did as well and there was even a late night menu. Plus it was within a few feet of my dorm.
It was so easy to turn down the salad bar and go straight to the unhealthy stuff; the French fries, the chicken, the hushpuppies. How do you turn that down? Easy. When you go to put on your favorite pair of jeans and you can no longer zip them up. Embarrassingly enough, this happened to me and many other girls in my hall. So my roommate and I decided to buy healthier snacks and started finding ways to make our own food minus the deep frying, heavy butter, and extra fat. I offer you some healthy techniques the next time you are going to your university’s version of “The Commons” just so you don’t have to invest in new jeans!
1. Don’t be so opposed to the salad bar. It is so easy to walk away from the green leafy lettuce and fresh vegetables, but try to give it a chance. Try spicing up your salad by adding fresh cut turkey or grilled chicken breast. Be experimental with your salad.
2. Always eat breakfast-Haven’t you heard breakfast jump starts your metabolism? Well it is true. Instead of pouring sugary syrup all over your pancakes try a scoop of yogurt on them or some fresh fruit. Also make a simple adjustment to skim or 1% milk for your cereal rather than whole milk.
3. WATER, WATER, WATER!- It is so easy to just go up to the soda machine especially when there are free refills, but do you even need the explanation on how healthy soda is? One glass of water before every meal. Majority of the time you feel hungry, you are usually thirsty. So when you drink a glass of water before a meal you won’t eat as much. If the bubbly carbonation is just too much to give up… Try regular soda water.

The healthy snacks always taste the worst! I mean who wants sugar-free, fat-free cookies? It defeats the purpose. Plus it doesn’t even taste real. While experimenting with many brands and different snacks these were my personal favorites that didn’t make me feel like cardboard would have been a better option. ☺
1. Cookie Fix? Fig Newmans-These are a healthier alternative with less sugar and organic ingredients. They also offer a fat-free variety of flavors.
2. Salt Fix? Whole Grain Goldfish- “The snack that smiles back,” is still smiling. Everything you loved about Goldfish before you will still love now. Believe me. One serving of Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain Goldfish Crackers (55 crackers) contains only 140 calories, 5 grams of total fat, 20 grams of total carbohydrates and 4 grams of protein. Unlike regular Goldfish, they contain 2 grams of fiber.
3. Something sweet? General Mills Fiber One Bars- Surprisingly these taste just like the original chocolate chip granola bars I ate when I was a kid. My favorite flavor is the oats and chocolate or the chocolate mocha. (Note: Do not consume more than one of these a day… Think FIBER. I learned the hard way. haha)
4. Also any of the 100 calorie snacks.

By Elizabeth Hernandez