So we are in a little bit of a predicament, my friends. On the one hand, summer is almost here, meaning bikinis, boats, and (hopefully) cute boys to hang out with in said bikinis on said boats. On the other hand, summer is almost here (wah wah), meaning we are not only spending these weeks studying our little (or big) badonk-a-donks off, but any moment not spent studying (or stress eating) is spent drinking with our pals because hey, we only have a few more weeks left and we want to remember all those good times we spent drinking together until we didn’t remember drinking together. Ah, those times are the greatest. I think.

The only problem is that situation numero dos (the drinking/not remembering eating that entire pizza at 2am) doesn’t help us out with situation number one (bikinis and fitting our booties into one).

When we drink (and we all know this by now), we’re not only consuming a ton of calories from our friend the frozen marg, but much like that fabulous children’s book “If You Give A Moose A Muffin,” if you give me a tequila shot, I’m going to want some mac and cheese/pizza/other late night snack to go with it. And that means may-jor (Rachel Zoe voice) extra fat and calories.

Unless you have some healthier versions of your favorite tasty treats up your sleeve, which – yay! – I do.  I’ve spent some time playing around my kitchen and come up with a trusty arsenal of late night foods that satisfy the late night craving minus the late night calories. Seems too good to be true? Well, whip these up in your kitchen (or dorm room) and you’ll realize that it’s not!

Mac & Cheese:
1 pack of Tofu Shirataki noodles
2-3 wedges of Laughing Cow Cheese (any flavor)

Strain the noodles, warm them in the microwave and mix in the cheese until it gets all gooey and mac and cheesy. Benefit aside from the lo cal count (these “noodles” have about 40 calories in an entire package!)? This recipe is easy enough to make while wasted.

“Pasta”
Okay so by pasta, I mean not pasta. Take any leftover or frozen veggies (I love broccoli or cauliflower), heat them up (oven, stove top or microwave depending on your level of sobriety) and toss them in some tomato sauce and a little Parmesan and you get the taste of pasta minus the muffin top. It’s a win-win.

Sweet Potato “fries”
Take one large sweet potato and slice into thin rounds, toss in a little bit of olive oil, sea salt and paprika, throw on a cooking sheet and bake for about 35 minutes.

“Chocolate” bark
I’ve written before about the amazing benefits of coconut oil - it’s really great for ya! Now I’m going to use it and give you the satisfaction of chocolate….in a healthy way! Note: Make before you go out so you can just nom nom nom when you get home.

1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 packets of Stevia
1/2 tablespoon of agave (optional)

Mix the cocoa powder and Stevia, then add in the melted coconut oil. Pour onto a cookie sheet or into cupcake holders and freeze. Feel free to add a few drops of a Stevia flavor to make it even better, but you won’t need it. This stuff is decadent and tasty and will hit the late night spot.

Peanut butter
Sometimes late at night, I like to eat peanut butter on a spoon. Sometimes with jelly. Sometimes with chocolate chips and sometimes just by itself. It’s true. and it’s good, But it’s not the healthiest of late night snacks. Swap out peanut butter for Better ‘n Peanut Butter as a healthier alternative while still getting that PB taste. (It has only 100 calories per tablespoon!)  It’s especially tasty on a whole wheat pita with sliced banana on top!

For even more healthy alternatives to your favorite unhealthy snacks, click here. And if you’ve got a favorite “late night snack” swap, share it with the rest of us below! 

[Everyone’s got a morning after story (though most don't involve a large group of potential sorority sisters) and we wanna hear yours! Send it over to us and we’ll post it – anonymously, of course – right here!]

I love it when universities appreciate the modern college student: we wake up early, we work all day, we study hard, and we sleep late. Oh, and we like to party. Maybe not exactly like they do on Jersey Shore, but we party nonetheless.

So once a year, these universities plan a day – just one whole day a year – where they encourage even the most studious to stumble into class a little tipsy and the most punctual to skip their classes altogether. They do so by providing good food, fun games, inflatable obstacle courses and performances by headlining artists like Sean Kingston, Sara Bareilles, B.o.B, and Drake. It’s all for free and always begins on a Friday around noon. Which means the proper hydration process begins in the morning, if not the previous Thursday night.

This particular year, I woke up late. I had to make up for lost time, so it was a good thing my friends and I soaked pineapple slices in rum and vodka for the past 24 hours. (My mother always taught me to plan ahead….) We went to my boyfriend’s place just off-campus to pre-party before the big party. At least that was the plan. Unfortunately, those pineapples were a bit stronger than anyone thought and the next thing we all knew it was hours later, we were still sitting in my boyfriend’s living room, and we’d missed every single show.

But that was okay (at least to my drunk ass); we had a California Pizza Kitchen barbecue pizza in the freezer, and after an entire day of quenching my thirst, I was hungry.

I unwrapped that frozen deliciousness, popped it into the oven, and sat down on the couch as I waited for it to bake.

And then we all fell asleep.

Fast forward to the next morning when my boyfriend and I woke up in a fit of coughing to a room FULL of smoke. (Wow, way to not change your batteries in those smoke detectors, boyfriend). I started screaming and running wildly around the living room. Unable to see anything, I tripped over the coffee table and fell to the ground.

My boyfriend, on the other hand, kept his wits about him and proceeded to the kitchen. There he discovered the remnants of a burnt pizza inside the once-white oven that was now charred black. THANK GOD the oven blew the fuse of his entire apartment instead of setting it on fire altogether. Though you wouldn’t know it; that place smelled burnt and crispy for another month.

Next time, we’ll be ordering pizza.

[You think that's bad? Check out our other cringe-worthy Morning After stories.]

There’s so much I love about drinking: it helps me forget about stress and schoolwork, it makes everything that happens so much funnier, and it’s fun to do outside when it’s nice out. (…and inside when it’s crappy out. And in the morning. And in the night. And on Mondays.) And those crappy Black Eyed Peas songs you usually can’t stand? Total fist pumpers! Not to mention the hilarious piecing together that happens the morning after.

All your problems seem to melt away when you’re on the dance floor with your girlfriends, double Long-Island in hand, but all that goodness doesn’t come without a price. And I’m not talking about the $65 bar tab you discover in the morning. Us experienced college gals know that sometimes the fun doesn’t last past last call. Alas, the downsides of drinking…

1. Boys
For us single ladies, anything that happens with the opposite sex while intoxicated is bad. (Almost as bad as my drunk dance moves to “Single Ladies.” Note to self: You do not look/sing/dance like Beyonce. ) A dancefloor make-out is always fun, but should you really go back to his apartment and risk an embarrassing walk of shame the next morning? And why do we always insist on texting that guy that we swore to our sober selves we’d never in a million years text again? And how on earth did we remember his phone number even though we took it out of our phones last weekend? WHY DID WE INVITE HIM OVER?

2. Tears
Drunk tears are the WORST. And most often they have to do with #1. Although, they have also been known to stem from friends, acquaintances, mean bartenders, or discovering the burrito place is closed when all you want is a big, fat one. A few strong drinks + something (anything) to tip us off = Niagra Falls of the Face. And without waterproof mascara, well, it ain’t pretty.

3. Food
Get one (yes, one!) drink in me and I can’t remember the daily workouts/salads that plague me all week long. Suddenly I not only want, but need, to eat an entire pizza by myself. Or break into my roommate’s cookie supply and polish off a whole sleeve of Oreos. That may or may not be dipped in frosting. Or ranch. Or whatever I can get my paws on.

4. Dance moves
I took a few dance classes back in the day, but a few cranberry vodkas deep I mistakenly believe I am the sexiest possible fusion of a Rockette and a seasoned stripper. Hair twirling, dropping all the way to the floor, dancing with a boy with less than two feet touching the ground, you name it, I’ve done it (and I’m not the only one!). I’m sure I look ridiculous to anyone who remembers, but I just can’t kick the dance-floor habit.

5. Hangovers
The ultimate suckiest consequence of a long night of drinking. No matter how many Advil we pop, pizzas we eat or glasses of water we chug before bed, we just can’t seem to avoid it. More often than not, we wake up with a pounding headache, can’t see straight, and spend at least 20 minutes trying to figure out how to get last night’s mistake out of our bed before we puke. And then sitting in lecture when the room is spinning and our stomach is churning? Vom.

Sigh. Even though all 5 of these things plagued me this morning last weekend alone, I know I’ll still be hitting up happy hour later… When will we ever learn?!

Whoops, sorry thighs.

Don’t hang your head for too long, though; this recent article is shedding some light (and great effing news) on the subject. After conducting a study with almost 20,000 women, it states “those who drank more actually ended up weighing less over the course of 13 years.”

No that is not a typo; that does say LESS!!

Although I wanted to go buy a Margarita at Chevy’s immediately after hearing this, it’s a little hard to believe. You mean a Margarita a day keeps the thunder thighs away? Maybe not, but here are some other reasons we think this could be true.

Dancing burns calories
Toss back a few drinks and you want to dance for the rest of your life. You’re apt to ‘mixing it up’ and busting out new dance moves to impress the crowd. You are Tina Turner. Your dance partner is Prince. The dance floor is your stage, the DJ your own personal SirMixAlot. That sweat pouring down your face and taking your bronzer with it is no big deal. If this workout sesh doesn’t burn off all those beer calories, I don’t know what will.

Less pre-drunk eating
We never want to eat within 3 hours of drinking so we can get drunk faster, thus ingesting less calories and spending less money (double score!). And that 3-hour late night Nacho-Fest doesn’t count because, well, you haven’t eaten in 7 hours and you’ve been dancing all night. And besides, you didn’t drink too much in the first place so it all evens out in the end.

More post-drunk action
The late night makeout session with your boyfriend (or new friend) after drinking not only keeps you from indulging in a large Domino’s pizza all by your lonesome, but also burns some major calories. Especially after a few vodka tonics and you feel like you were reincarnated as Jenna Jameson. All those fancy new moves, the strip tease, and doing it all again a few hours later is one. major. workout.

The Next Day is sprinkled with guilt
Sunday morning is usually infested with post-drinking guilt. “You mean I had that many shooters? You can find me at the gym for five hours.” You try to burn off as many calories as you can, and leave the workout room smelling like vodka-sweat. It may be gross, but some of my best workout sessions really do come after a long a night of drinking.

I’m willing to bet you won’t hear it from Dr.Oz, but you heard it from me – more drinking means more weight loss.  Why do you think they call it a six pack?!

Shots. Shots. Shots shots shots shots!

Let’s be honest: drinking is fun. So fun, in fact, you’re probably nursing a hangover right now so you can get the party started again in a few short hours. Everything is just so much more exciting when you’ve got a couple vodka sodas in your (carb-loaded) belly. Songs are better. Food tastes better. The weirdo guys from your Poli Sci class look better.

But somehow, no matter how much you drink, that sloppy drunk girl is still really effing annoying.

Yeah, a drunken Friday night (or Tuesday afternoon) is a wonderful thing, but there are a few downsides that come with it. This week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to weigh in on their biggest drinking pet peeves. You know you’ve got some too; share them below!

Norah – Drake University: I absolutely hate when drunk girls commandeer the iPod and play country songs all night. Your drunk singalong is nowhere near as cute as you think it is…and the rest of us just want to dance.

Brittany – University of Saint Thomas: My ability to miraculously “drunk delete” sent text messages before I am able to re-evaluate the embarrassment in the morning.  You would think it would be relieving to my ego, but there’s nothing there to explain that “What??” text from my crush in the morning. Great.

Meg – University of Delaware: My biggest drinking pet peeve are my friends who like to fight when they’re drunk. I get sick of saying “Of courrrrrrse she’s not as pretty as you are. Don’t be ridiculous!” or “Are you serious? Of course you could kick his ass! But lets go inside instead…”

Nina – Michigan State University: Three words: “I’m SOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo drunkkkk!” No need to tell me – it’s annoyingly clear already.

Ricki – University of Michigan: The annoying girl who always tags along on your plans and NEVER brings her own alcohol

Sarabeth – University of Texas: I hate, hate, HATE it when drunk guys start arguing at parties. Last week, there was a guy arguing that if Texas should secede from the U.S. Idiot.

Emmy – Loyola University Chicago: Ugh, I hate how the more I drink, the more likely I am to accidentally hook up with some random. Oh, and how I have absurd drunk late night cravings for sushi…

Kelly – University of Iowa: Definitely when people can’t control their bodily functions when drinking. On New Year’s Eve, one guy threw up everywhere, pooped his pants, and peed on a group of sleeping people. Classy.

Erica – Kent State University: The morning after paranoia..especially when you’re waking up in an unfamiliar place or without an article of clothing.

Sara C – Fordham: I can’t stand the morning after when people try to make being hungover a contest. “Oh yeah? I’m so hungover I microwaved my ice pack because I thought it was a breakfast sandwich!” Ew. Stop. The stupidity isn’t cute the next day.

Jessica – Hofstra: Throwing my diet out the window as soon as I have one beer. Frozen mac and cheese? Yes please. BBQ chips? Yes! Nacho cheese Dorritos on a buttered roll? HELL YEAH.

Ness – Sheridan: Waking up the next morning with that “oh no, what happened??” feeling.

Samantha – UC Santa Barbara: When you pregame for nothing, i.e. when you go out and find out that all the parties suck.

Zahra – Northwestern University: I hate when people get drunk and use it as an excuse to obsess over something for the night. No, I don’t want to hear your thirteenth theory on why that hot guy didn’t call you back, thanks.

Alex – Lakehead University: I have one friend who gets so sloppy that she can’t even stand up. Most nights I end up with my arms crooked under her armpits, supporting her entire body weight by 1am.

Jessica – Delaware: The next day cleanup.  I hate walking into the living room to 1,000 half-empty beer cans, shot glasses, bottles that are 3/4 full yet the caps are nowhere to be found. And the smell. Ugh.

Charlsie – Hollins: My biggest pet peeve when it comes to drinking is the sloppy walk-through of a frat house that usually involves getting Solo cups of beer or sangria all over my shoes or shirts. I can’t even begin to count all the shirts that have been ruined because someone walked by with sangria and spilled it on me. I’ll admit though, I’ve been guilty of this too!

Lauren H – The New School: How guys seem to think that they’re really great at sex when they’re drunk when in reality it’s like getting my groove on with a wet sponge when all I really want is to sleep anyway.

"She's gonna get fat."

As college students, we are constantly inundated with new knowledge. It can be useful, thought-provoking, or crammed into our head on a Starbucks-fueled binge several hours before an exam. However, very rarely do we question the validity of all this new knowledge (unless you take philosophy classes, then you’ll question away).

That’s where College Candy comes in. We’re not going to debate whether or not the Theory of Relativity actually exists (a disappointment, I know, but I’m a communications major and stopped taking science classes after Baby Bio fresh year). However, we are here to thoroughly investigate the most widespread college knowledge (no, not rhyming): the myth.

Alright guys, I’m gonna level with you: I’m a big fan of the brewskies. I like Sam Adams Pumpkin Ale, Sweetwater 420, the occasional stein of Newcastle, and the slightly more frequent funnel full of Bud Light. I particularly like that I can drink copious amounts of beer without the consequences that would come from drinking the same amount of vodka, water & lime. Most of all, I like that beer lends itself easily to day-drinking.

What I don’t like about beer (besides how much it makes me want to sing drinking songs) is that it makes me fat.

It’s not even the eventual, slowly-creeping-towards-your-thighs fat. It’s like an immediate, “I’m so carbonated and delicious and I’m going to make you so full you can’t suck in anymore” variety of fat. So it’s no wonder that beer contributes majorly to the Freshman 15, right? Ehh, yes and no.

The typical 12 ounce beer has around 150 calories. So obviously, each one you drink adds to your bottom line of calorie intake. The more calories you consume without burning them off, the more weight you’re gonna gain (I know, it’s all very scientific). But if you carefully measure out your Stairmaster time to counteract the beer pong tournament you plan on winning later and you’re still gaining weight, it might not be Natty Light’s fault.

A strange thing happens when I drink beer. Come the end of the party/night/gameday/Happy Hour, I feel this strange magnetic force pulling me in the direction of anywhere that serves cheese fries. I’m not the only one, right?  Ok, good.

Beer, while awesome, still has alcohol in it (actually I’m pretty sure that’s what makes it awesome). Alcohol has this sneaky, two pronged approach to weight gain. In and of itself, it’s a highly caloric waste of nutritional value. On top of that, it lowers inhibitions. So not only are you more likely to make out with that guy who dressed up as a Smurf for Halloween (my best friend is still trying to get the blue body paint off of her sheets), you’re more likely to think that a Big Mac is totally worth blowing your day of careful eating and yoga. And it might not stop at the Big Mac, because we all know McDonald’s is a gateway drug to pizza and Lucky Charms.

So, while beer will make you gain weight (without exercise and self-control), another often-overlooked aspect of weight gain is beer’s BFF, Drunk Eating. The best way to avoid gaining a beer gut that isn’t even beer? Don’t stock your fridge with unhealthy crap, keep snacks in pre-portioned containers or bags, and for the love of all that is holy do not ask the cab driver to stop at Taco Bell on the way home! Instead, eat a good dinner with complex carbs and protein on nights you know you’re goin’ out big. Good judgment before 5 rounds of flip cup might just ensure better judgment after you are dubbed queen of the first try flip.

You goin’ out tonight? Gonna hit the town and celebrate that final final? You gonna get so drunk that the only thing on your mind at the end of the night is gooey, cheesy and totally bad for you?

Me too!

But before you a make poor decision that involves you and the delivery places you clearly have on speed dial, read on. There are some snacks out there that are just not worth eating, no matter how many Vodka Red Bulls you’ve downed in honor of the end of History 240. Things you will regret more in the morning than last weekend’s romp with the History 240 T.A. Assuming all that fat and grease doesn’t prevent you from making it to the morning…

Domino’s Bread Bowl Pasta.

Not sure why you would want to eat this, as it both looks and sounds nauseating. But in case your taste buds aren’t satisfied with noodles alone and they long for a massive tub of soggy bread to soak up all the caloric goodness, just remember… NOT TO LISTEN TO THEM! No really– stay far, far away from this god-awful, heart-attack inducing concoction. I mean, who really needs to eat the bowl!? The giant serving of cheesy, creamy, fatty pasta isn’t enought?

It’s just gross. End of story.

Pizza Hut’s P’zone Pizza.

Described as: “Over a pound of toppings and cheese baked into a folded pizza crust!” I’m pretty sure that translates to: “Over a pound of extra fat stuffed into a pair of skinny jeans!”

Taco-Bell’s Nachos BellGrande.

Any food item with the word “grande” in it should most likely (as in, most definitely) be avoided. Unless it’s from Starbucks. You may think it’s not so bad – it’s  prepared with reduced fat sour cream! – but don’t be fooled. Low fat toppings or not,with 760 calories and 1300 mg of sodium (60% of your daily value of salt packed into one snack….er….fourthmeal!) this is a baaaad late night choice.

KFC Chicken and Biscuit Bowl.

(I think I just puked). Imagine of the four unhealthiest food items: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cheese, and biscuits. Now pile them on top of one another, smother the stuff in gravy, and whad’ya get? Something you should probably never eat.

Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust Pizzas.

If pizza itself isn’t a bad enough choice for curing (or provoking) the munchies, try pizza with extra cheese literally “stuffed” into the crust. The pie is apparently packed with melted cheese in the crust “so that the last bite is as good as the first.” Yea…so the last bite is as good, and fatty, as the first one. Two (of those very small Pizza Hut) slices have 800 calories. And if that wasn’t harmful enough, just imagine those grease burns you’ll get when that sh*t drips down your arms. Probably not the best choice during bikini season. Or ever.

Jill and Lauren discuss this…the morning after a particularly long night. Please excuse their hot mess-ness.

[To see the last installment of CC TV, click here.]

So, let’s bring it all out in the open. Right here. Because you are not alone - we’ve all been there before.]

You woke up early to work out before class. After an hour on the elliptical and thirty minutes in the weight room (20 of which were spent staring at the dudes at the bench press), you head home to get ready for your day. You shower, throw on a pair of jeans, and grab a yogurt and some fruit on the way out the door.

For lunch you eat a salad (with the dressing on the side), and an huge glass of water.

Your afternoon snack is a Ziploc baggie filled with Kashi and, if you really need it, a Grande coffee with 2 pumps of Sugar Free Vanilla from Starbucks.

For dinner you have a veggie burger and a baked potato. You treat yourself to a can of Diet Coke. You feel full and satisfied; all this healthy eating and living isn’t really as hard as you were expecting it to be!

While you are downing the last of your D.C. your roommate runs into the room and invites you to the bar.

“Come onnnnnn. Pleaaaase? I don’t wanna go aloooooone. I promise it will be fun. I’ll buy you drinksssss!”

You weren’t planning on going (in fact you were planning on laying in bed and watching Sister Act 2 with a bag of Smart Pop Kettle Korn), but she looks so pathetic…and you wouldn’t mind having a drink.

So, you go. And one Vodka and Soda (a very low calorie beverage) leads to two, which leads to shots, which lead to cigarettes, which lead to beers. Eventually you are too drunk to make good decisions and all that hard work you did all week is out the window. Even that dance you did to “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” can’t touch the calories you just ingested.

And then it gets worse.

When you get home you remember that whole healthy living thing you’ve been doing. You beeline to the kitchen for some carrot sticks, but it only takes one bite to realize that carrot sticks are the last thing a drunk person wants to eat. You try some whole wheat toast (ew), a bowl of cereal (nope), and even some salty pretzels (make you want to vom).

Then your roommate’s pizza gets delivered. It smells so good. Mmmm, look at that gooey cheese.

Before you know what you are doing, you are elbow deep in cheese and sauce, and dipping breadsticks into Ranch dressing. It is over in a minute, but the damage is done: 3 slices of pizza and 4 breadsticks. You begin to feel guilty (even though you know it was totally worth it), so you get up and go to bed.

In the morning you wake up feeling hung over, achy and in serious need of some water. As you get up to head to the kitchen you spot yourself in the mirror…with tomato sauce smeared across your cheek. And the whole night (especially the ending) comes rushing back to you. You quickly realize that you are going to have to get back to the gym after class.

Dammit.

All the same, when I’ve consumed large amounts of alcohol, I’m going to go across the street and get chicken tenders from Whataburger. It’s just something that is inevitably going to happen, like Christmas every year, like my period every month (knock on wood), like my g*ddamn alarm clock going off every morning.

Because there is no single more satisfying aspect of the drinking experience than eating a lukewarm chicken tender at 2:30 in the morning. The nuanced interplay between the textures of chicken and breading somehow melds perfectly with the taste of Guinness that still lingers in my mouth.

That isn’t to say, of course, that other cravings don’t arise in my drunken state. Here are some other drunk food favs:

Potato Chips - Usually Sour Cream and Onion, which causes a serious breath issue in the morning (Onion + Alcohol=another reason to vomit). At the time, though, (like so many other things) it really seems like a great idea. Potato chips are usually pretty filling, you usually already have some at your house so you don’t have to drive around to find an open store to buy them (unless you live in a legitimate city and can simply walk outside for food) and they are fairly portable. By this I mean, you can’t very well bring your Chalupa into bed with you as you pass out. Or at least you really shouldn’t. I’ve passed out with my hand in a bag of chips before. Some would call that a cry for help, I would have called it being prepared.

Fast Food – I know this category seems pretty broad, but think about the times that you’ve been drunk and someone is driving you home. You pick up your head to look out the window, or get some fresh air, or relieve yourself of the alcohol you’ve consumed and pretty much the first fast food restaurant you see makes you want food from that restaurant intensely. When I see that Wendy’s sign, absolutely nothing in the world – no other restaurant, no person, nothing – will satisfy me but a number 9. That’s all I want and I will not be able to go to sleep/pass out until I get it.

Pizza – Cold, or fresh. The way the cheese and breading settles in your stomach sort of makes you think that it’s soaking up the alcohol and all the grease sort of makes you sleepy. Pizza is great for the night of casual drinking with friends, where you somehow all end up drunk without realizing it. When you do realize it, of course, you get hungry. What are you going to do but call up any of the 50 pizza places on or around campus?

All that being said, it’s important to note that eating whilst drunk, while greatly satisfying at the time, is a bad idea because you shouldn’t be eating at all that late at night, especially such fatty foods, and, according to Go Ask Alice, eating while drunk and sick can actually make you feel sicker. A good rule of thumb is to eat before you go out so you can fill up and absorb alcohol better when you do drink. And, on a personal note, know that Guinness and cheese dip should never, ever mix.

What is your favorite drunk food? Have any tips on forgoing drunken snacking?