Student Recipies?

SCJ90

As a Student cooking a healthy meal whilst on a budget can be very difficult. Does anyone have and good recipies that are easy to cook on a buget?

kristinlough

Recipes with beans! They're cheap (take some time to cook), yummy, healthy, and pretty easy. Obviously an awesome chili would be good, black beans with onions and Mexican spices (I'm sure you can find recipes), etc. And I say don't thumb your nose at a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a good healthy bread (I'm sure others will complain about fat and sugar ... so it's up to you).

Also - do you have a freezer? If so, make more at once (it's cheaper because you're less likely to waste food) and freeze!

Good luck in school

SouthernBell86

I recommend investing in a slow cooker (You can get a 4 quart sized one on amazon for 15 dollars!) and then using slower cooker recipes. They are easy and quick (well...assembling it is quick, and it cooks for several hours unassisted...) and usually pretty budget conscious. For instance you can usually get a cheaper cut of meat to put in the crock pot, because slow cooking makes meat more tender. It is really easy to just dump a few things in and then have enough food for several meals come out later

A great blog of slow cooking recipes: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Another thing I did a lot in school was find out which veggies tend to be cheap (squash and zucchini are good) and then chop those up and add them to things I cook with meat, like spaghetti or Mexican dishes. This makes the dish stretch in size without getting a lot more expensive, and that way you get your veggie already included in one pot, instead of having to cook multiple things.

Good luck

ajsimyan

I agree with kristin, I eat a PB&J sandwich on whole wheat everyday because money is so tight right now, and I am still losing the weight. Chicken tenders, you can make really healthy meals with that for cheap and so much protein, you will be sure it fills you up.

fitinyoga14

oats, barley, and beans are all cheap and easy to make recipes with. i'm also a student and i buy quick-cooking barley, black beans, and a container of organic tomato-red pepper soup (the most expensive). then i mix the 3 and heat in the microwave. tah-dah! a warm, comfy lunch!!!

frozen fruits and veggies are also worth the price because you don't have to worry about wasting your produce and you can make soooo many recipes using these foods as staples.

yes, i know that purchasing healthy food may seem like it will cause you to go broke, but its all about spending the little extra where you need to and cutting back somewhere else. for example, maybe a bag of apples costs more than a box of cheez-its, but think about how much more you will get out of the apples; from a cook's perspective as well as a nutritional one. because the apples can literally give your body more of what it needs, its worth the price.