What are some affordable healthy snacks?

You're hungry between school, practice, and home, and the cheapest thing nearby is usually chips or candy.

• Sugar spikes give 20 minutes of energy and then a crash that feels like fatigue or irritation.
• Healthy food is often marketed as expensive — a lot of it isn't.
• Not everyone has full control over what's in the house. Work with what you have.

Before you decide anything, take four slow breaths — in for 4, out for 6. You think more clearly on the other side of a calm breath than in the middle of a fast feeling.

1. 1Build a snack with protein + fiber: peanut butter on whole wheat, eggs, beans and rice, yogurt, tuna packets.
2. 2Cheap staples that stretch: bananas, apples, carrots, oats, frozen vegetables, canned beans, popcorn kernels.
3. 3Prep once, eat five times — boil eggs or portion snacks on Sunday.

Add one protein-plus-fiber snack to your routine this week.

Play it forward. If you take this step, what happens tomorrow? Next week? What does it protect — your peace, your grades, your relationships, your future? Leaders think one move ahead.

• One-Minute BreathingSlow your body down in 60 seconds with a longer exhale.
• 5-4-3-2-1 GroundingBring your body back to the present moment.
• Get HelpCrisis resources and a personal safety plan.