I’m a college student who just started living on my own this past year and figuring out what food to get at the store and what meals to make is becoming exhausting. I have a couple easy meals, but I’m desperate for something new to eat that I won’t have to buy a million things to make it
I just put a can of cream of potato/broccoli/mushroom, a can of water, and a handful of assorted frozen vegetables (peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrot) into a saucepan to make a quick vegetable soup. Salt/pepper, onion powder, a drop of olive oil too. It takes a bit more time, but a half cup of white or brown rice, half-cooked, can be added to the soup to thicken it even more
-Roasted veggies with chicken sausage (cut into coins and roasted with the veggies) + wild rice
-Chili or other soups
-Salad—I cut up all my salad toppings at once so it makes eating a salad super easy and fast
-Egg bakes and oatmeal bakes for quick breakfasts
-For my ultra lazy days/weeks I get a rotisserie chicken, salad mix (Edit: or frozen steamer veggies), and microwavable wild rice
I have a rice steamer and cook 2 to 3 cups at once. Then I fry up 2-3 eggs and a quick thin steak and eat it on top of the rice. I’ll add some jalepeno jam on the eggs and it’s a delightful combo of sweet and savory and fairly nutritious! I also prep steam packets of chicken and veggies.
Keep some cooked rice on hand. (Tip: you can make a batch and freeze in individual sized portions wrapped in Saran Wrap, then microwave for 2-3 minutes when you need it.)
One of my favorite meals is to top the rice with 2 sunny side up eggs (add some veg for healthier option. I add spinach to the other side of the pan while making the eggs, just enough to make them wilt). Season with a little sesame oil and soy sauce. Mix it all up with the yolks and rice and mmm it’s so good
Another option is to just eat the rice with some tuna. Having rice always around makes it easy to just add whatever protein you have laying around
I lived off of breakfast meals. Omelets, ham and egg bagel sandwiches, breakfast burritos. Really easy to meal prep and pretty cheap. Also a really easy snack was Greek yogurt with some peanuts or protein granola.
This one is pretty random but it’s healthy and vegetarian and quick. I take some of the frozen veggies that have broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots and boil them. Then drain and add canned cannelini beans (rinsed and drained) and heat. Then add shredded sharp cheddar and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder. Simple and healthy and pretty tasty if you like beans!
Taco salad! I just use onion, packet of taco seasoning, then whatever protein of your choice (I used extra firm tofu a lot bc it’s much cheaper than beef)
If you have an immersion blender or food processor making your own hummus or soups is pretty straightforward. Easy to make in advance. Hummus especially is also super filling and delicious as a meal. I’d also have it with sprouted grain toast instead of pita bread. You’re welcome to pm me too and I can send along a few specific recipes that have been standbys for me as a student.
Ground turkey becomes burgers, pasta sauce, tacos, chili, you name it. IMO it freezes and thaws well.
I also lean on rice bowls. Literally anything thrown in with rice/quinoa/couscous/whatever you got. My favorites are Mexican (beans, corn, salsa, maybe cheese and sour cream) Korean (kimchi, edamame, carrot, cucumber, fried egg) and Mediterranean. (Chickpea, cucumber, cherry tomato, tzatziki, feta) I also just mix rice with my leftover meat and veggies if I make a real meal.
Check out r/eatcheapandhealthy. Search around there and should find some easy and quick meals.
As I am low carb (75-100g), I mainly just do meat/seafood with veggies (frozen). Or, scrambled egg with peppers/onions (frozen) and spinach with cheese. As for snacks - yoghurt with berries, chia seed pudding (requires to be put in a fridge overnight but takes 2-3minutes to make).
Those are just off the top of my head…
Omelets. With frozen veggies. Cheap, healthy, nutritious. I made a zillion variants. With beans, corn, cilantro and Mexican spices, or bacon, leek, cheese. Cream cheese, hot smoked salmon , dill. Tomato, Gouda, chives. Or zucchini, Camembert, provencal herbs… and many more options.
Easy, one pan dish and you can vary according to season and budget.
I also ate a lot of salads, pasta and made bigger portions of freezeable dishes that I could then reheat.
In college, I used to make lasagna to eat all week, and separately, tuna salad sandwiches on toast. If I knew then what I know now, I would make meatballs or chicken or salmon and veggies on a sheetpan in a 400 degree oven. Potato wedges simply tossed with garlic salt, oregano and olive oil are amazing at any age/stage.
This takes a little but of prep, but yummy enough to ear throughout the week. Cook Lentils in chicken or vegetable broth. While they cook (and they cook quickly), mince up some onion, Carrot, bell pepper, whatever you want. Mix the cooked and drained Lentils with the minced veggies and pour a vinegar based salad dressing over the top and thoroughly mix it all together.
That’s all, eat it just like that. It’s really yummy. I eat it three or four times a week and I look forward to it every time.
-Oatmeal+protein powder+peanut butter -meat+rice+almonds
Those are my 2 go to meals. You can switch it up by buying different protein each time you run out and then switch up the meats on the second options as well as the seasoning and or nut.
my less than 15 minutes meal: everything is cooked and ready to eat, time is mostly to cut the herbs and put everything together
Just about everything I cook is quick and easy.
This whole thing is maybe 15 min: Steam veggies, baked potato in microwave (don’t forget to poke holes), frozen fish straight into a pan- little oil under it, seasoning on top, slap a lid on it. It’s moist cooking bc the fish is frozen, so you don’t have to worry about it being dried out.
There’s a Swiss dish called Birchermuesli and it’s delightful! It contains a lot of things you can have in the pantry for a long time, and a few ingredients you’d have to buy semi-fresh:
Pantry:
nuts, plain (your favorite; I love it with walnuts and peanuts)
oats and/or granola
optional: chia seeds, flaxseed, raisins
Fresh:
joghurt (flavored or plain)
apple
optional: banana, berries, other fruit
Grate the apple, chop the nuts, mix with all the other ingredients, sweeten with honey if you like and you have a super nurturing, filling meal which also lasts in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Edit: formatting issues
Oatmeal, fruit, trail mix, hardboiled egg - boil tortellini in the same pot as frozen vegetables, strain and eat - ezekiel bread with peanutbutter and banana - ezekiel bread with peanutbutter and apple - ezekiel bread with avocado and sliced tomato- mixed greens with hardboiled eggs, trail mix, tomatoes, any other veggies you have - smoothies 👌
I say ezekiel bread because it is very hearty with 5g protein per slice.Frozen mixed fruit is great to keep on hand.You can actually make regular oatmeal by pouring boiling water over it - just throw everything in a bowl while the water boils.
My most common ones:
cooked rice (leftovers) + canned beans microwaved (with added spices/seasonings, depending on flavor preferences)
Cooked penne/rotini/spaghetti pasta (10 mins) + microwaved marinara sauce+meatless meatballs (microwave the sauce and balls together for 3 mins)
Scrambled eggs + mozzarella cheese, wrapped into tortillas
Salad with a can of tuna. Super tasty. I just made one actually. For the dressing, I just used peanut butter, rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, Chinese 5 spice, and soy sauce. And then the only other ingredients were lettuce, an orange I sliced up, and the can of tuna. Super tasty and pretty healthy too. U can also just use a salad dressing u like and whatever veggies or starches u like such as quinoa or leftover rice or something. Instead of tuna, I will often fry 2 eggs sunny side up and put them on top, which is also delicious and cheap. Honestly I prefer this to most meals that involve a lot more prep and fancy ingredients.
Egg Frittata.
Find a cast iron that goes into oven, chop some vegetables, and sauté them with some sausage or whatever is leftover, whisk eggs lightly 10-12 of them, add some spices and salt, and add the whiskture into the cast iron, put some cheese over top, throw into oven 10 minutes, lots of butter too. What comes out is a full meal.
Preparation takes only 5 minutes or so. While waiting pan to heat up you chop vegetables and prepare the oven, while sauteing them you wisk the eggs. Easy.
I eat plant-based so I can offer some different ideas
Oatmeal with a banana sliced in is my daily morning breakfast
Freezer waffles with peanut butter and syrup
sandwiches with hummus, thin slices of tofu or seitan, tomato, greens, vegan cheese, jalapenos, etc
tofu stir-fries with either frozen or fresh veg and some basic teriyaki + soy sauce mixed in
protein smoothie with flax seeds, frozen kale, frozen fruit, almond milk, water, and peanut butter
Crockpot. Throw some stuff in it before bed or during class. Split peas with pre-made smoked turkey leg is great. Salt to taste. Overnight.
Or cheap stew meat, baby carrots, onion, chunked potatoes, packaged roast beef seasoning or onion dip mix. Freeze in portions. Overnight.
Cheap coleslaw mix, teriyaki sauce, dab of sesame oil in a pan. 10 min.
Shredded cabbage, Hillshire sausage, salt+pepper, in a pan. I eat it with sauerkraut. 10 min.
Pancakes, sausage. (You can freeze pancakes)
One pot, bow pasta, drain, butter, microwave packaged veg, chicken, salt & pepper. 15 min.
Boiled eggs or chicken, salad mix. 5 min.
Protein + carb + veg. Prepping will be your friend.
Hope this helps. Edit to add times.
I would eat ramen 🍜 from Asian market- the red one is spicy 🥵! Add veggies and an egg to yum it up and voila! Also, as a student I formed a food co-op. Basically find 4 friends and share cooking responsibilities
All one pan - fry potatoes, add chorizo, add egg and whatever other ingredients you want (jalapeño/onion/etc), add cheese. Flip into tortilla, roll burrito, fry tortilla in same pan. About 10 mins start to finish and easy clean up
Turkey bacon sandwiches. You can cook bacon ahead of time and store it in separate servings. Can have on toasted english muffin or bread with eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomato etc. You can cook eggs ahead of time too. Also, you can make mini omelets out of eggs, milk, cheese, veggies such as peppers, onion or tomato. Can add meat such as cooked chicken or ham/bacon if desired. Spray a muffin pan with cooking oil, mix and add ingredients and bake on 350 until cooked. (Probably about 20 mins or so. I just like mine not runny/watery) Tuna wraps/sandwiches are also great. Add mayo/mustard, cheese, relish, veggies such as lettuce, onion, peppers… any thing you have.
Chicken and rice.
Can be varied in a billion ways, from red curry and jasmine rice to grilled chicken and brown rice.
But I usually go by the model Protein-Veggie-Sides. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations
-Red pesto eggs and chorizo bagel-Toast with philadelphia covered in chilli flakes and melted cheese-Sausages, mash potato and gravy(basically bangers and mash) -That TikTok pasta with the feta cheese but instead swap the feta out for philadelphia and added chorizo and Cajun chicken pieces
Frozen general tso’s chicken from Aldi. It’s gluten free but that’s beside the point. It is such a quick meal and freaking delicious. Even gluten eating friends love it. Just throw it in the oven for 20 minutes and mix it in the sauce that comes with it. Get steamable bags of rice and broccoli to make it a full meal.
Beef bone broth (regular beef broth is fine if you want to spend less money, but also has less protein) and Eggs. Heat the broth to a simmer/light boil. Season and Beat the eggs and drop the eggs into the broth with a fork to make strands. Season the soup/broth with whatever you want and you can add vegetables or noodles if you want but I usually keep it simple. If you use bone broth it is a ton of protein.
I just had one of my quick and easy meals lol.
Can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of water, a guesstimate amount of heavy cream. Into a pot and heat. Whisk till fully combined
2 slices of toast with butter
Enjoy.
My other more filling meal takes roughly 15-20 mins.
Boil pasta in salted water (choice of pasta drastically changes total cook time but we shall do penne as a baseline which takes around 10mins to al dente itself)
Dice up 1-2 roma tomatoes (or the tomato of your choice)
Dice up 1 quarter of a large onion or a whole small/medium onion.
Create a garlic paste or just use jarred chopped up garlic (found this to me very very helpful for this dish to avoid the garlic fingers)
Set aside all three veggies aside. Once the pasta is a dente, drain and set aside. Pour some olive oil in the same pot and heat up. Cook the onions and garlic for around 3mins. Toss the tomatoes in last. Cook for 2 mins and then use a mashed potato masher to really break everything down. Add a little bit more oil and then toss the pasta in. Mix well till each pasta bit is covered in your rich delicious sauce. Serve with some Parmesan and roasted red hot pepper flakes if that’s your thing.
Enjoy!
Good morning! Make sure,even if they’re quick meals, to incorporate high quality proteins and minimally processed carbohydrates, preferring unsaturated fats.
You have plenty of options and I would recommend:
-to make sure you also have canned fatty fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel. They provide essential fatty acids (Omega-3) at a cheap price.
-last but not least, prepare your meals in bulk as i use to do during weekends. You save lot of time and stress
About seasonings, i love to use asian and/or spices. They add a lot of flavor so you can save on salt 😉
Hope it helps you out!Don’t hesitate to ask me whatever you need(I’m graduating in Nutrition)
Granola cereal. I get Love Crunch brand dark chocolate and pour Fair Life milk over it. Fair Life is no lactose high protein low fat but you could do almond or some other healthy milk. It’s quick healthy and keeps you satiated.
Turkey wraps, frozen veggie stir fry (add a protein like chicken tenders or tofu and if possible a carb like rice or quinoa), salad kits are good too but can get pricey, Turning salad kits into wraps is good too.
You throw in a pot pasta (uncooked), whichever meat you can afford (if you can), whichever vegetables you have lying around, add some chicken or vegetable stock (they are usually cheap), some chopped tomatoes (canned ones), some water and add garlic and spices (paprika, italian herbs, coriander in powder, pepper, basil, nutmeg anything you like, if you can’t buy many, paprika and italian herbs are nice), if you add one or two bay leaves it will make your dish even better. Make sure to add a bit of water here and there when needed as it needs to cook in water, eventually the water will dissolve and make your pasta nice and moist. You can make many portions and put the rest in boxes for the rest of the week.
I like to eat half a can of refried beans, heated in the microwave with a bit of colbyjack or other cheese, then I add a shot of Louisiana hot-sauce just before stirring.
I’ve also bastardized an African Peanut Stew recipe so much over the last decade that V8 and frozen veg sound like a good soup. Peanut-butter and hot sauce optional at this point. I mean, if you’re using V8 instead of the packet and water to cook ramen, and add more veg and poach an egg in it, it the ramen really unhealthy? Does replacing the ramen with the cheesy equivalent of goldfish crackers make it better or worse?
Savory porridge, sometimes with frozen veg, chunks of cooked meat or egg. Whatever was on sale.
Pazole made for the week.
Rice n beans. Sometimes smoked turkey legs were on sale and I would use that for flavor.
I would buy the huge tube of hamburger since it was around less 2$ a pound and portion it into baggies to freeze after slow cooking it. Quick egg scrambles with hamburg and frozen pepper n onions.
My go to is to just buy a microwave bag of curry (my go to are thai chicken pineapple, and indian curry) and heat up some naan. Hot, filling, yummy, and like two meals for <$5. Can make it three or four meals by bulking it up with a bag a frozen veggies and some beans, and mixing in some rice. Soooo gooooooodd
Here are some of my favorite easy go-to recipes:
Sheet pan sliders. You need Hawaiian rolls, ground beef, seasoned salt, cheese, and dried onion (and whatever you like on your sliders). Press meat down sheet pan, season with dried onion and seasoned salt, bake at 400 degrees for 25 mins. Add cheese and bake for another couple mins to melt it more if you want. I like frozen fries as the side.
Ranch chicken thighs. You need 4-6 thighs, black pepper and salt to taste, 1 package of dry ranch salad dressing mix, 2TBSP olive oil, 1 TBSP water, 1 TBSP lemon juice, 1 Clove garlic. Preheat over to 400F, place chicken with the fattest side of the thigh facing up. Season with salt and paper. Bake for 25 mins. Combine the other ingredients in a bowl, using lemon juice to thin mixture if needed. Brush chicken thighs with mix, then bake until the skin is crispy and the inside of the chicken is cooked. Serve with roasted veggies.
Million dollar spaghetti. You need 1lb spaghetti, 1-1.5 mild Italian sausage,48 oz marinara, 1.5 cups sour cream, 8 oz cream cheese, 3 cups shredded Italian cheese, 2 TBSP basil pesto. Cool spaghetti as it says on the box, cook sausage in a pan, crumble well. Add marinara sauce and cooked spaghetti to pan, stir. In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream, and basil pesto. Add 1 cup cheese. Layer meat/spaghetti/marinara and cream cheese/sour/cream/pesto in a greased 9x13 inch pan. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for 40 mins. I add a veggie or a Caesar salad as a side.
Crock some chicken breasts on the weekend in broth and spice it up to taste with garlic, oregano, onion salt, whatever sounds good to you. Shred the chicken when done and strain the broth. You now have shredded chicken to use in pretty much any way (tacos, burritos, nachos, soup, sandwiches) and the broth can make soup or be frozen for later use.
Protein powder and Greek yogurt. Quick and filling, plus you can dress it up with fruit, nuts, peanut butter, etc. depending on the flavor and how much effort you want to put in. Another easy one is roasts. There’s a lot of recipes online but the easiest one I know of is setting the oven to 325 degrees and cooking the meat for about 25 minutes per pound. I usually season with salt, pepper, and rosemary then cover it with aluminum foil. This way you have a lot of meat you can pair with vegetables, salads, even sandwiches throughout the week. These are my two go-to “recipes” when I’m busy or unmotivated.
I make a bowl of shredded Mexican chicken for a few days worth of easy Mexican-style stuff. Will cook a pound of chicken breasts and plainly season them and use those for everything from salads to tacos to Western sushi or pad Thai. Makes mealtime pretty quick and easy throughout the week.
The best soup ever:Potatoes, cabbage, a can of crushed tomatoes (atleast thats what theyre called here), onions, peppers, chili, beef boullion cubes, water.
Its supereasy to make and is best served with a spoon of sour cream! :-)
I live alone and keep portions of homemade chicken soups in the freezer for my evening meal. Chicken broth, stock, onion,celery,carrots, rotisserie chicken. When ready to eat can change it up with rice, potatoes, coconut milk, dumplings, noodles , tortellini.Individual servings of meatballs and lasagne also freeze well.
Get an Instapot and make large batches freezing what you don’t eat in meal sized portions. Chicken and rice soup is a snap with a couple of boneless chicken breasts and boxed stock with brown rice and veggies. Pork butt is cheap and makes great pulled pork in the Instapot. Rice and beans in the Instapot are easy. For a quick, out-the-door breakfast, Eggos in the toaster with peanut butter and bananas are an easy hand-held “sandwich”. I make my own trailmix with Craisins, walnuts and chocolate chips and take a baggie with me when I’m in a real jam or to the gym for a mouthful snack during workouts.
Okay so I have one so far.
California mixed frozen veggies. Fry them in a pan with Garlic powder Onion powder Salt Pepper Tiny bit of steak spice because it’s saltyFry till soft then continue till golden and crip looking. Cook you favourite rice Too the veggies add soy sause and if you want beef bouillon. Mix two and bam great food.
I do a black bean and corn quesadilla. I can of black beans, 1 can of corn mixed with 1/3-1/2 jar of salsa, a packet of taco seasoning. Cooked in a tortilla with cheese on the sandwich press. Makes about 6 quesadillas if you fold the tortilla in half, if you use two whole tortillas like a sandwich you can stretch to 4 quesadillas. You could always add some shredded chicken or pork if you wanted meat, but non meat meals are cheaper for something different through the week.
Quesadilla. Two tortillas, add beans cheese veggies meat, fry flip and fry. Let cool, slice with pizza cutter.
Ramen: sweet potato chopped and boiled, add noodles and half the powder, crack an egg (or defrost some precooked shrimp), add a bit of dried wakame, grate some frozen gingerroot, add chili paste and sesame oil, 1 tsp miso.
Eggs and beans: 1/3rd can of black beans in pan, crack an egg, cover and poach the egg to perfection, add chili paste and sour cream. Toast with as much butter as you like (the eggs were cooked without grease) and jam. Coffee brewed every six days, kept in fridge and microwaved yum.
Salad: huge serving of lettuce plus a good dressing, maybe toast with butter and brewer’s yeast. (If you eat a huge salad you can eat a candy bar for dinner and it’s still a balanced meal.)
Bread and cheese: melt cheese onto bread in broiler or toaster oven. Wash and slice pepper, cucumber, apple. Eat, chips optional.
ps. if you can identify me based on my go to meals, send me a clue.
Lentil veggie soup (I make a huge batch so it’s ready to go when I’m hungry) and boiled eggs (which you can also do in batches) I add them to the soup and perhaps I’ll garnish it with cilantro and lime juice (you can also pre make this and keep in a container.
Tomato soup and grilled cheese - bread, butter, cheese, condensed soup
Bean burritos- tortillas, refried beans, cheese- hot sauce or salsa
Canned tuna, mayo, relish, on top of crackers
Bagels, pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni. Pop in toaster oven or oven
Frozen ravioli + marinara sauce
Bake chicken beasts, bagged salad mix, dressing, cucumber, tomatoes
Scrambled eggs. Throw in some spinach while they’re cooking & let it wilt. Turn off heat and stir in some salsa. Top with crushed tortilla chips (not so health but makes it taste way better and gives it some texture). A quickie version of the Mexican dish called Migas I believe.
Chana Masala! Can be made with shelf stable ingredients pretty quick. If you have a bit more time, I like Food With Chetna’s recipe, but there are a ton out there.
Some of y’all really need to learn how to cook lol.
Spanglish sandwich…yes, it’s from that movie. And I freaking love this sandwich. Filling and easy. Basically, toast some good bread and cheese in the oven, till it’s bubbly. Then add cooked bacon, lettuce, tomato and a fried egg. Mayo if you like. Killer sandwich.
Make something as a staple a couple times a week and use it through the week - when I was in college, it was chicken breast, ground beef or tuna salad. Pair or mix with salad, raw veggies, canned soups, frozen microwave veggies, couscous, eggs, noodles/ramen, bread or rice. Mrs Dash makes great spice mixtures and so does McCormick’s. There are also now oven pan meals, where everything comes frozen and in the bag and all you have to do is bake it. I like the sweet potato, chicken and asparagus kit. Lunch meat was another staple for me. I would make sandwiches at lunch time.