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Sick of eating cereal and ramen for lunch and dinner? Want to spend less money eating out and finally start cooking for yourself? Put down that frozen pizza, because HC’s Health Editor, Sammie Levin, is here to share her daily eats so you can get ideas for healthy, satisfying meals that are easy enough for any time-strapped collegiette to make. After you read Collegiette Eats, your taste buds, wallet and waistline will thank you.

Breakfast 

For breakfast yesterday morning, I had an egg and smoked salmon scramble made with one egg and a half cup of egg whites, smoked salmon, spinach and onions. 

Lunch 

My mom sent me a recipe for chickpea soup with orzo and vegetables that she saw in The Boston Globe because she knows how much I like chickpeas and she liked that it’s simple, with a relatively short ingredient list and only three basic steps. I made a batch for lunch yesterday and can confirm that it’s easy to make and tasty. I added some shredded chicken that I had bought in the prepared foods section of the grocery store, but otherwise this would have been a vegetarian/vegan friendly soup. The recipe, reposted below, makes four servings. I ate two servings as my lunch and saved the rest to eat for lunch or dinner today. 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium leek, white and light green parts coarsely chopped
  • 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, or more to taste
  • 3 cups chicken stock 
  • 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cups fresh spinach or kale leaves, or a mixture 

Directions

  1. In a soup pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the leek, celery, carrot, garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the vegetables soften.
  2. Add the chicken stock, chickpeas, orzo and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. 
  3. Add the spinach or kale and return to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the greens are tender but still a bright color. Taste for seasoning and add more salt or red pepper, if you’d like.

Dinner 

Salmon made an encore appearance yesterday at dinner. I made baked salmon served on top arugula and pine nuts with a side of parsnip and cauliflower purée.

If you like fish but avoid making it yourself because it seems too complicated or you don’t know how, then I have good news for you. Fish is actually much easier to prepare than it seems, especially if you’re just baking it! To make this salmon, I just seasoned a fresh filet bought at the grocery store with a little olive oil, salt, garlic powder and lemon pepper seasoning, baked it at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, and then broiled on medium-high for 10 minutes. With the flexibility to use fresh or frozen fish and any seasonings or sauces of your choice, fish gives you endless possibilities for a lean, protein-packed meal. 

A healthier alternative to mashed potatoes, the cauliflower and parsnip purée made for a great side dish. I followed a recipe from CHOW, reposted below. Cauliflower has been dominating the healthy swap scene on Collegiette Eats lately, with cauliflower rice and cauliflower pizza. What’s next? Cauliflower chocolate? Cauliflower bacon?! Those are two swaps that would really change my life. A girl can dream. Until I discover those, enjoy this purée. The recipe makes four to six servings, so reduce it accordingly or save the leftovers. 

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 pounds cauliflower (about 1 large head), trimmed, stems and florets cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
  • 8 ounces parsnips (about 2 medium), peeled and cut into large diced pieces
  • 1 medium garlic clove, smashed
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
  • White pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk (I used 2 percent milk because I didn’t have whole) 

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in large saucepan with a tight-fitting lid over medium-high heat until simmering. Add the cauliflower, parsnips, garlic, measured salt and pepper to taste and stir to coat with the oil.
  2. Add the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the vegetables are knife-tender, about 20 minutes.
  3. Transfer the mixture, including the liquid, to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade attachment. Process until smooth. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed, then transfer to a serving bowl.
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Sammie is a student at the University of Michigan where she is pursuing a BBA. A foodie since birth, she enjoys cooking, eating, smelling, looking at, photographing, reading about, and playing with any and all types of food. Her idolization of culinary delights is complemented by her active spirit- she enjoys running, swimming, barre classes, and even spontaneous bursts of interpretative dance if the mood strikes her. She has completed two triathlons and a half-marathon and plans to tackle more races in the future. She also dreams of traveling the globe, saving the world, and marrying James and/or Dave Franco.