help with poor mans diet. college student..?
OK here is my problem.. I'm very low on income. i need help constructing an inexpensive but healthy diet. my current diet ( i love breakfast ) Oatmeal w/ strawberries for breakfast paired with a cheese and Broccoli omelet. that holds me over until around noon Lunch I eat a couple turkey dogs with mayo and mustard with water to drink. Dinner i eat couscous in chicken broth with diced hot dogs along with some sliced and seasoned yellow potatoes (baked of course) as yu can see my meals aren't exactly balanced but they are very cheap... throughout the day i still get hungry...im mildly active but i have no idea how i can change my diet while getting more out of my dollar if yu know what i mean. so what im asking is for some of your ideas. any cheap recipes yu might wanna pass on to this bank broken college student? id really appreciate it. if yu need any info you can contact me at minifrochris@gmail.com im always logged in
Cooking & Recipes - 19 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
Wow you eat better than I did as a college student.
2 :
errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr no go geta bath you sweaty fishlol joke dont take it offensive sorry i dont know how to i cant help
3 :
eat white bread with your meals.. Bread helps you stay full.
4 :
get some chicken quaters and season them well with garlic, rosmary and black pepper. then heat a skillet or pan up with some olive oil or whatever oil you have and sear them on both sides until they have a carmel color to them. then put them in a pot of chicken broth and one onion cut up and simmer for two to three hours. after that serve them over white rice and some bootleg wine and youve fot yourself a five meal! i make this all the time when im broke and my boyfriend loves it. the meat is so tender it falls off the bone and you ca get it for like 79 cents a pound
5 :
unfortunalty poor doesnt give you much options. try growing some of your own veggies! Take your vitimans maintan balance Buy and Cook in bulk, freeze left-overs in portion sized containers. and pick from them. believe it or not this is cheaper. these websites are good reasorces: http://www.shape.com/healthy_eating http://www.mnsu.edu/shs/healtheducation/bmc/
6 :
Dont listen to EnvyMe white bread passes through you like a hot knife through butter you wont be full off it for an hour. Lol your doing pretty good i think
7 :
Being a poor college student myself, I find that it's better to start with where you shop first. In my college town (Chapel Hill), it's usually the food lions that have the cheapest prices on food. I can usually get a lot of healthy groceries with only $30. I usually get a lot of grains if I want to be full throughout the day (oatmeal as you mentioned, rice, pasta, etc). They're high in fiber and can be mixed with a lot of cheap veggies to make for a healthier meal (pasta salad with cucumbers, beef and broccoli with rice, etc). The hardest thing for me, it seems, is having the time (or the will ;) to prepare all that healthy stuff.
8 :
well good for you for cooking at home! it's much cheaper than fast food and other restaurants! know that casseroles are cheap, easy to make, and last a looong time. You can make a HUGE pot of whatever casserole..eat some for a day or 2 and put the rest in plastic containers in the freezer. Take them out later to microwave and they will taste just as good as when you first cooked it! Spaghetti's is cheap and can be frozen nicely. Homemade soups also. Know that tomato based foods freeze easily, like spaghetti's and lasagna. Dishes with milk in..don't freeze too well in my opinion, like chicken pot pie (there's milk in the sauce). But those dishes can be put in the fridge for several days. Just think of how you can cook a meal for low money and have lots of leftovers left. type in "cheap recipes" in google and a bunch will come up. www.campbellkitchen.com has great receipes too for low cost.
9 :
hey your breakfast is great and pretty balanced, I think! that's the most important part. you should probably add in a couple of snack times to hold you over too. How about beans and nuts? Unsalted peanuts still in the shell can be inexpensive. Tuna is great for cheap and healthy too. Cottage cheese is high protein/low fat if you can find it on sale. If you are able to save up and buy your food in bulk, whey powder is the cheapest source of protein. Seriously! $70 for a 10lbs bag lasting 4 months. I add it and a little wheat germ to smoothies and voila! stay hydrated and get in the protein, healthy oils, fiber, fruit and dairy (2 % milk) all rolled into one. You are on the right track, it seems. Eating healthy on a college budget can be SUCH a challenge. Keep up the good work!
10 :
Get yourself some Hormel Chili. Add one half of a cup of water. Stir and bring to a boil. Add 1 cup of rice and cover, remove from heat. In about 5 minutes you will have a hearty Chili with rice main dish. Serve on warm flour tortillas (heat in microwave for 1 minute on high). Fix just as you would a taco...sour cream, shredded cheese, tomatoes/salsa...whatever floats your boat. Cut up some celery and carrots (the big ones, not the little baby carrots..they're expensive). Eat with Ranch Dressing as a side.
11 :
Hi, I find canned beans are cheap and a great bang for your buck. I really like chick peas. I add some lemon juice and olive oil, and jazz it up with onions if I have them. Canned beans....not pork and beans, or the ones with tomato sauce in it...however if you like that kind of stuff its ok. They are great protein, vitamins, fibre and they really sustain you until your next meal. There is a whole variety out there. You can add them to salad, or mix them and make a salad. You can add them to broth with a few noodles for a soup. You can puree them and they are a spread or dip. Celery, carrots, are pretty cheap too. Sometimes buying the frozen kind is actually cheaper, and all the work is done for you. Eggs- make an omlette / frittata for dinner. Saute some potatoes onions, you can even put hot dogs in there. Cheese too. add your eggs. Make a bigger batch, you can use the rest for lunch or breakfast the next day. family size ground beef. usually is at a better price. I pre pack it into freezer bags , small ones. Portion size, then I freeze it. That is a cheap meal with some beans, noodles or rice. I hope this helps. Good luck Happy Cooking
12 :
Use recipes with more rice, couscous, pastas, and frozen veggies. These are more filling. Buy frozen fruits to snack on. Frozen is always cheaper. Omit the hot dogs and fatty condiments. Start coupon clipping. You can save so much money in the least likely areas.
13 :
been there dude, In college, I tried the fast food route (buying the cheapest things on the menu) and I became sick of it after a few months. Here are some good, cheap recipe's for you.... *Baked fish I recommend kroger: buy fresh fish that has been packaged (usually 3 or 4 dollars a package can get you fillets for 1 or two meals) It can be any kind, tilapia, catfish, salmon, halibut, mahi=mahi, etc...If you buy the ones which have been packaged for a few days, they will still taste fresh, just cook them within a couple of days. ***With any of the fish, I like to marinate them with lemon juice, lemon & pepper seasoning, or whatever seasoning you have.cilantro gives it a good splash of flavor too... ***bake the fish @ 390 degrees for about 30 min.... ***Throw some tater tots at the same time, and you've got a meal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***buy a frozen bag of already cooked chicken breasts. ***sprinkle lemon juice on it, or water, and microwave about 1 min on high on each side ***cut chicken and place it on top of lettuce leaves for a nice salad, buy some michelina microwave fettucinni for a buck fifty, and you've got chicken fettuccini. Buy a box of buttered garlic toast and use it with a toaster on medium, and you've got a great italian meal. ***You can also put the chicken breast on bread for a nice sandwich----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***In summer, or when you're eating light, buy a couple of packs of deli meat (pre-packaged is much cheeper and economical) Buy two different kinds )maybe oven roasted chicken, ham, turkey) and already cooked bacon, and cheese slices.... ***You can make different combos of sandwiches... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ***Eckeridge farm sells nice sausages that you can just put some water on and microwave, or simmer on the stove for about 8-10 minutes, and thats a meal too ______________________________________________________ wolf brand chili, fritos, and mild cheddar, salsa make a good chili pie ____________________________________________ ***buy raw chicken drum sticks (Try kroger type store: 16 drumsticks for under $4! ***put half the chicken in a freezer bag, use at least 8 ***wash and pat dry ***marinate with lemon, seasoning, or olive oil ***bake between 375- 390 degrees for about 1 hr uncovered in a glass dish.... ***Eating two drumsticks with a side like chips, canned veggies, etc. will give you 4 meals.... ******Fish and chicken will give you great protein, and it will give you the energy and nutrients you need to stay focused on your studies...Also, its healthier and cheaper than fast food in the long run... ***A foreman grill is great because you can cook burger patties whenever you want, quickly, and the patties can be had on the cheap as well....
14 :
You need to add more fruit and veggies to your diet. Go for the fruits and veggies that are in season. They're often cheaper that way. These foods are in season: Broccoli watermelon oranges spinach strawberries When these foods are too expensive you can get some of them frozen. It's cheaper this way. Your breakfast sounds good. Just make sure you're eating fresh strawberries, natural oatmeal with low sugar, and don't use too much oil when cooking your eggs. You can even replace those eggs with nuts sometimes... almonds are good but peanuts or a cheaper alternative. Plus try adding fish to your lunch. A medium sized piece of fish has way more protein than a hotdog and about the same amount of calories. Ground turkey is good for you and cheap too. Just use it for everything you use meat for, burgers, spaghetti (whole wheat pasta and bread), ect. I always read food labels to know what's in the food I'm eating. That helps me find food that will benefit me the most. I hope all of this helps you.=)
15 :
Ramen noodles, canned tuna in water, pastas all shapes, spaghetti noodles and tomato sauce, If you can take it T.V. dinners. Where I live they come on sale for $0.87. When you are going to cook any kind of meat make sure you cook to serve an army. This way you can freeze individual servings in zip lock bags.
16 :
eat black beans and long grain brown rice with brocoli and/or cauliflower, red onions, whole wheat bread, and plain yogurt
17 :
I am a very good cook since I was a kid, I am also very frugal - read= cheap. Buy what is on sale and read the ads. If you have a place where you can buy bulk, stock up on rice, pasta, spuds, Seasonal veggies are usually a good buy. Here in CA I bought 5 ears of corn for .87 Whole chickens are 78 cents a pound, cook one of these and eat for days, Sandwiches, soup etc. Carrots, celery and onions are usually cheep and the base of many meals. Shop ethnic markets and farmers markets for good buys. They don't want to lug that stuff back home so go late in the day and bargain. When I first met my husband, I could take $5 and buy a chicken, a sack of potatoes and a bag of corn w/ stick of butter and we could eat that for 3-4 days. That was in the 80's, but I think I could still pull it off for less than $10
18 :
you might wanna substitute one of your meals with a cheaper source of protein like egg white. lentils. or brown rice. getting to you're daily diet here's a grocery list that might help you stay well fed on a budget. -powder/long life milk <-- it's cheaper and most brands are fortified. -eggs. <--use the white for leaner protein. -brown rice. <--good source of vitamin A.B and fibre. -white rice <-- a cheap substitute to potatoes that is rich in vitamin B. -yellow lentils. <-- high in iron and good for soups. -black lentils, <-- rich in iron and a good source of protein. good with rice or stir fried with onions and peas. -wheat or rye bread,<-- buy them in larger portions than you usually do and than freeze them. thawing just what you're going to eat that day. it'll stay fresh for up to 8 weeks and will save you on both bread and gas for the trips. -steal cut oats.<-- look for a cheaper brand you can buy in bulk. -fresh fruits and veggies. <--if you freeze your own. you'll save allot more money.
19 :
One of my favorites to eat and its cheap and good for you, too. 1 can spicy Black Beans, stewed mexican tomatoes (with the spices in it) 2 cups cooked brown rice (Uncle Bens Microwave in 90 seconds is good) and 1/2 to 1 tsp garlic powder. Mix and heat up (in the microwave) the black beans, cut up stewed tomatoes (into smaller pieces) and garlic powder. Cook the rice. Mix or pour bean mixture over the top. I like to mix it together. If you have it, can add ground chilies to make it extra spicy.
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