Cheap Meals for College Kids

[Odd Morsel]

I went almost solely Asian in college.

Got a good wok. Seasoned that ****. Bought some rice noodles, a bag of jasmine rice, bag of chicken tenders, soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, hoisin sauce, vinegar. Some pre-mixed bags of Asian veggies. Green onions, minced garlic, ginger, you know the drill. Wokked up something different a night.

I grew up on a steady diet of random meat/white rice, so it was quick, easy and cheap.

 

[Mauby]

Don't forget Aldi's and Treasure Island. You can get some real bargains there.

 

[dopamine]

I'm in college right now, and although I don't have access to a kitchen right now (unfortunately), I was in the same situation as you over the summer - new to living alone, not having a ton of money for food, and looking for cheap delicious eats. I've found that shopping the sales at grocery stores is often extremely helpful. If frozen chicken breasts happen to be on sale, be sure to pick those up because they're a great buy and last a long time - you can make sandwiches, cook them with some olive oil, black pepper, and salt and put them over rice, put them in pasta, etc. Picking up spaghetti and rice on sale also goes a long way towards cheap food - they add alot of substance to the meal for not very much money. Canned tomatoes and/or canned pasta sauce can be very cheap and versatile as well. I've found that while the most expensive part of grocery shopping is usually meat, costs can be reduced by purchasing large quantities of chicken and/or ground beef and freezing it. It takes time to defrost later, but you save a lot of money. Finally, you can take what you already have and make something new and different. Don't want a tuna sandwich? Make a tuna casserole. Try making Spaghetti Carbonara (one of my all-time favorite dishes) - it's very basic and you can often pick up bacon on sale to substitute for prosciutto. Check out this recipe from Emeril - I haven't tried it yet, but I plan on making it soon: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/e...ipe/index.html

 

[mr.loverman]

buy corn tortillas from a mexican foodstore they are like 10% the cost of american tortillas like mission, etc.

 

[mr.loverman]

i eat for like 2$ a meal . i buy a lot of organic and i have a huge appetite

 

[johnapril]

pasta with steamed vegetables with shredded mozarella cheese, this after a workout

 

[forsbergacct2000]

Do you have Aldi or Save-A-Lot where you are going to school? When they get a deal, they can sell some fairly good stuff really inexpensive.

I second the beans thing. They are quite nutritious and with your training, you should probably be able to do a lot more with them than I could. (I still make up pots of pinto beans. Cheap and really good if done right.)

Lentils, if you like them are also pretty inexpensive, but healthy.

 

[Eagle]

Is any one other than me struck by the fact, we have a student chef is asking for meal planning advice?

 

[Stazy]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

I'd put my money into a good, double size toaster/convection oven first.
My mom threw out our microwave and toaster and replaced them with a toaster oven. I hate it with a passion. It takes 5 minutes to get a piece of toast and takes forever to heat up food.

 

[Piobaire]

Originally Posted by Stazy

My mom threw out our microwave and toaster and replaced them with a toaster oven. I hate it with a passion. It takes 5 minutes to get a piece of toast and takes forever to heat up food.

I'd never throw out the nuke, but it sounds like you either got a defective or poorly made toaster oven. Mine cooks small meals faster than the oven, doesn't heat up the kitchen, and has a nice convection option too. I've cooked everything from small chickens, to meat loafs, to biscuits in mine.

 

[Huntsman]

Yah, toaster ovens are great. I used to use one far more than my oven. Now I have a baby little oven, so I use that.

 

[ama]

Originally Posted by Piobaire

I'd never throw out the nuke, but it sounds like you either got a defective or poorly made toaster oven. Mine cooks small meals faster than the oven, doesn't heat up the kitchen, and has a nice convection option too. I've cooked everything from small chickens, to meat loafs, to biscuits in mine.

Many of them suck at making toast though.

 

[TylerDurden]

Lived at home, and ironicly ate mostly fast food, I was overweight and not healthy, don't do that. My family never cooked for me and I was lazy and didn't want to make food.

 

[TylerDurden]

Originally Posted by Odd Morsel

I went almost solely Asian in college.

Got a good wok. Seasoned that ****. Bought some rice noodles, a bag of jasmine rice, bag of chicken tenders, soy sauce, oyster sauce, mirin, hoisin sauce, vinegar. Some pre-mixed bags of Asian veggies. Green onions, minced garlic, ginger, you know the drill. Wokked up something different a night.

I grew up on a steady diet of random meat/white rice, so it was quick, easy and cheap.
Thats a good idea.

 

[whiteslashasian]

Chili is amazing for college students. Back in school my roommates and I would create a massive pot of chili and just eat it for the rest of the week. It's pretty damn good for you and tastes amazing! A little cornbread on the side does wonders as well. Put it on burgers and hotdogs/sausage to add a little kick, or over rice for something easy.

+1 to buying things on sale. We'd always wait for chicken breasts, ground sirloin, steaks, etc to go on sale. When they did we'd buy quite a bit of it. Separate them into smaller portions and freeze. We'd then take them out as we needed.

Now that I'm working and have been going out for lunch at Quizno's, Deli's, random little places here and there, for the last couple of months, I've decided that I need a more cost effective and healthy way to eat. What I do on Mondays is bring in half a loaf of sliced whole grain bread and about 1.5lbs of some kind of turkey/chicken breast meat along with a bag of baby spinach leaves or romaine lettuce. I leave the bread in a drawer in my cubicle and the meat/greens in the fridge. Come lunch time I just make a sandwich or two and drink water. It's extremely cost effective. For about $12-15 I get lunch for at least 5-6 days at work. I like to break up the monotony of the sandwich by bringing in leftovers and nuking them in the microwave.

I've calculated that I'll be able to save $150-200 a month with this new plan while eating more healthily and getting more protein intake.