For college students, making cheap, healthy, nutritious meals can be a challenge. As a result, students will often eat fast food or resort to more unhealthy options. Coming up with meal ideas can be difficult, especially in the midst of winter while in school. Here are a few ideas that are cost effective, healthy, and nutritious for college students.
The first idea is a little more time-consuming and consists of chicken, tortellini, and cream cheese. The first step is finding all of your ingredients and supplies, including a 9×13 inch baking pan. After spraying the pan, cook your tortellini for about 3 minutes, just to soften the noodles slightly. Set the tortellini aside, and place chicken into the pan. The chicken may be frozen or thawed but must be cut into pieces. Then place tortellini and one package of chopped plain cream cheese in the baking dish. The cream cheese will melt and make the dish thicker and richer. For additional nutritional value, you may place vegetables in the pan as well. My personal favorite is tomatoes, but you can also use frozen green beans, carrots, or other vegetables for more vitamins and greens in the dish. Then add around 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream and sprinkle with the spices and herbs of your choosing. Cover the dish and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from oven and stir, also adding another 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream. If you desire, you can sprinkle the dish with parmesan before placing it, uncovered, back into the oven until golden brown. What is excellent about this dish is that it covers all food groups, and is filling, nutritious and relatively cheap to make. From start to finish, the dish takes around 35 minutes to make. If you do not finish the dish, you can portion it and freeze it for meals later in the week.
Another idea that is a little less time consuming is tacos. You will need ground beef, tortillas, taco seasoning, and whatever toppings you desire. The first step is browning the ground beef. Once it is near finished, add taco seasoning and the recommended amount of water, or, if you are like me, just estimate how much water you add in. After the ground beef is browned and seasoned, you may take off heat and let it cool. One way to add substantial nutritional value to your tacos is with a wide variety of toppings. You can add chopped tomato, lettuce, cheese, onion, sour cream, or any other toppings of your choosing. Homemade guacamole is my favorite addition to tacos. This can be made with avocado, salt, pepper, lemon juice, garlic salt, and any other spices that you desire to add. Avocado is an excellent source of healthy fats, a nutrient that your body requires. This meal can be made to feed just you or many people. This is a popular one in my college home because if everyone chips in and provides one ingredient, it is filling, inexpensive, quick, easy, and nutritious.
Homemade pizza is another favorite that can be made quickly and easily. You may purchase premade pizza crust, or you can opt for an easy, protein packed option. By using equal parts Greek yogurt and flour, you can make a thick pizza crust that you can top with ingredients of your choice. For example, if you want a 6-8 inch pizza, knead together 1 cup flour, 1 cup Greek yogurt, and add garlic salt and other seasoning as you see fit. After preparing the dough, cook in the oven for around 5 minutes before adding sauce and toppings. This allows the crust to form and cook slightly prior to adding anything. You can top the pizza with whatever you would like. This is one of my personal favorites as it takes about 20 minutes and is protein-rich, inexpensive, and filling.
Although these are just a few ideas for meals that are inexpensive, quick, and nutritious, there are many that exist. By fueling your body properly, you are setting yourself up for academic success for the duration of the school year.
Sadie Blace is a Dakota Student Section Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].