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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at George Mason University chapter.

One of the challenges most college students face is balancing a healthy diet on a tight budget, so here are three quick and easy recipes to make that don’t cost too much. All the recipes can be adjusted based on personal preferences!

Stuffed Sweet Potato

Courtesy of Ariana Tayebi

  1. Food Ingredients: Canned Black beans, Canned corn, Sweet potatoes, quinoa, tomatoes, onions, garlic.

    1. Preheat the oven to 450 F

    2. Pierce your sweet potato with a fork

    3. Lightly coat the potato with olive oil, salt and pepper.

    4. Wrap the seasoned sweet potato in aluminum foil and place it in the oven for 45-50 minutes

  2. Now for the Filling

    1. Dice up 2 cloves of garlic and place in saucepan on medium heat with olive oil

    2. After garlic is light brown, put half a diced onion in the saucepan

    3. Once the onion is transparent: add the mashed tomatoes, canned beans and canned corn

    4. Let the ingredients simmer for about 5 five minutes and add in your cooked quinoa to mix it all together.

    5. Add your desired spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder..etc.

    6. Leave the pan on low heat while you wait for the potato to finish.

  3. Once you potato is done and cooled off, cut the potato in half and put your toppings inside. ENJOY!

Related: How I Fixed a Broken Relationship with Food

Overnight Banana Cinnamon Oats

Via Sofabfood.com

Ingredients: Steel cut oats, unsweetened Almond milk, Cinnamon, Vanilla extract, chia seeds, banana, maple syrup or agave

  1. Place all your ingredients in a sealable container like a mason jar or tupperware

    1. Put 1 and ¼ cups oats in your container

    2. ⅓ cup chia seeds

    3. ¼  tablespoon vanilla extract

    4. 1 teaspoon cinnamon

    5. 1 tablespoon agave or maple syrup

    6. 1 cup almond milk  

  2. Leave in the fridge overnight and it’s ready to go for a quick and delicious breakfast the next morning! You can also add chopped bananas for some extra nutrients.

Tomato Spinach Spaghetti Squash

Courtesy of Ariana Tayebi

Ingredients: 1 spaghetti squash, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, onions, garlic, mozzarella. 

  1. Cut your spaghetti squash in half, take out the seeds, and coat it with olive oil, salt and pepper

  2. Place spaghetti squash seasoned side up on a tray and put it in the oven for about 45 minutes at 450 degrees

  3. Add olive oil and two diced garlic cloves in a saucepan over medium heat

  4. Once the garlic cloves are light brown, add half a large onion cut as you please (I prefer diced pieces).

  5. Add two handfuls of cherry tomatoes cut in half

  6. Once the tomatoes are beginning to lose their shape, add half a bag of baby spinach

  7. Season your toppings with salt and pepper and let the pan simmer on low heat while you wait for your squash

  8. Once your squash is done, take it out of the oven, scrape the insides out with a fork and place it in your saucepan with your other ingredients

  9. Once you have mixed all of the ingredients together, put the pasta in a large pan and add fresh mozzarella cheese

  10. Place it back in the oven for about 5 minutes to help the cheese melt

  11. And VOILA! Easy healthy and delicious meal.

I know these recipes look really long and intimidating, but I promise they’re super easy and affordable! If you are ever looking for some more healthy eating inspiration, check out my instagram account: ananaeats!

 

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Ariana Tayebi

George Mason University

George Mason University '18
George Mason Contributor (GMU)

George Mason University '50

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