Student column: A tasty way to eat better

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There are many ways our society is trying to recommend healthier eating, thanks to First Lady Michelle Obama. For example, school cafeterias are getting healthier foods to feed to students. It seems like the lunch organizers tossed out all the junk food they used to sell and replaced it with healthy snacks. They are now offering more salads and sandwiches over pizza, and apples and oranges over cookies.

There are still those sugary things available, but they aren’t advertised as much and are more hidden in the back. But they try to make eating healthier taste good, so they also offer Nutri-Grain bars, which are better for you than candy bars.

Another example is fast food restaurants. You still don’t want to eat fast food often, but when you do, you now have the choice to order a salad instead of a burger.

In all these ways, people are trying to eat better and promote good health. I myself have tried to eat healthier and I’m noticing the benefits. For one example, I have a lot more energy than I used to. Yes, a candy bar can give you an instant sugar rush, but it quickly goes away. When you eat healthier, the energy stays with you for a lot longer than that.

Also, I find myself staying full longer. Junk food doesn’t fill you up or give you the nutrients you need. When you go for a healthier snack, you won’t feel as hungry and your body will get the nutrients you need. But eating healthier doesn’t mean you have to give up your favorite snacks. Sometimes just tweaking the ingredients is enough to make it healthier. Recently in my diet and lifestyle class at the high school, we made a muffin recipe with healthier ingredients than most muffins. When I bake these at my house, they are gone within days, if not hours. The recipe is for banana chocolate chip muffins. I am not a banana eater so I was hesitant to try it, but I was pleasantly surprised once I took a bite. This recipe is delicious and nutritious, and it proves that even healthy food can taste good. Enjoy.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Bake time: 22-25 minutes

Ingredients: 1 3/4 cup flour,3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1 tsp vanilla extract , 1 cup bananas (mashed, ripe), 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Procedure: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. This is the dry mixture. In another bowl, combine the egg, oil, yogurt, vanilla, and bananas. This is the wet mixture. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until just moistened. Pour in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffins cups until 3/4 full. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for five minutes before removing from pans.

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