Staying focused and getting school work done can be hard enough on its own without the added aggravation of a hungry stomach and the dreaded “freshman 15.” Here are a few recipes and ideas to keep that tummy quiet, your mind on your work and the pounds off by making your own home-made snacks and staying away from the 7-Eleven and vending machines.

The very best thing to do is to eat breakfast. Although it is easy to get busy and forget about breakfast, John Rampton, entrepreneur and investor, believes that there are many benefits involved with eating a morning meal. Not only is breakfast good for your overall health, eating breakfast can also improve your memory and boost your energy.

Homemade granola consisting of oats, honey and a variety of nuts is a great, quick breakfast go-to if you’re running short on time. Granola is great to eat on its own and can be easily added to yogurt to make a parfait or to any hot or cold cereal to give it that extra flavor and crunch.

No-bake workout bars are another great energy boosting snack that can be enjoyed any time of day. With more oats, chocolate chips and peanut butter, this snack will not only be good for you, but it tastes great as well.

Fresh fruit and veggies are also an option for healthy snacking. Any smoothie recipe or a low-fat yogurt dip gives a fresh and tasty twist to the fresh fruit snack. Fruit snacks can satisfy a sweet tooth. For veggie lovers and non-veggie lovers alike, a great tasting ranch dip will make those veggies taste so good that you will wonder if they are really good for you.

For the ever-so-tempting salt craving, Nutty Pretzel Wands are a salty treat that are sure to get your taste buds going. These pretzel sticks are dipped in peanut butter and rolled in your favorite nuts, with dried fruit optional.

Caramel popcorn is a delicious snack that combines the salty with the sweet. Popcorn covered in butter and honey and then tossed in pecans make this snack easy and quick to make at home. Store two-cup portions of mixture in Ziploc bags for convenient snacking on the go.

All of these recipes are great to make in advance and for on-the-go snacking, but what about those days where you don’t have the time, motivation or energy? For those days and all others, there is a great website designed for students by students who understand all of ins and outs of college life called studentrecipes.com. With recipe categories like “Busy People” and “for one,” there is sure to be something for every student.

Now when that grumble starts in your stomach, you will have a few recipes and ideas to keep you on track.