College Student Struggling

Options
allisonwalt
allisonwalt Posts: 14 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello!!
I am a junior in college and have an apartment with a full kitchen. I am really struggling to find healthy recipes I can make for one person while on a budget and a time constraint. Let me know if you have any good ideas!

Replies

  • womanlady
    womanlady Posts: 33 Member
    Options
    1. whole grain bread
    2. vegetable toppings
    3. light cream cheese

    cheap healthy dinner
  • shawnatheobald
    shawnatheobald Posts: 31
    Options
    Try some of these blogs:

    http://goodcheapeats.com/
    http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/
    http://brokeassgourmet.com/
    http://www.budgetbytes.com/
  • TribeHokie
    TribeHokie Posts: 711 Member
    Options
    Hi! I'm a grad student renting a house with another female and cook for myself 99% of the time. Here is what I usually have on hand:

    Breakfast foods:
    Cereal and milk, bagel thin with reduced fat cream cheese, eggs with either toast or as a breakfast burrito with some cheese and salsa

    Lunch: salads with lunch meat / leftovers for protein and whatever veggies I have around OR a sandwich with a side of veggies

    Veggies and fruit: bell peppers, lettuce, onions, carrots, apples, bananas, frozen strawberries, various frozen bags of veggies. All used to fill in meals and to eat for snacks

    Dinner: usual format is a single serving of protein cooked in a pan with various seasonings, half a bag of frozen veggies, and a roll (pepperidge farm makes some great frozen rolls). Because I cook for myself I will buy chicken, london broil, fish, and ground turkey or ground beef and split everything into individual portions when I get it home. I then freeze these so I have a variety of meats for a couple weeks and a minimum of leftovers. It takes about a day in the fridge for an individual portion to thaw so when I'm cooking dinner I will just take what I want for the next day out of the freezer and put it in the fridge.

    Sorry if that was super long and unnecessary. My general advice is to have the basic staples that you like on hand and to plan ahead. Find a way to be consistent. Try not to get caught up in finding new recipes for every night of the week because then you'll end up buying a lot more and cooking a lot more than you need.
  • DBiddle69
    DBiddle69 Posts: 682 Member
    Options
    Subway!!
  • cem614
    cem614 Posts: 54 Member
    Options
    http://busygirlhealthylife.com/

    I am also a junior in college. If you can, buy your meat in bulk. About 40 frozen chicken breast in a bag at BJ's (the wholesale place) for $22. That should last you about two weeks or so. The website I provided has pretty easy and cheap meals.
  • AmykinsCatfood
    AmykinsCatfood Posts: 599 Member
    Options
    Frozen veggies are going to be a big time/energy saver. Also whole grain pasta or quinoa. An easy meal is a cup or two of assorted veggies, some ground chicken or turkey and spaghetti sauce with some whole grain pasta. Takes like 15 minutes to prepare and you get quite a few leftovers.

    For breakfasts I used to make frozen breakfast burritos with chicken or turkey sausage cut into chunks and cooked, scrambled eggs, light cheddar cheese, onions and green peppers sauteed, and mild salsa. Wrap them in a flour tortilla (whole grain if possible) and re-heat on the go for around a minute and a half to 2 minutes. Very very very tasty!
  • ripemango
    ripemango Posts: 534 Member
    Options
    if you have a crockpot...you are set!

    Use that freezer!! make recipes and don't cut them down but freeze leftovers into individual portions. It makes eating during midterms and finals so much easier too. (Midterms are pretty much here too, eeek!!!)

    i don't like freezing potatoes though...they get grainy.
  • AMNimlos
    AMNimlos Posts: 34 Member
    Options
    Embrace leftovers! :)
  • hananah89
    hananah89 Posts: 692 Member
    Options
    For super cheap and a low call dinner I sometimes do eggs, bacon, and cheese. And like someone said above, buy meat in bulk and just freeze it. Freezing leftovers is great for being on the go-just pull a preportioned contained out, pop in the microwave for a few and you are good to go.
  • seniorbug2003
    seniorbug2003 Posts: 67 Member
    Options
    bump. So I can keep the list of these sites.
  • kimmymayhall
    kimmymayhall Posts: 419 Member
    Options
    Embrace leftovers! :)

    Yes! I wouldn't try to find meals for one, I'd make the full family sized recipes and keep the rest for later. Portion control is key so you don't eat 4 servings of something in a day just because you have it in the fridge. You can easily eat for a week only cooking 2-3 times.
  • luckeyfrog
    luckeyfrog Posts: 10 Member
    Options
    I live with just my husband, and it's hard sometimes to find small meals for just the two of us too! Here are some things that work for me for lunch or that might scale down for you. I get sick of salads really easily, so these are other options that work for me (and most of them take a few 'basics' that you can keep on hand).

    I love whole wheat tortillas to make wraps! BLT, Bacon Turkey Club (yogurt instead of mayo if you want that), pepperoni and a little cheese if I'm craving pizza, barbeque chicken, salsa chicken, peanut butter/ banana... pretty much anything you can think of! Bagel thins or whole wheat English muffins make great simple sandwiches or mini "pizzas" too!

    I also get a bag of frozen boneless/ skinless chicken breasts and defrost one or two at a time in Ziploc baggies. I can grill them (so delicious), or use them with lemon pepper seasoning, salsa, marinara sauce, or pineapple juice. Sometimes I cut them up for wraps, fajitas with lots of veggies, on top of a salad, or even on top of some whole wheat pasta (in moderation of course :) !) I know a friend who uses a Rotisserie chicken for the same kind of thing.

    I know it's hard for me to find fruits and veggies in small enough sizes, too, but it helps when I go to a farmer's market! I also try to make a couple of soups that I can leave extras of in the freezer for those nights when I don't feel like doing anything-- just make sure they don't have tons of sodium and they're not too creamy with the wrong ingredients! I want to try making some frozen bean burritos too (but trying to choose low sodium beans & generally healthier ingredients).

    Good luck!
  • bwallacee
    bwallacee Posts: 4
    Options
    im a sophomore in college.. I have two roommates but I cook for myself. I also work so time is big thing for me too. so is money.

    I have cereal(kix) and skim milk on hand ALL the time.
    i get turkey and cheese slices from the deli and eat them as a snack or bring them for lunch sometimes.
    i have microwave popcorn for snack.
    I buy box dinners, like rice o roni and just add chicken to it.
    I buy grapes and apples to have on hand.
    I get those huge bags of boneless skinless chicken breast and sometimes just eat that with canned vegies.
    ground turkey so i can make spaghetti, tacos, and chili.

    thats about everything i can think of.
  • jadedhippo
    jadedhippo Posts: 95 Member
    Options
    Im a college student also and I cook for myself.

    I have a lot of rice and potatoes. I mix veges and whatever else I can with the rice and make stir frys. There's hundreds of recipes on the net for those.

    I do potatoes all ways (baked, chips, mashed, jacket)

    I also do a lot of simple soups (leek and potato, vegetable, noodle - check the net) I usually make extra for the next day.

    I grill capsicums and broccoli, cover in cheese and serve on slices of bread. Really grill anything you can and put it with bread/rice/potatoes.

    Get pizza bases or make your own and top it with anything, lol.

    Rice crackers, energy bars, pre-made salads are some of the ready-made things I buy

    I get my fruit and veges from a local produce shop so its usually cheaper than a big supermarket.
    Stock up on canned beans, veges and fruit. They come in handy.


    Freeze anything you can so it will last longer and you'll always have something to eat

    I usually just throw whatever I have in the pantry together and hope that it works
  • clhandwerk
    clhandwerk Posts: 52 Member
    Options
    those frozen veggie bags are awesome to have!! they are great for 2 or so meals and are so quick and easy to use. And yeah buing meats in bulk freezing the rest and when preping for a meal use that crock pot set it and forget it! :) Swich between pork loin and chicken brest. and i also love those uncle bens rice that you cook in the microwave for 90seconds if you want some carbs, they have good tasing ones of brown rice and wild rice. :)
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    Options
    we used to cook once a week (Sunday) 2 different dishes (Spag Bol, Chili con carne, cottage pie, veggie soup etc) and then freeze them in portions (each lot made about 10) with their carbs (pasta, rice, mashed potatoes) added. After 3 weeks you have a good range in your freezer all ready prepared and all you need to do is reheat them. I like it, because I was less likely to overeat that way actually. We used to get our veggies cheap from a market near closing time.

    Actually, come to think of it, maybe it is time to start this again :-)
  • thatbelinda
    thatbelinda Posts: 94 Member
    Options
    Oats are a really good breakfast choice. Healthy, filling, cheap.

Categories