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
Did you know you could make pancakes using only three ingredients? I didn’t either, until I found this recipe on the blog Carrots ‘N’ Cake. It calls for only one egg, one banana and a spoonful of nut butter.
You just mash the banana and then stir in the egg and nut butter. I used almond butter and then also sprinkled some cinnamon into the batter. Then, you pour the batter into a pan over low to medium heat. I poured about half in to make one pancake, and then used the rest to make a second pancake when I was done with my first. Once the blob of batter starts to bubble and the edges solidify (this takes a few minutes—be sure to keep a close eye on it), flip the pancake. I haven’t perfected the flip yet so my pancake got a little wounded in the process, but that didn’t affect the taste!
You wouldn’t believe that these pancakes are just made from those three ingredients. They are really moist and rich! I topped mine with banana slices, cinnamon and honey and then melted some almond butter on the side for dipping. I love breakfasts like this that feel indulgent but are still healthy at the same time.
Lunch
For lunch, I had a bowl of my mom’s vegetable barley soup. Gotta love leftovers. I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top for some cheesy goodness and had a piece of toasted Ezekiel bread on the side for dipping.
Dinner
There were a lot of vegetables in my fridge at home just waiting to be roasted, so for dinner I made a smorgasbord of roasted veggies with brown rice and a jalapeno chicken sausage. Roasted vegetables taste so much better than raw ones, in my opinion. It’s crazy what a little bit of olive oil and oven time can do.
I cut up Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and eggplant into even chunks, and then drizzled olive oil (about 1-2 tablespoons, to lightly coat) over them and sprinkled them with a little salt and pepper. I cooked them in the oven at 385 degrees for about 40 minutes, tossing them periodically. The rice I used was just a container of Minute Ready to Serve Brown Rice, so its preparation consisted of nothing more than microwaving it for one minute. I cooked the chicken sausage in a sauté pan for about seven to 10 minutes, until it was cooked throughout and crispy on the outside. Aside from the wait time for the vegetables, this was a relatively quick and easy meal to prepare.