I don’t know about you, but as a college student I always find myself exhausted no matter the time of day. In the past, I would try to remedy this feeling by buying myself multiple cups of coffee throughout the day. However, I would often find myself extremely jittery for the rest of the day - which is never a fun feeling. This semester I have been experimenting with these 5 different energy-increasing recipes in order to skip the jittery feeling. Some of these recipes are easier to make in your dorm room than others, but I recommend giving each of them a try if you are looking to maintain energy without having to commit to a cup coffee each day.
1. Peanut Butter Energy Balls
Ingredients:
1 cup of Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
½ cup of Peanut butter
¼ cup of Dark Chocolate Chips
¼ cup of Agave
1 teaspoon Vanilla
¼ cup of your choice of protein powder
Pinch of Salt
Instructions:
1. Place all ingredients into a medium bowl and stir to combine
2. Place the bowl with contents into the fridge for 45 minutes to firm up the dough
3. Take dough out of the fridge and roll into balls of about 1 tablespoon in size
4. Store the energy balls in the fridge
I love these snacks because they are easy to grab on the go and are so, so delicious! The protein powder and rolled oats in these snack balls make you feel more full and helps you feel energetic throughout the day.
2. Homemade Cereal
Ingredients:
½ cup of Rolled Old Fashioned Oats
¼ cup of your choice of Ezekiel Sprouted Cereal
⅔ cup of Vanilla Almond Milk
⅓ cup of a mix of berries (Raspberries, Black Berries, Blueberries)
Instructions:
1. Place ½ cup of oats and ¼ cup of Ezekiel Sprouted Cereal at the bottom of a bowl
2. Pour ⅔ cup of almond milk over the bowl contents
3. Top with the ⅓ cup of mixed berries
The fruit in this homemade cereal is your secret ingredient to having more energy throughout the day!
3. Blueberry and Banana Power Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup of frozen blueberries
1 cut up ripe banana
1 ½ cups of vanilla almond milk
½ cup of spinach
1 (30 gram) scoop of chocolate protein powder
1 tablespoon of agave
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Instructions:
1. Measure out and put 1 cup of frozen blueberries in your blender
2. Cut up and place 1 banana in blender
3. Pour 1 ½ cups of almond milk over blender contents
4. Put 1 cup of fresh spinach in blender
5. Pour 1 scoop of Chocolate Protein powder over contents
6. Top with 1 tablespoon of agave and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
7. Blend contents together and ENJOY!
4. Eggs and Avocado Toast
Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 slices of whole grain bread
1 ripe avocado
Garlic Salt or Everything But The Bagel seasoning from Trader Joes
Sriracha Sauce
Instructions:
1. Place a frying pan on medium heat and spray with nonstick olive oil spray and crack and place one egg on each side of the pan.
2. As you are cooking the eggs, toast each piece of bread until desired color
3. Put garlic salt or EBTB seasoning on the eggs to taste and cook until golden on each side
4. Cut up your ripe avocado and remove the pit. Place the avocado in a small bowl and use a fork to mash the avocado up
5. Place on desired scoop size of mashed avocado on each piece of toast and top with seasoning to taste
6. Place one egg on each piece of toast and top with Sriracha sauce to taste
Eggs provide protein to have long last energy!
5. Spinach and Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients:
1 bag of instant rice and quinoa mix
3 cups of fresh spinach
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 can of chickpeas
Garlic Salt
Instructions:
1. Heat bag of instant rice and quinoa in microwave
2. In a frying pan place 1 teaspoon of olive oil over medium heat and place 3 cups of fresh spinach in the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes until all the spinach is wilted.
3. Place cooked rice and quinoa mixture and cooked spinach in a large bowl
4. Drain 1 can of chickpeas and pour contents into mixture of grains and spinach
5. Stir the contents together and add garlic salt to taste and Enjoy !
I find that each of these recipes give me a long lasting full feeling along with energy without the coffee jitters. Hopefully you are inspired to put down the coffee cup and to start making these five simple and delicious recipes to give you the energy you need to crush life as a college student!