What Are Some Easy To Make Cheap Meals For A Low Budget [Student]?!
Answers: Hello All I am Planning Ahead For When I Am A Student Living On My Own Under A Budget What Are Some Fast And Easy To Prepare Meals I Can Make For One I like Most Types Of Food But I Do Not Like To Eat Out Of A Tin/Can If I Can Help It I Would Also Like Healthy Meals If You Know Any That Are Simply To Make And Cheap Also I Am Not A Vegetarian Or Vegan And I Eat Most Meat Thank You For Reading Have A Great Day
most recipes can be scaled down. I hope you get a toaster oven electric skillet and microfridge and microwave for your embarkments. but here is a couple to get you started
mexican chicken with rice
1 chicken breast
1 jar of salsa
1/2 cup rice
1 cup water
salt and pepper
season chicken with a sprinkle of salt and pepper set in skillet and sear both sides add salsa and rice and water and bring to a boil. set down to low and simmer for 20 minutes and serve. meal fit for a king.
get those bagged salads for a sides and for something healthy
here is something nice for breakfast.
1 large potato diced
2 eggs whisked
3 strips bacon chopped
2 oz shredded cheese
take the bacon and start frying in a pan when some fat is rendered place potato in the pan. fry untill the potato is just about cooked thru. add eggs and cook till done then sprinle with cheddar cheese.
steaks are always easy to prepare and hamburger just get a box of frozen and make to order. preparing meals from scratch is always the cheaper way to go so keep that in mind. if your neck of the woods offers cooking classes it would be well worth your while to attend.
just remember you can scale down any recipe.
Get a costco membership, save loads of cash. Frozen dinners are always cheap
Made yourself sandwiches (pb&j, meat & cheese, etc), cup o noodles (i know a little cliche, but they are really life savers when youre low on cash), and if all else fails, just walk around the gorcery store with a cart looking out for good cheap meal ideas.
Get some spaghetti a can of tomato sauce and you will be good for 2 days .very cheap...
two words, hamburger helper lol. Use a lot of the boxed meals and frozen dinners, macaroni and cheese, a lot of potatoes lol. Some of them wont taste very good but you have to find ones that work. in general the hamburger helper is good no matter what lol.
Shop the outside of the store for fresh foods. get some fresh veggies not too many at a time as we all tend to think we'll usethem and then throw them away. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, an avocado or two, celery, garlic and carrots. Frozen chicken that you can thaw a piece or two at a time. Tortillas for wraps or burrittos, cheese, sour cream, salsa. Canned tomatoe for sauce or to go with beans or make your own salsa. Buying one meat per week and freezing some of it will keep some variety in your diet and help with the budget. Plus roomates don't tend to steal food that isn't cooked. Bacon and sausages freeze well and go good with pasta. I keep on hand some frozen, peas, corn and green beans. The bags can be re-sealed. You need some vegetable oil. salt, pepper, Italian and taco seasoning. Think mostly veggies, a little meat and some starches. If you want to eat healthier buy the whole grain version of pastas and grains. Have a few fruits on hand. A few different types of canned beans are great for burrittos or soups like minestrone where you can use up the veggie odds and ends. Rice can be cooked and frozen in little sandwich sized ziplocs. Freeze the rice in serving size portions. Cook a batch once a month for burritos or a quick stir fry or soup. You can keep a few sauces or salad dressings on hand like teriyaki, sweet-n-sour, ranch. The peels and ends from carrots , celery and onions make a nice vegetable stock add some chicken bones and you have chicken stock. Just strain and then the stock can be frozen in little bags. Then use the stock to make a quick soup or added to rice or pasta dishes for nutrition and flavor. Buy a big container of ground beef and make meatloaf and then use leftover meatloaf to make spaghetti sauce or meatloaf sandwiches. or freeze some to make a dish the following week if you don't want to eat ground beef every day. Then there is always tacos.
First of all congratulations for planning ahead. Very smart.
Mostly this depends on what sorts of food you like to eat. Don't fall into the trap of making things that are only cheap and quick, like instant noodles and sandwiches - they're okay maybe for a quick fix, but you have to respect yourself enough to eat properly. After all, you will be studying, and need your vitamins and proteins and all that.
Try keeping a lot of frozen veggies in the freezer - those mixed packs of different kinds, like cauliflower and broccoli, corn and carrots, etc. Pour some - frozen - into a deep microwave-safe bowl, zap them for 3-4 minutes. Then top with some good quality shredded cheese and sliced ham or chicken if you like. Zap for 30 seconds. Healthy and filling.
Also, eggs microwave very well. Crack two eggs into a small microwaveable dish, add salt & pepper, zap them for a minute or a bit more, eat with toast -- easy and inexpensive. Top them with cheese, too, or chopped peppers, onions - basically anything you'd put in an omelette. And if you're going to have access to a stove, omelettes are a great bet, too.
I said frozen veg because buying fresh veg all the time might be problematic if you don't know what your schedule is going to be or if you'll be able to use them up. If you buy meat, separate chicken pieces, for instance, into separate ziploc bags and freeze them individually, so you always have a portion ready to cook without having to defrost a lot.
It's a good time to jazz up your pasta repertoire - try different types - there are protein pastas, whole wheat, etc - cheap, healthy, and filling. If you use sauces from jars, there are some good ones out there without a lot of preservatives or make a batch of your own and use it over the course of a week or so. Add some grated cheese and garlic bread and you're done.
Ethnic foods of all sorts are a great bet when you're a student (or any other time) - you can expand your knowledge of world cultures by exploring local small restaurants, which are often inexpensive, then maybe pick up ingredients at a local shop and a cookbook at the library to see if you can re-create some of the recipes. Keep an open mind and try different cuisines.
If you like to cook, try making larger batches of some foods and freezing individual portions for later.
Good luck and have fun!
Get yourself some good cookbooks
The Starving Students' Cookbook
? Where's Mom Now That I Need Her : Surviving Away from Home
? The Healthy College Cookbook: Quick. Cheap. Easy
? The College Cookbook : An Alternative to the Meal Plan
? The College Student's Cookbook : Reluctant, Nervous, Lazy, Broke, Busy, Confused
? Cooking Outside the Pizza Box: Easy Recipes for Today's College Student
? Tray Gourmet : Be Your Own Chef in the College Cafeteria
? The Kitchenless Cookbook
? The Big City Small Kitchen Cookbook: Cooking Without Time and Space
? Cooking 1.2.3.
? Microwave Cooking for One
check at your book stores. target and walmart etc