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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northeastern chapter.

Eating at the dining halls is a right of passage during everyone’s freshman year of college.

Unfortunately, so is the emergency trip to the bathroom afterwards.

If you’re one of the lucky few to have gotten upperclassmen housing, then odds are you have a kitchen in your apartment, and you decided to ditch the meal plan. But cooking is a lot harder than you anticipated. You thought cooking was all following recipes, but remembering to go grocery shopping is turning out to be harder than expected (although still less expensive than Stetson per meal). Ordering out is great and super easy, but gaining weight as a result is just as simple.

Have no fear; being a student chef is easier than you think! Follow these tips and you’ll be eating like a grown-up soon enough!

 

TIP #1

Plan your meals at the start of the week. This way when you go grocery shopping, you buy only what you need, and you have all the supplies for every meal ready.

TIP #2

Keep boxes of pasta ready. Even the worst chef can boil water. Throw some tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese on it, and your meal is Instagram-worthy!

TIP #3

Keep a pre-made salad in a Tupperware. We all know salad stinks, but one non-sugary meal is better than spending an extra hour at the gym.

TIP #4

Stocking up on peanut butter and sandwich meats (turkey, roast beef, ham) is an easy way to make sure you’re eating a healthy lunch.

TIP #5

Having a bag of frozen chicken in the freezer doubles your dinner options. Chicken is a great staple and can be eaten by itself or with a side. Always try to have canned vegetables on hand.

 
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Morgan Weadock

Northeastern

Morgan is currently a third year at Northeastern University in Boston working towards a degree in Finance and a dual minor in Economics and Political Science. She is the co-president and Campus Correspondent for the Northeastern Her Campus Chapter and also involved with Alpha Kappa Psi and Streak Media. Morgan is originally from NJ and despite popular sentiment believes it to be the best state in the country. Her interests include cooking things that don't look as pretty as they did on Pinterest, reading while drinking tea, going to the beach, fitness and nutrition, and Netflix binging (: