You may have found your perfect spot to study at the many libraries on campus, but disrupting the peace may get you kicked out. Remain alert and avoid a hangry headache by packing a snack. According to The Tab, UW students average 8.7 hours a day studying (for finals). During study sessions, you will consume a lot of information. To retain knowledge, you need a high attention span, which requires energy. You can always go the super convenient junk food route, but you may hit a sugar rush and crash. We have outlined some delicious, satisfying, quiet snacks to pack for your next study session. Most of the recipes don’t require refrigeration and pack well in your bag. Pack some snacks to keep that spot next to the outlet and window!

5 Library-Friendly Snacks

Flourless Peanut-Chocolate Cookies

• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 20 mins
• Total: 30 mins
• Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Beat peanut butter, sugar, egg, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Mix in chocolate chips and peanuts.
2. With moistened hands, roll dough, about 1 heaping tablespoon at a time, into balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.
3. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden and puffed, 14 to 17 minutes. Let cool on sheets 5 minutes; transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

Easy & Smooth Hummus

• Total: 10 mins
• Servings: 6 servings
   

Ingredients:

• 15-ounce can chickpeas or 1 ½ cups (250 grams) cooked chickpeas
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) well-stirred tahini
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Salt to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoons (30 to 45 ml) water or aquafaba, see notes
• Dash ground paprika or sumac, for serving
• Cucumber slices for dipping

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the tahini and lemon juice and process for 1 minute, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process for 30 seconds more. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making the hummus smooth and creamy.
2. Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin, and a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl then process another 30 seconds or until well blended. Open, drain, and rinse the chickpeas. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor and process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining chickpeas and process until thick and quite smooth; 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until you reach the perfect consistency.
4. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Serve hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and dash of paprika. Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.

5-Ingredient Granola Bars

• Prep: 5 mins
• Chilling: 60 mins
• Total: 65 mins
• Servings: 10 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 heaping cup packed dates (pitted // deglet noor or medjool)*
• 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar (or honey if not vegan)
• 1/4 cup creamy salted peanut butter or almond butter
• 1 cup roasted unsalted almonds (loosely chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats (gluten-free for GF eaters)
• Chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, banana chips, vanilla, etc. (optional additions)

Directions:

1. Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (about 1 minute). It should form a “dough” like consistency.
2. Optional step: Toast your oats (and almonds if raw) in a 350-degree F (176 C) oven for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Otherwise, leave them raw.
3. Place oats, almonds and dates in a large mixing bowl – set aside.
4. Warm maple syrup (or agave or honey) and peanut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout.
5. Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8×8-inch baking dish or other small pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper so they lift out easily. (A loaf pan might work, but will yield thicker bars // adjust size of pan if altering batch size).
6. Press down firmly until uniformly flattened – I use something flat, like a drinking glass, to press down and really pack the bars, which helps them hold together better.
7. Cover with parchment or plastic wrap, and let firm up in fridge or freezer for 15-20 minutes.
8. Remove bars from pan and chop into 10 even bars (or 9 squares // as original recipe is written). Store in an airtight container for up to a few days. I kept mine in the freezer to keep them extra fresh, but it isn’t necessary.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

• Prep: 10 mins
• Cook: 45 mins
• Total: 55 mins
• Servings: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (1 cup)
• ½ cup coconut sugar or regular sugar
• ⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more for brushing
• ¼ cup almond milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
• ½ cup almond flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ cup chopped walnuts, plus 2 tablespoons for topping
• 1½ tablespoons rolled oats, for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and lightly grease the short sides of the pan where parchment isn’t touching.
2. In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas with the sugar, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla and whisk until combined.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until just combined, then fold in the walnuts.
5. Pour into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the chopped walnuts and oats.
6. Bake for 42 to 48 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean.

1-Minute Cookie Dough Greek Yogurt

• Total: 1-5 mins
• Servings: 1

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 tbs Peanut flour
• 1 tbs Sweetener of choice
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp Almond extract (optional)
• 1-2 tsp Chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

1. In a small-medium bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to eat. Top with chocolate chips if desired. Enjoy!

Other ideas:

• String cheese or Babybel
• Hard boiled eggs
• Dried Fruit
• Jerky
• Oatmeal
• Granola bars
• Yogurt