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I’m a student as well and I work the weekends and evenings to pay the bills. I would often make a fish pie, stew, or pasta bake on a Sunday evening and then take portions with me to college to eat for lunches and also have some when I get home in the evenings. If the college has a microwave she could always have a quick bite during a study break. It’s also a good idea for a quick snack to buy foods like bananas, chocolate, nut & fruit mix, granola bars etc, to keep you going throughout the day. For a quick, tasty and energy rich breakfast she could try some microwave oatmeal with honey/maple syrup and banana.
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E_7
Guest
Wow, thank you all. I’ll refer the thread link to my sister. Thanks!
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Sarcelle
Guest
Yes
Cheap meals does not necessarily mean unhealthy.
Lentils and beans along with brown rice are cheap, filling and healthy along with fruit and veg in season.
Frozen fruit or veg will also do.
Pinterest has good suggestions on meals.
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Eliza10
Guest
Pianistclare’s recipe sounds great. It’s protein and vegetable rich recipe, very healthy for for energy and fortification. You can get her some quart freezer bags for portions of the leftovers. (I would put the filled bags in the freezer on a baking sheet so they freeze flat - then they stack nice). So she can move a bag from freezer to fridge in the morning and heat it up on the stove after classes (for energy and immune support I suggest stove over microwave!). Breads and cereals and ramen are about the very worst thing she can live on. Yes, her youth will keep her going but the grains will drain her energy. And being tired and undernourished will make her vulnerable to all the colds and flus in her environment. Does she have time for that? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure…
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oldgraymare2
Guest
I also advocate the use of a slow cooker/Crock Pot.
You can make some really nice stews, soups, and one pot meals in them.
I buy the least expensive cuts of meats to use in mine.
I use chicken parts/pieces to make soup and other chicken recipes.
I also advocate getting a bread maker machine.
I have one and I like using it.
The bread maker does all of the work for you–it does the kneading, the proofing, and the baking.
You can use different flours in it to make different kinds of breads.
You can make some really nice stews, soups, and one pot meals in them.
I buy the least expensive cuts of meats to use in mine.
I use chicken parts/pieces to make soup and other chicken recipes.
I also advocate getting a bread maker machine.
I have one and I like using it.
The bread maker does all of the work for you–it does the kneading, the proofing, and the baking.
You can use different flours in it to make different kinds of breads.
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Rosebud77
Guest
So sorry for your need and so thankful you have food banks there…
here I am able to cope but I haunt the reduced counters here; fresh food at often half price because of our food safety laws …
And I check each week online what fruit etc is on special. Our big supermarkets are in a price was and sell at less than 50 cents on a wide range each week Not eating meat cuts cost too… cheese is grand.
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Rosebud77
Guest
My quick lunch? A small microwaved sweet potato, topped with grated cheese… All of five minutes and cost less than 30 cents …
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tomarin
Guest
Lentils also don’t take long to cook, since you don’t need to soak them beforehand.
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Lea101
Guest
My brother in uni buys a huge pack of mixed nuts and keeps it at his desk. He also have ramen noodles, not the healthiest but the easiest to prepare
As he stays in a dorm, they have meal plans at the canteen…
My other brother studies a lot and forgets to eat. The most convenient meal for him is toast/sandwich tbh. I personally take 2 mins to prepare a baked potato (stab it with a fork, rub olive oil and some salt), pop it into the oven and do my work while it’s cooking. After that, I cut it, sprinkle some grated cheese and enjoy
I’m not really an expert on healthy and quick meals (besides the usual beans and canned or frozen veggies) but maybe you can consider smoothies? Frozen bananas, some milk can be enough. She can add more stuff like protein powder, kale etc if she wants. It’s easy to prepare (you throw everything in a blender) and it’s filling.
When I was busy studying, I didn’t really care about nutrients and sugar etc, i just needed the energy so I kept granola bars/nuts/candies with me to eat if I need them. I also get blueberries and munch on then. Yogurt was also a good friend. Peanut butter on a spoon too
As he stays in a dorm, they have meal plans at the canteen…
My other brother studies a lot and forgets to eat. The most convenient meal for him is toast/sandwich tbh. I personally take 2 mins to prepare a baked potato (stab it with a fork, rub olive oil and some salt), pop it into the oven and do my work while it’s cooking. After that, I cut it, sprinkle some grated cheese and enjoy
I’m not really an expert on healthy and quick meals (besides the usual beans and canned or frozen veggies) but maybe you can consider smoothies? Frozen bananas, some milk can be enough. She can add more stuff like protein powder, kale etc if she wants. It’s easy to prepare (you throw everything in a blender) and it’s filling.
When I was busy studying, I didn’t really care about nutrients and sugar etc, i just needed the energy so I kept granola bars/nuts/candies with me to eat if I need them. I also get blueberries and munch on then. Yogurt was also a good friend. Peanut butter on a spoon too
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UpUpAndAway
Guest
Once-a-month cooking, perhaps?
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Eliza10
Guest
I don’t think that would work for an architecture student. I tried it twice with a another stay-at-home mom when we had babies and toddlers. After a good day or two of planning and organizing and shopping, cooking takes a whole long day of intense focus. And with little ones underfoot we had an unbelievable mess to clean up at exhausted day’s end. I remember the end-of-work mess at my friends house the first go-around - besides a jungle of food and child debris kid there was hundreds upon hundreds of pennies, pennies everywhere. However, we all enjoyed a month of effortless good family meals so we tried it again at my house. Then, never again…
So its a good thing for some situations, but I don’t see a college student spending all this time planning and prepping interesting family meals like Cordon Bleu and Shepherd’s Pie…
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pensmama87
Guest
Right. I think it can be useful for those who are motivated and really enjoy cooking and good meals but are just short on time, but for those who just want to be able to eat something without effort, it can be better to just prep extra of something when you do cook. That’s the method I do now, actually, because it’s rare that I have time to devote an entire day to cooking. When you’re single, it’s nice because you can prep just one or two recipes and as long as you have the storage space (which you do if you have a standard fridge/freezer), you’ve got meals for 1-2 weeks ready to go, if you don’t mind eating the same thing over and over. Some people do mind that, but busy students frequently don’t (and if I hit on a recipe I like, I don’t mind either!)
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Medical_Student
Guest
Look up college bodybuilding diet plans.
Eggs (with yolk)
Beans
Maize
These 3 make up a large part of a diet in many parts of the world (e.g. Rift Valley, Kenya).
Personally, I would rather take out loans than not eat healthily. Even just an extra $1000 or 2000 dollars can provide you with ample salmon (frozen), tilapia, cod–even scallops or crab occasionally (frozen) for the year, along with a ton left over for high quality meats and produce.
Spend couple grand here, save it on future medical bills and feel amazing.
Ground beef, turkey.
Chicken breasts.
Many cuts of pork.
Sweet potatoes
Regular whole potatoes (Russet, Idaho, Red, Yukon, etc.)
Frozen vegetables
Cabbage (lasts forever)
Brown rice (cheap as)
Brown pasta
Quinoa
Butter (full fat)
Olive oil
Omega 3 Fish Oil supp.
Cut the carbohydrates from the diet that aren’t “natural” (yes, a loaded word, still using it here)–e.g. coke, bread, pie
Summary/tl;dr:
Focus on high satiety index foods/whole foods/foods that were probably around 100 years ago as a general rule
My roommates and I got absolutely stacked on these types of foods (sort of paleo/natural).
Also consider intermittent fasting 3:4 or 4:3 (Google it).
Eggs (with yolk)
Beans
Maize
These 3 make up a large part of a diet in many parts of the world (e.g. Rift Valley, Kenya).
Personally, I would rather take out loans than not eat healthily. Even just an extra $1000 or 2000 dollars can provide you with ample salmon (frozen), tilapia, cod–even scallops or crab occasionally (frozen) for the year, along with a ton left over for high quality meats and produce.
Spend couple grand here, save it on future medical bills and feel amazing.
Ground beef, turkey.
Chicken breasts.
Many cuts of pork.
Sweet potatoes
Regular whole potatoes (Russet, Idaho, Red, Yukon, etc.)
Frozen vegetables
Cabbage (lasts forever)
Brown rice (cheap as)
Brown pasta
Quinoa
Butter (full fat)
Olive oil
Omega 3 Fish Oil supp.
Cut the carbohydrates from the diet that aren’t “natural” (yes, a loaded word, still using it here)–e.g. coke, bread, pie
Summary/tl;dr:
Focus on high satiety index foods/whole foods/foods that were probably around 100 years ago as a general rule
My roommates and I got absolutely stacked on these types of foods (sort of paleo/natural).
Also consider intermittent fasting 3:4 or 4:3 (Google it).
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Rosebud77
Guest
Picking my jaw up off the ground… rich guy!
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Rosebud77
Guest
Very easy to cook a large pot full but if you are in your own, it can get wasted.
Good food matters and it can be inexpensive without being boring …Have gathered here a reduced rice butternut squash and I was given two large onions, add a sweet potato… and lentils…maybe a small piece of chicken for flavour, that will do today and tomorrow … Do you have “reduced” counters there? I was in the shops late in the day this week and stocked up on bread rolls at under 20 cents a packet. Was given farm butter and have home made marmalade…
No one could eat better
Good food matters and it can be inexpensive without being boring …Have gathered here a reduced rice butternut squash and I was given two large onions, add a sweet potato… and lentils…maybe a small piece of chicken for flavour, that will do today and tomorrow … Do you have “reduced” counters there? I was in the shops late in the day this week and stocked up on bread rolls at under 20 cents a packet. Was given farm butter and have home made marmalade…
No one could eat better
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pensmama87
Guest
Yes, learning where to shop can help a lot, too. People who were raised just going to the nearest grocery store (like I was) may not understand how much pricing can vary, or how things are arranged on shelves so the biggest profit-makers are set right at eye level.Very easy to cook a large pot full but if you are in your own, it can get wasted.
Good food matters and it can be inexpensive without being boring …Have gathered here a reduced rice butternut squash and I was given two large onions, add a sweet potato… and lentils…maybe a small piece of chicken for flavour, that will do today and tomorrow … Do you have “reduced” counters there? I was in the shops late in the day this week and stocked up on bread rolls at under 20 cents a packet. Was given farm butter and have home made marmalade…
No one could eat better
Look for Aldi or “grocery outlets,” day old bread stores, bulk stores (if you can buy small quantities, because 50 lbs of flour or dried beans isn’t going to do much good if you have no place to put it). “Ethnic” grocery stores can sometimes often staples inexpensively.
If not too much trouble, learning to keep a price book is very useful. For a single person it should not be very difficult because there aren’t a lot of products to keep track of. Just note unit pricing at different stores for frequently purchased items. Usually one or two will emerge as generally the cheapest. This works best in an urban or dense suburban area and may not help as much in a rural setting where there aren’t as many options. My price book helped me learn that even with coupons one local grocery chain was basically never worth going to.
If you can get a copy of the local sales ads (or look online), that can do some of the work too.
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Rosebud77
Guest
I shop once a fortnight now and my nearest town is small but has all our main 4 supermarkets…Dunnes, tesco, Aldi and LIDL and each have their own offers which I can check online. Happy with" everyday " brand things Always a range of fruit and vegetables at under 50 cents … Dunnes put out their reduced fresh food soon after 8.30 so that is my first call and I do very well there. .bread etc as well as chickens
I was housebound for decades and LOVE shopping!
Other things eg the instant coffee I like go on special with big reductions every few weeks so I stock then
I would not shop rural EVER! . The difference is huge and i use shopping days as outings anyway which in this glorious country is a joy
brexit has made a nasty difference to my UK pension so frugality has taken on new meaning … ah well! All is a challenge and that is fine too…
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Rosebud77
Guest
P.S when money is short it is vital you factor in "treats"else you will feel deprived, One of our big supermarkets here even has a counter in the bakery section labelled TREATS, Luscious cakes and pastries…
And at church and social event, “tea and a treat” feature.
With me it is cakes and chocolate and, very very rarely, ice cream… ( Only rare as I live too far from he shops to get ice cream home safely)
Enough to make eating enjoyable and not a dire deprivation…
And at church and social event, “tea and a treat” feature.
With me it is cakes and chocolate and, very very rarely, ice cream… ( Only rare as I live too far from he shops to get ice cream home safely)
Enough to make eating enjoyable and not a dire deprivation…
J
jaimeleglise
Guest
Thank you very much for your support,Rosebud. Praying for you.
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