College eats

We’ve all heard the horrific clichés of the “freshman 15,” or stereotypes of microwave dinners and pocket meals. But hey, it’s not like you’re made of money or went to culinary school!

College has been known to play host to perhaps the worst diet that you will have in your life. But don’t bow down to the microwave just yet. Believe it or not, there is a middle ground.

The following are four simple ideas for good and cheap college eats—emphasis on cheap—but still going beyond the common student’s culinary proficiency, or lack there of. Keep in mind, I try to keep it as healthy as possible, but this isn’t an article for your calorie-cutting, fat-burning, magically vigorous dietary regiment. Nothing takes the place of healthy food, your doctor’s instruction or good exercise.

A few tips to start you off

– Own a pot and a pan: If you’re using these often, it could indicate that you’re eating a lot better than your neighbor. Plus they make a great late-night burglary defense device.

– Invest in some seasoning: A spice rack can go a long way, and most good spices won’t cost you too much yet will last a while. When you think that a healthy meal is gonna lack, you know, taste, a little seasoning can take it up a notch.

– Canned vegetables aren’t always bad: They can be much cheaper and sometimes easier to cook with. But pay attention to the next tip…

– Read labels: Read the labels of the stuff you buy. The more basic the ingredients of what you’re eating, the better it probably is for you.

Ramen stir-fry

That’s right. Those ramen packages you’ve been boiling up can be better—well, they still aren’t that great for you, but you can add a few simple ingredients to benefit your body.

Open that ramen bag and take out the seasoning packet. Now throw that packet away. There really isn’t much in there except for a lot of salt and MSG.

Boil up those noodles as normal. When they’re ready, instead of making soup, stir-fry them up while adding a variety of vegetables. Think celery, onions, carrots, broccoli, peas, bell peppers, green onions and so on—anything you like. You can even throw on some chicken or steak strips. Use some seasoning, soy sauce, etc., for your preferred taste and remember, garlic is always good.

Soup

Soup is simple. The boiling does most of the work so you can rest easy.

Take chicken soup, for example. Use chicken bullion or soup base and mix it with water to your tastes. Set it to simmer. From there add some dry noodles, vegetables you like and seasoning. You can also add chunks of chicken that you either bought in a can or cooked up yourself.
Same deal for beef soup.
And don’t forget the garlic.

Wrap it up

Wraps are great to play with, as there are plenty of different recipes to use. A basic wrap is made by simply putting together a salad and wrapping it up in a soft tortilla shell. Use some lettuce, spinach or both and throw in a selection of your favorite vegetables. And like I said, you can play around with your own versions, but this one is fairly cheap.

If you want to take it further, though perhaps not as cheap, bake up some popcorn chicken for your wrap. And if you want to go even further, soak those chicken chunks in hot sauce mixed with a little melted butter for a nice, spicy kick. Oh, and did I mention the garlic yet?

Rice is nice

Rice can be used in just about everything and it goes a long way. It’s good on its own, but can be the base of just about any dish you enjoy. You can include it in your wrap or your soup. However, just a note for you counters out there, rice is packed with calories. But hey, take the stairs next time you have to get to the fourth floor of Neuberger and that should help. And save some bucks—don’t buy the fancy imported stuff that costs an arm and a leg.

If you can find some cheap curry, pour that on top. But a nice and cheap thing to do with rice is to scramble up an egg or two (depending on how much rice you made) and add it to some rice as you stir fry it along with some green onions, peas, carrots and any cooked, chopped chicken or beef you have around.

Come to think of it, garlic goes well with rice too. Yummy!