Student food
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a snack. The term student food is more commonly used to refer generally to food stereotypically eaten by university students. Financial and time constraints lead many students to prefer foods that are cheap, filling and quick and easy to prepare, sometimes without much regard for the nutritional value (junk food). Typical examples include ready-made microwave meals of all varieties, take-away food, Pot Noodles and baked beans.
Student food is a colloquial term for a snack consisting of a loose mixture of nuts (typically walnuts, cashew nuts, brazilnuts, hazelnuts and almonds) and raisins. The term is a translation of the German Studentenfutter and derives from alleged academic performance benefits achieved by those eating nuts and raisins.
Short-term performance benefits may derive from the fact that this high-energy snack combines rapidly digested carbohydrates from dried fruits with longer lasting fat from nuts plus the rich mix of vitamins and trace elements found in any fruit. Long-term benefits in academic performance have been associated with a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in nuts.
Similar mixes with additional ingredients, where the aim is more energy rather than omega-3 fatty acid content, are known as trail mixes, gorp or scroggin.
