Broke college student

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emalee8391
emalee8391 Posts: 1 Member
in Recipes
HELP! I am trying to start my weight loss journey but am struggling because I am a student in college, and can afford much. I am looking for cheap, quick and easy healthy food recipes! Please feel free to reply i am open to E V E R Y T H I N G

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  • Thr33N1N3
    Thr33N1N3 Posts: 39 Member
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    Eating one meal a day. It is called intermittent fasting.
  • janellereasoner
    janellereasoner Posts: 7 Member
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    I don't know about you, but I'm a person who snacks all day. I think i have pretty good metabolism because of it. Here are some of my lower-calorie go-to foods:

    Hard Boiled Eggs (or any type of eggs - they're cheap and protein-packed, so you'll feel full)
    Fat-Free Cottage Cheese
    Pita or Tortilla "pizzas" with low fat or fat free feta cheese and chopped veggies
    Deli meats, rolled up with the thin cheese slices
    Popcorn kernels (pop it yourself with a tbsp of canola oil and sprinkles of salt and pepper)
    Light English muffin with a smear of laughing cow cheese and deli turkey meat or a fried egg
    Salads - iceberg lettuce is super cheap if you buy it by the head and chop it yourself
    Coffee with splenda and fat-free half & half
    light string cheese
    Apples
    Cuties (in season in the winter, so they're cheap right now)
  • 2011rocket3touring
    2011rocket3touring Posts: 1,346 Member
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    Frozen veggies at Walmart are your friend. A bad of frozen carrots or mixed will cost you $1 and you can use it for 2 meals. The beauty is you can mix and match. If your feeling spendy buy one of the bags with seasoning and add extra veggies, then stretch it out. Add butter or any kind of sauce. Throw potatoes or brown rice for starch and variety.
    Protein: chicken is your friend as well as tuna. Hopefully you have access to a freezer. Chicken you can marinate or season, it's all up to you.
    The food above, a microwave and a George Foreman Grill and you'll eat like royalty on a shoestring budget.
  • KeithWhiteJr
    KeithWhiteJr Posts: 233 Member
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    Dollar Tree!
  • PlatoP
    PlatoP Posts: 1 Member
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    Ramin noodles with frozen vegetables, kale, canned tuna or chicken, have fun with it. Substitute beans for half your meat in a meal... eat lots of beans, make split pea or black bean soup relatively easy and quick with practice, add some veg.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
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    Although I've been into fitness and nutrition tracking since as long as I can remember, I really got into weight lifting and using MFP in college. I was in the same boat as you. 17-years old and living on my own with a puppy to take care of (LOL) and it really took a lot of work to meal prep and fit healthier foods into my budget. I often made big batches of tuna, hard boiled eggs and chicken to get me through the week. Stick with the basics. As for snacks, buy protein bars off of VitaminShoppe when there are promo codes and opt for beans, edamame (frozen) and cheap-o frozen veggies and fruits. Produce was never really worth it because it spoiled quickly and was pricier. Frozen is the way to go!
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    Do you have access to a kitchen or do you live in a dorm? If you have a kitchen, invest in a cheap crock pot. Stock your pantry with dry and canned beans, rice, sweet potatoes and canned tomato products and buy bags of frozen veggies (spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, corn, etc). You can make many types of stews and curries with these ingredients (Google is your friend) and they freeze well. Cook batches of chicken breast and boneless thighs in the crock pot with a jar of salsa. Portion into zip log bags and freeze. You can eat it as a burrito bowl with beans and rice, in tacos, on salads...endless possibilities. Chili is another great easy and inexpensive crock pot recipe.
  • AshFitness98
    AshFitness98 Posts: 28 Member
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    College student here too! I tend to have 2 meals and a snack each day. Look on Pinterest for ideas that involve cheaper foods. Find healthy versions of your favorite as well.

    I tend to but a lot of frozen fruits and vegetables. I tend to have a lot of chicken, cheese, eggs, and potatoes. I can get a 10lb bag of potatoes for $2-3. I also only drink water unless I'm sick so when I buy milk its only for when I make a recipe.

    If I want pizza but dont have the calories for fast food then I get french bread at the store and use a 1/6 of it with pizza sauce and cheese. Usually between 250-326 cal.

    If you're trying to find food cheap check out your local Dollar Tree, ALDIs, and Walmart. The Dollar Tree near me has a ton of options in their freezer section. I also look at websites like Crazy Coupon Lady as it helps save money when it comes to food and other costs.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    Get a crock pot. Check thrift stores; you can likely find a used one. Amazon has a little one for under $10: https://smile.amazon.com/Crock-Pot-2-5-Quart-Round-Manual-Cooker/dp/B004P2LEE0/ref=sr_1_10?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1514870050&sr=1-10&keywords=crock+pot

    You can make all sorts of things in your crock pot, but dried beans are a cheap and healthy way to go. Your beans can cook all day while you're in class, and then you have a hot dinner when you get home. There should be enough for leftovers, and beans freeze really well. More cheap crock pot recipes: https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/slow-cooker/
  • doittoitgirl
    doittoitgirl Posts: 157 Member
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    I am also a broke college student and I second the crockpot suggestion. I got mine at goodwill on sale for $5. Vegetarian chili is cheap. Dried beans and rice are crazy cheap. Chicken breasts with a couple cans of rotel tomatoes is delicious in the crockpot. I buy the 99cent bags of frozen veggies and mix it into crickpot stuff and to get some veg in with my boxed mac and cheese. I shop(ed) at Aldi and the dollar store and a discount grocery by my place. You don't have to shop at whole foods to eat healthy!
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
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    do you have a food plan for the dining hall or how do you normally pay for food?
  • suzihbe
    suzihbe Posts: 19 Member
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    Rotisserie chicken, I can buy one at a local grocery store for $5-$7 and they last me at least 5 meals. I discovered that Trader Joe's has "tiny" avocados, and they were $3 for 6 and they are the perfect single person size. Tacos are a go to of mine, just corn tortillas, whatever protein I have on hand and a bit cheese, avocado and/or salsa. Also eggs and frozen veggies.
  • kemoon0915
    kemoon0915 Posts: 113 Member
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    You can cook an entire chicken in a Crock-Pot with no added fat at all. I just rub it down with Italian seasoning and lemon pepper and you put it straight in the Crock-Pot with nothing else and cook it on low for 6 hours and a whole chicken only costs around $5! You can brown it under a broiler if you have an oven to give it a little color, and it produces a good amount of juice that you can make into easy good gravy by just making a roux out of a little butter and flour.
  • tonipaynow
    tonipaynow Posts: 1 Member
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    lettuce and yes frozen veggies. I can't believe it's not butter spray is a little pricy at 3.00 a container but will last you forever and is 0 calories it is amazing on frozen veggies and fresh popped popcorn or even English muffin low calorie bread also if you have access to a fridge a large 5 pound bag of carrots, peel and chop in very narrow sticks place in a large dollar store container with a small bit of water. then they will be ready for when you need a crunch. Good luck. You can do this.
  • TMcChamp
    TMcChamp Posts: 165 Member
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    Can you spend an hour or two once a week doing a meal prep day? i like to make and freeze all lunches for work (what ever chicken/turkey is on sale + whatever seasonal vegetables are cheapest/frozen on sale veg), boil eggs in advance, boil up some edamame, pre portioned yogurt (just grab and go once you know the best yogurts for you in your budget). With so many kids and shift work I need simple. So taking an hour or two once a week makes the rest of the week smooth and easy with less temptation to grab something while at work!
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    emalee8391 wrote: »
    HELP! I am trying to start my weight loss journey but am struggling because I am a student in college, and can afford much. I am looking for cheap, quick and easy healthy food recipes! Please feel free to reply i am open to E V E R Y T H I N G

    As a college student ... do you live in a dorm room or an apartment ... meaning ... do you have a kitchen and kitchen appliances at your disposal, and do you have roommates who might eat up your food stores?

    That's going to make a difference as to what kind of recommendations might apply the best to your own situation.
  • lcyfrnxo
    lcyfrnxo Posts: 28 Member
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    Soups and stews can be made cheaply and you can get a good few portions out of it. Also, bulking things like bolognese or chilli with lentils or beans make it go a longer way
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
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    As mentioned on this board at least a 100 times before (it does have a search function)
    Cooking on a bootstrap Jack Monroe herself was really poor with a young child when she started to cook healthy on next to nothing.
    Budget bytes - These people even have an app (android)

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