Tired of empting your pockets on OHOP and Pat’s Pizza? Sick of eating Easy Mac and Ramen? Shock your parents and roommates by making gourmet dishes that are not only healthy, but cheap and easy! College is expensive and time consuming, but your diet doesn’t have to be. To assist you in your quest to prepare meals that are easy, healthy and delicious, here are some tips and dinner ideas for every day of the week.
Grocery Shopping Tips:
1. Fresh vegetables are expensive and go bad very quickly. Buying mixed frozen vegetables is a cheap, easy alternative to get the same taste. Buying frozen veggies in bulk also saves money, because you can use them numerous times over a longer period of
time, without them going bad.
2. Purchasing items like pasta, beans, rice, and potatoes in bulk allows you to use them many different ways and avoid expensive brand name packaging. Pasta, rice and beans never go bad and can be used in a variety of dishes.
3. Buying the right spices can help you flavor dull rice and pasta dishes. Starting a spice collection is an easy way to avoid buying flavored rice which is usually filled with sodium. Some of my favorite versatile spices include cumin, which is a Mexican spice that is delicious on chicken, in dips, or to give a hint of Mexican flavor to any dish and Cajun, which is great to use if you’re grilling anything from seafood, red meats or chicken because it gives a blackened coat and a spicy flare. Bouillo cubes are another great spice for making rice dishes flavorful. Simply add the cube to the rice while it is cooking to bring color and spice to your rice.
4. Planning your meals everyday and eating three healthy portioned meals can help you lose weight. Eating healthy can be cheap and easy if you plan it out. Check out http://www.mealmixer.com/for meal ideas and meal planning tips.
Easy Recipes:
Here are two of my favorite recipes to make. They both not only taste great, but are easy to make, and the ingredients are inexpensive:
Cheesy Beany Quesadillas
Recipe Ingredients:
· 1 large whole wheat tortilla wrap
· cup of dried mixed beans
· cup of diced tomato
· cup of shredded cheese
· 1 tsp of olive oil
· 1 tsp of cumin spice
Preparation:
Soak and cook beans. In a medium bowl, mix beans, tomato and cumin spice. Place tortilla on a non-stick skillet with olive oil on a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle cheese to cover tortilla and as the cheese melts spread the bean mixture evenly over the melted cheese. When the ingredients are all on the tortilla, fold one side over to make a “D” shape. Place quesadilla on a cutting board, and cut 3 slices and enjoy.
Veggie stir-fry over rice
Ingredients:
· 1 cup of frozen Asian mixed vegetables
· 1 cup of wild rice
· 1 tbs of teriyaki sauce, sweet and sour sauce OR imperial sauce
· 1 tbs of olive oil
Preparation:
In a medium pot, add rice to 2 cups of boiling water. While the rice is cooking, add olive oil and mixed vegetables to a large saucepan at a medium to high heat. When the veggies are fully cooked, pour your sauce of choice on to the veggies and mix it
around with a spatula. Rice should look fluffy and absorb water when done. Place rice on a plate or bowl and pour veggies on top and enjoy.