Eating Healthy on A Student Budget

everstraete

I'm currently in college and quite frankly the nutritional value of everything at school sucks. Very few things aren't fried and the few veggies they make are sauteed to mush and left to sit for hours. I stock pile bananas, apples, and baby carrots from the caf in attempt to keep healthy food in my room and I frequently buy nuts and popcorn to put in my air popper to make a healthy trail mix but eating well is still difficult. especially since I have an outrageous sweet tooth. Any suggestions for easy and low calorie snacks? I have a bunch of food sensitivities and allergies that restrict my eating but I'm all for buying some lower cost things at the store to keep in my room as well.

Thanks in advance!

No-No foods list (to make suggestions easier)
- ANYTHING with artificial sweetener/ truvia/stevia
- seeded fruits and veggies (strawberries, squash, cucumbers, etc though I can have it if it the seeds are removed)
- Hummus (boo)
- fried meats (not on the low-calories snacks list obviously)
- jerkies

Wiseandcurious

Do you have a fridge of any kind?

knra_grl

Do you have fridge space?

yogurt
cottage cheese
boiled eggs
instant oatmeal
Quaker Crispy Minis (12 is under 100 cals)

I usually have veg cut up in my fridge (cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, etc)
any fruits that you like

ainokea8

-Clementines are a low calorie and super convenient snack. Only 35 calories in one. Sometimes I like to mix some in with muesli and plain yogurt to make a low calorie parfait. And this helps substitute for things like ice cream or the flavored yogurts.

-Celery with peanut butter

-Wheat thins with tuna can be substituted for chips

-Edamame

everstraete

oops! forgot to include I do have a fridge! thanks for the suggestions so far. I'm a big fan of oatmeal and yogurt cups I get from the caf

1two3four

Got a microwave? You can cook up an egg in about 45 seconds. Don't got a microwave my friend used to boil them in an electric kettle but I've never actually done that.

bwogilvie

Is hummus out because of the tahini? If so, then you can look for bean dip (Desert Pepper Trading Co. makes a black bean dip that I find pretty tasty; Trader Joe's has some, too). Eat it with carrots or romaine lettuce hearts. I find that carrots are surprisingly sweet if you chew them slowly.

everstraete

To be honest I don't know why hummus is off the menu. All I know is my IBS-dictated stomach has set forth a definite "no" and the consequences for disobeying are quite unpleasant.

NicholePotato

I work at my school's dining hall and we also have a special call in menu to provide for vegetarians/vegans/gluten free people, so you just call in what you want from that and tell them the time you will pick it up and they make it fresh for you right before. So look on your dining services website and see if they have something like that.

paperfiish

I had to do 9 months on a very low budget with just a minifridge, it really sucks. Definitely second edamame, that stuff is excellent Spice it up with some salt and pepper or whatever you fancy and you have a great low-cal, high protein snack.

Other suggestions:

- FRUIT LEATHER (the good kind that's like 100% fruit, they're seedless but only like 60 to 80 cals each and really satisfy that candy craving, especially if you love gummy things like me. You can buy them in bulk on amazon for pretty cheap and just keep a flat of them in your room forever, they don't go bad for ages)
- REALLY DARK CHOCOLATE (if you've got a sweet tooth then it's a great way to satify the chocolate craving. super dark chocolate is way too strong to eat more than like a small square of at one go but has all the benifits of chocolate packed in without the calories or excess sugar)
- PUFFED RICE CAKES (not sure if this is out because of your restrictions? But if not, puffed rice cakes with a drizzle of honey or a slice of cheese is a great snack, and they weigh like NOTHING so if you put them in a small tupperware and carry it in your backpack it won't add to the overall bookweight that is the bane of a school persons existence).
- BLACK BEANS (buy the precooked canned kind to store in your room and then store any extra in the fridge. Mix them with a small drizzle of honey, hot sauce, salt & pepper and add them to a lettuce wrap or on crackers or just eat out of a cup. It's a good protein to calorie ratio, and they REALLY do well at stabilizing blood sugar and smoothing out sugar cravings. Add a little pinch shredded cheese too if you feel that need for dairy, they taste really good hot or cold).
- SLIVERED ALMONDS AND SHREDDED COCONUT (NOT low calorie BUT high energy, full or nutrients, and really satisfying. If you're on campus and running from one class to another, having a small pre-portioned bag of this can stop you from going to the nearest vending machine just to get through the next class. Break up little bits of your super dark chocolate and add it to the bag for some sweetness.)

Hope some of these help! Good luck with your classes this semester!