Snack: Biscoff Spread and Banana Quesadillas
Brain Booster Rating: 5 out of 10. Bananas are high in potassium and fiber. The fiber helps you feel full longer while you study. And the Biscoff just cancels it all out.
Equipment: frying pan, butter knife, spatula
Ingredients: Biscoff Spread, bananas, white flour quesadilla rounds or plain square roll ups

There are few sweets that can compete with chocolate. When I crave sugar, it is usually chocolate - not fruity candy - that satisfies me. Chocolate is also my remedy for caffeine and energy deficiencies when I’m feeling desperate. But recently, when I’ve had a rough day, I open my pantry and reach for a jar instead of a bag.

The jar contains what I know as Speculoos Spread (it’s now marketed in the U.S. as Biscoff Spread). I originally discovered it when I studied abroad in Belgium my junior year of college. Well, first came the cookies. Speculoos cookies are often served with coffee in Belgium (I also found them in Holland) and, randomly, on Delta Airlines flights. The cookies are caramel-y, slightly spiced, and very sweet. They are like classy, well-rounded graham crackers. The spread tastes exactly like the crushed up cookies. The label on the jar calls it “a European alternative to peanut butter,” but if we’re being honest, it’s like if we took America’s favorite cookie, the Oreo, and made it into a spread. Comparing it to peanut butter, we see that it has 60 percent less fat, almost twice as much sugar, and trace amounts of protein. So let’s not get carried away and replace all peanut butter with the stuff.

We used to eat it by the spoonful, but for this study break snack, only a knife is required. Smear the desired amount of spread onto the tortilla.Thinly slice a banana and layer the slices onto one half of the quesadilla. Fold it in half, and if you can, grill it in brown butter over medium heat. Cut into triangles and devour.

Alexia Detweiler loves to travel and is an advocate for eating and shopping locally. She hopes to one day open her own breakfast cafe in Lancaster, PA.