Recipes for College Students

moirakrier

As a rising sophomore, I learned the hard way that college is not the most receptive place for eating healthy. For me, the Freshman 15 ended up being more like Freshman 25. While it's easy to point fingers at the causes (I'm talking to you Ben and Jerry!), this year, I am SO ready get healthier. Along with a workout schedule that I love and works with my personal schedule, I am fully embracing the phrase that Fitness Starts in the Kitchen! But as every college student knows, there's some seriously limited "kitchen" space. In my case, I have a pretty substantial-sized fridge and freezer in my room, and a communal kitchen space at my disposal. The floor kitchen consists of a slightly below-temp oven, electric stove, and an extremely well-used microwave. Because of limited space, I can't keep too many pots and pans in my dorm.

I've come to you all today to beg for your simplest and most easy to make meals. Something with a small number of ingredients, easy to share, and a very good leftover life would be perfect! Nutrient wise, I'm hoping for the usual higher protien, lower carb meals, but really I'll try out any meal once!

I'm hoping to collect these recipes and share them with my fellow college students struggling to eat healthy too. It's easy to google and come up with the same, like, 5 things. But I've come here in search of some different options!

Thank you all ahead of time!


P.S. I just can't live another semester on microwave mac 'n' cheese, and ham sandwiches! lol

happygolucky721

Not really recipes but here's what I like to eat: Oatmeal (overnight or hot), cottage cheese, greek yogurt, canned soup (just watch out for sodium content). Canned tuna

rebekkahpullen5

I like to do a "tuna salad" one package of tuna, one hard boiled egg, chop up some pickles, I don't like mayo so I never add it but you could add a little light mayo.

raquelshafae77

I think it would be great to get a get a mini crockpot and make a few healthy dishes with it! It can feed you for days and it doesn't take up too much space. I like to make chicken (it keeps it moist) then shred it up and add it my salads, pair with sweet potatoes or brown rice, chicken stir-fry with veggies... the choices are endless!

Tammynado

get the rotteserie chicken from the groc store - pull all of the chicken off the bone and shred it up. At this point you can just eat the chicken, mix it in chicken salads, add some chicken broth from a box, some fresh or frozen veggies, a small amount of pasta or instant rice and you have a soup, make quesdillas (there are some low cal tortillas), tacos, reheat it with bbq sauce for pulled chicken sammys, chinese stir fry with a few veggies. It's very versitile and pretty cheap and for one person should be able to get several meals. Liquid egg whites are a good option - you can use a coffee mug and add your egg whites, and any numerous of choices, lean ham, a little l/f cheese and put it int he micro, or all veggies, etc. Google coffee mug egg recipes. I agree with above a mini crockpot is awesome idea too... put chicken in crockpot with jar or salsa, or spaghetti sauce, or bbq sauce, numerous ideas and you don't even have to use a kitchen for a crockpot you can do that in your room. Good Luck - hope some of these ideas help get you thinking of some ideas.

vm2501

my daughter invested in pans and started buying groceries. Their general area had a stove so she would cook chicken and etc. It was helpful that she worked 30 hours a week at a grocery store so she could shop after work. They had smoothies at school , and fruit she ate a lot of. She does not eat vegetables she does not like the texture. Next year she plans on getting the basic meal plan It was hard because a lot of the things at school are processed but she did lose approximately 20lbs 2nd semester.

Logicgirl09

This is a bean-rice mixture that my mother and I have almost everyday in different ways. It has a bit of prep work but after that you can throw it in the microwave and be ready in 5 min. from frozen.

2 cups of Red Kidney Beans
1 cup of Black Beans
2 cups of rice.( No Instant- it becomes mushy)
1/3 cup Tone's Chicken Base(or of your choice)

Boil all in a BIG pot, check texture until it's done. This could take up to 2-3 hours.
Let cool then divide into 1 cup servings. ( around 10 servings)
Store in sealed sandwich bags and put in freezer for 1-2 month storage. Fridge for 3-5 day storage.

Nutritional value:
Cal: 150
Fat: 1g
Protein: 7g
Carbs: 29g
Sugers: 0
Fiber: 5g
Potassium: 266 mg
Sodium: 100g
Vitamin C: 1%
Calcium: 1.4%
Iron: 5.6%

Note: Has no Poly, Mono, Sat, or Trans fats. No cholesterol. This my have more carbs than you want but is has a good amount of protein, fiber, and iron.

You can make burritos, use water for soup, you can put some on salad w/ salsa, chip dip, or whatever your little heart desires!

If you live near a Winco they are really great for cheap bulk items. Their produce is pretty good and inexpensive too.

dunlol

Oatmeal with protein powder, cinnamon, dark chocolate (i use 1 piece of trader joes 72%), cocoa powder, natural peanut butter, and sliced almonds. I eat it every day because it's that good, just need the microwave and a spoon. You can add coconut oil for more fat. Also, canned beans and egg whites are easy, microwave egg white (I usually need 3 min for 5 egg whites), canned beans have enough sodium so no need for salt, and you can add in fresh or frozen spinach, kale, or broccoli ($1 for 12-13 oz frozen at my local store). I have a better kitchen now (apt not dorm or university apt) but I still make the oatmeal. I usually cook some kind of meat or eggs on a pan instead of beans and eggs though. Also pressure cooking mung beans is super easy

newblue95

As a college student myself I understand the difficulty. but it's do-able! I lost about 10 lbs over the last school year and it was not easy. Here's some of the things I ate, pretty much on a daily basis:
oatmeal with peanut butter,
eggs,
protein shakes and bars,
apples,
turkey and cheese sandwiches on whole grain bread,
greek yogurt,
HUGE salads,
zataran's beans and rice dishes,
bananas and peanut butter,
sliced cucumbers and bell peppers,
granola,
jimmy dean microwavable sandwiches,
and copious amounts of almonds/walnuts.

I know some of these aren't typically thought of as "healthy" foods but they're all easy to make and filling. They're not expensive either. I was working out a ton and didn't count calories, but I did lose weight and drop two dress sizes. The important thing is to find foods you like and also fit your weight loss goals. Good luck!

supahdupahfitness

raquelshafae77 wrote: »

I think it would be great to get a get a mini crockpot and make a few healthy dishes with it! It can feed you for days and it doesn't take up too much space. I like to make chicken (it keeps it moist) then shred it up and add it my salads, pair with sweet potatoes or brown rice, chicken stir-fry with veggies... the choices are endless!

Honestly I've found batch cooking in a pot is great for saving money and time! Things like stews can give you something like 7 of your 5 a day :P! And chucking a sweet potato in the oven while your stew just sits there doing it's thing leaves you free to check out Netflix or get the washing done!

phxteach

first, congrats on surviving the freshman year and FAFSA. My son will be a sophomore and has gained 15 lb due to unlimited meal plan! His cooking is limited to a microwave, so consider yourself blessed with a hotplate and oven! Invest in a $10 oven thermometer and take it w/ you when you leave! I've been making the "Flax Muffin in a Minute" (google it), is very low carb, high fiber and nutrition. I pair it with a low carb yogurt. If you can visit any thrift store or library with cookbooks, you'll easily find microwave cookbooks for cheap. Many good ideas in those.

LaurenNotLaura

You can also bake egg "muffins" just eggs, veggies, protein, cheese, put in a muffin tin bake at 350 for about 25-30 mins, let cool and freeze. Pop in the microwave for about 2 mins in the morning and you have a quick and easy on the go breakfast. Regular muffins freeze well too. I also love the smoothie craze lol. You can portion out your ingredients in Ziploc bags and freeze then just throw it in your blender with a some liquid.