Contributed by Lindsay Shugerman, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

College means freedom. Freedom from curfews, from parental rules…and often from regular meals.

If the food in the school cafeteria is too much for you to take, or your schedule makes it hard to find time for regular meals, the right college dorm room snacks could keep you well fed.

Pick carefully, and you could also avoid the dreaded “Freshman Fifteen.”

Here are 10 great choices for dorm room snacks that will keep you going and fill you up without filling you out.

10. Dried fruit

Yes, dried fruit can be a high-calorie food. But it’s also loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber – something those tortilla chips or that candy bar can’t claim.

Choose unsulfered dried fruit for the healthiest snacking. The color might not be as pretty, but you’ll avoid the headaches and other side effects sulfured fruit can cause in some people.

9. Fresh fruit

While it won’t keep as long as dried fruit, fresh fruit is a great choice as a dorm room snack. You’ll be getting the nutrients health professionals recommend, without the calories of standard dorm snack choices like pizza or subs.

8. High-fiber energy bars

These bars score points as dorm snacks because of their convenience, low cost and long shelf life. But you have to be careful when you decide which ones to buy. Some are loaded with healthy protein, fiber and nutrients, while others are nothing but candy bars in a different kind of wrapper.

7. Popcorn

This old standby has stood the test of time when it comes to study snacks. And microwave versions without the heavy oils and salt of movie theatre popcorn mean you can have the healthiness of air popped without the bulky appliance.

6. Boxed or bagged salad kits

If you have a fridge in your dorm room, prewashed salads or salad kits can be a wonderful and healthy choice as a dorm room snack.

For the best nutrition, chose mixed spring greens or wild greens over iceberg lettuce, and avoid kits with fattening dressings.

5. Cheese sticks

Remember when your mom used to put cheese sticks in your lunch? Well, she was on to something. These convenient and affordable dairy snacks are loaded with calcium and Vitamin D, with surprisingly few calories.

4. Hummus and pita chips

With a wide selection of hummus flavors available in most grocery stores, adding hummus and baked pita chips to your shopping list is an easy way to add a high-protein snack to your dorm fridge. The heart-healthy beans and olive oil make it top ten dorm food choice.

If you want an even healthier choice, skip the pita chips and use baby carrots instead. You’ll still get the crunch without the carbs.

3. Nuts

There will be times in college when you may feel like you’re going nuts, but these are nuts of a different kind. Raw, unsalted almonds, cashews and walnuts are all excellent dorn snack choices, high in critical nutients.

Skip the flavored ones. The fats and other chemical added to make the coatings add empty calories and water-retaining sodium.

2. Yogurt

Greek style, French style, classic fruit-on-the-bottom or rich whipped as-light-as-air yogurts fill the dairy shelves. And yogurt can be a great choice as a healthy snack.

Just be sure to read the labels before you buy. Make sure you select yogurts with active cultures and natural fruit sweeteners. Some of the more colorful choices have zero active cultures and a whole bunch of sugar, making them more like candy than real yogurt.

1. Pre-cut veggies

Sure, you could buy vegetables, wash them, peel them and cut them yourself. But will you? If you’re like most college students, the answer is no.

Buying bags of pre-cut, pre-washed veggies makes it easy to grab a healthy snack while you’re studying or racing out to class. That earns these snack the number one position on our top ten list.