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
I didn’t have any fresh bananas or berries yesterday morning, so I made oatmeal with frozen mixed berries and frozen cherries. I warmed them up in the microwave for a bit and then mixed them with oatmeal, flaxseed and almond butter. It didn’t look to photogenic (but it was tasty!), so I wanted you to feast your eyes on this beautiful picture of frozen berries instead. Frozen berries are the best, whether you’re mixing them into something like oatmeal or a smoothie, or just eating them plain for a sweet, cold treat. Plus you don’t have to worry about them going bad!
Lunch
For lunch, I was in the mood for something tropical to combat this awful winter weather, so I made a smoothie. It was so good—thick, fruity and sweet! And a good balance of protein and healthy fats from the Greek yogurt and chia seeds.
I blended together the following ingredients:
- ½ cup frozen mango
- ½ frozen banana
- 1 6-oz container Chobani Greek yogurt (peach flavored)
- ½ cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
Dinner
For dinner, I had spaghetti squash with garbanzo beans, sautéed spinach and mushrooms, topped with roasted garlic marinara sauce. If you haven’t had spaghetti squash before, put down your laptop now and go buy one immediately. Seriously, it’s amazing. The strands function as noodles, so you can use it as a low-calorie, nutrient-packed substitute for pasta. It’s really versatile, too, because you can use any sauce or add in any ingredients that you like, so it’s easy to switch it up. Plus, one squash makes a ton of “spaghetti,” so you can have enough for two to three meals.
To make it, you just cut the spaghetti squash in half (it’s big and dense, so you’ll need a really sharp, sizable knife), scoop out the seeds and rub the insides with a little olive oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Then, you bake it at 375 degrees for about 40-50 minutes, until the squash is tender. Once you take the squash out of the oven, let it cool and then scrape the insides out into a bowl with a fork. The fork scraping against the squash is what creates the strands. And that’s it! It’s a little bit more work then just boiling water and putting a box of pasta in, but it’s definitely manageable and worth the extra time!
If you’re still reading and you haven’t already left to go buy a spaghetti squash, now’s your time. Go!