Now, I must admit that the photos in this article do not indeed capture meals that I’ve cooked in my small college kitchen. However, I promise you that about a third — well, maybe a quarter — of the Meals I’ve made are just as good as the avocado toast and waffles presented.
The first thing I did in my kitchen was meal prep. Some of the stuff turned out decent, and some I would never make again.
1. First, I made protein pancakes. These were made from a protein pancake mix from the store. They were pretty decent, but nothing special; I’d give them about a 7/10.
2. Next, egg muffins. For some reason, mine never turn out how I picture them. They weren’t fluffy or flavorful or anything. They were nothing but a bland bit of protein. I’d give them a 4/10.
3. And lastly, I made chicken taco bowls. And these were the worst. I used packaged beans and rice, which I think was my first mistake, as I discovered that I don’t really like packaged beans and rice. My next mistake was the chicken. I’m used to really good grocery store chicken where I’m from, and the store I bought it from in college just did not meet the quality I personally prefer. My next mistake was the broccoli. I way over-seasoned it. Now, one might ask how I over-seasoned broccoli, which is one of the blandest vegetables, and to that I say that I just put too much seasoning on it. It’s really not that hard. Either way, I could barely stomach more than a few bites of this at a time. It was not good, and I wouldn’t make it again. I give it a 1/10.
Now, on to the more “fancy” meals I’ve made
1. Blackened salmon with white cheddar mac and cheese. Sounds really nice! It was actually frozen salmon and boxed mac and cheese, but hey, a girl’s gotta eat. I just pan-fried the salmon and made the mac and cheese according to the instructions. It was nothing special, but it was really good, and I do plan on making it again! I award it a 9/10.
2. Next is another freezer specialty: pasta Bolognese with zucchini and kale. In reality, the Bolognese is a freezer pack from home, but it is technically homemade… Just homemade three months ago. I paired that with my favorite chickpea pasta and some freshly chopped and pan-seared zucchini and kale, and I’d say that it was pretty good! I would make it again, but only if I had frozen Bolognese from home, because there is no way I will be spending five hours making Bolognese in my tiny college kitchen. It was a perfect 10/10.
3. This last “fancy” meal I made just the other day: chickpea salad, courtesy of TikTok, but of course with my own flair. For this one, I feel like I should list the recipe, then add my notes to the end.
Chickpea Salad
2 cans of chickpeas
1 red onion, diced
1/3 cup of chopped parsley
1/2 cup of hemp hearts
1 lemon, zested
1 tub of feta
Dressing
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp honey
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add everything to a bowl, shake it, and then you’re done. This should make six servings!
Now, onto what I did differently:
1. My local grocery store does not have hemp hearts, and I read in the comments that sunflower seeds were a good substitute, so I used them.
2. I thought I had a lemon at home, but it turned out that I only had half a lemon and no zester, which meant I could only use lemon juice.
3. The grocery store had no parsley, so I used cilantro, which was fine.
4. I also only used half of a red onion because the one I got was massive, and I didn’t want my breath to be heinous after eating this meal during my lunch break at work.
3. Also, the feta they had was weirdly only in small containers and also lacking that signature oomph that feta usually has, so I feel like that was a miss. If anyone reading makes this, I would definitely recommend investing in good feta because it changes the flavor of the whole dish.
Now, beyond substitutions and weird feta, I also added a few ingredients to fit my personal tastes.
1. The first was shredded rotisserie chicken, which I used to add some extra protein.
2. The second was steamed cauliflower, which I used because I like cauliflower.
3. The third was banana pepper juice because the dish needed some acidity.
These were decent additions. I would say that, overall, because of my local grocery store’s failure, and the fact that, even after all these adjustments, it still was a little bland, I’d give it a 6/10. Using Greek seasoning, all of the original ingredients, and some Kalamata olives (you can never go wrong with Kalamata olives and feta) would definitely improve the end product.
My last category is basic meals that take about ten minutes max to make.
1. The first dish is what I make for breakfast usually: egg toast. I’ve made egg toast with avocado, tomatoes, and even peanut butter. Egg toast in some way, shape, or form is a staple of my college diet. All of these things range from 8/10 to 10/10. You really can’t go wrong with egg toast.
2. The next creation is the protein smoothie. My ideal smoothie has chocolate protein powder, banana, and peanut butter, which is in addition to all of the other good things smoothies typically have. Unfortunately, I’ve been out of bananas lately, so I bought frozen berries, which are fine as a substitute, but they drop my rating from a 10/10 to a 6/10. Yes, that’s how much I like bananas in my smoothies.
3. My last category is soup. Soup is underrated; it’s so easy to throw together. I’ve inserted my signature wonton soup recipe below, which is followed by my notes.
Wonton Soup
____ cups of water (the number depends on how liquid you want your soup to be)
Chicken bouillon (I don’t measure)
Sliced red onions (kind brings the pho-like flavor)
Chopped cilantro (again, this ingredient adds the pho-like flavor)
Soy sauce (super important!)
10-15 mini frozen wontons (super convenient)
Boil water, add chicken bouillon, toss in wontons, throw in onions and cilantro, and boom, you’re done.
I made this the other day, and I’d give it a 9/10, but only because I usually like my wonton soup with a miso soup base, but I haven’t had a chance to drive the 45 minutes to my favorite branch of Asian grocery stores in Texas yet. Ahh, the sacrifices of being in college; none of my favorite Asian grocery stores are in a 10-mile radius. Either way, the chicken bouillon is important. It makes the water into soup. And sometimes, when I don’t have miso packets or red onions or cilantro, I like to throw in ground ginger and minced garlic to add a different kind of flavor. I love that wonton soup has so many variations! You can throw in bok choy, kale (as I’ve done before), or any sort of hardy green that adds some vitamins, minerals, and whatever else makes vegetables important to eat.
The moral of the story is to cook food if you have a kitchen. It’s fun! Don’t rely on a meal plan. Cooking is an important part of living, and you don’t want to be that 30-year-old living on her own who doesn’t know how to cook, spending a fortune on takeout every month. I hope these recipes bring you joy.