First things first, if you are anything like me, you like to eat protein with whatever you make for dinner. I mean I try to for lunch too but sometimes that plan does not always work out. Since I go to the gym, I incorporate protein to build that muscle growth (that is my goal though, maybe yours is different and that is okay). So next time you go to Walmart or Sobeys or wherever you like to shop (personally I shop at Walmart because I am broke), pick up your favourite types of protein. Whether that is chicken breasts, thighs or wings or ground beef or cheap steaks that can be cut up into cubes, all are good staples to have in your freezer. Now let’s jump into the recipes!
1. Chicken, rice and frozen veggies
Yes, yes, I know I can hear you all complaining at your screen right now saying “Gemma, we already know this one.” Yes, I know we all know this one, especially if you work out because this is all you eat (no offence… but I am not wrong). However, if you do not count calories and such like me, you can follow my variation to make this less boring. My variation honestly is adding General Tao sauce with the chicken. I tend to also cut up some onion, garlic and occasionally mushrooms (if they are on sale that day) and throw that into my pan with my cubed chicken. You can totally do chicken strips or cook the whole breast and then cut it up afterwards, but I find cubed chicken cooks faster. Another thing with this one is it’s my personal preference to use frozen veggies. My reasoning is that it is like $2 at most for a package of No Name peas, corn and green bean mix, and for me that works, but you can totally use fresh veggies. For the rice, I tend to use white rice and spice it up. I have tried getting on brown rice but sadly I am not there just yet.
2. Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches
I love these just because I think they are a step up from grilled cheeses. With these, any dinner rolls will work, which if you make sandwiches for lunch, you will already have. The good thing about this one is that it honestly does not matter what cut of beef you use because you are not running a restaurant, so use what you have, no judgments. All you need is peppers (these are optional), onions and any type of cheese because again, we are not running a restaurant. Traditionally, you are supposed to use provolone but because I am not a huge fan, I use swiss (now I know what you are thinking – but stop and try it before you say “yucky”). Throw together some butter and garlic to make garlic butter, throw the sandwich in the oven to make the bun crunchy and melt the cheese and you are done! Is this really the healthiest? Maybe not, however, it has beef, some veggies and then I do a side salad.
3. Teriyaki Beef and Rice
I am sure we all know this one, and I am sure you are all rolling your eyes again, but I did say simple recipes. This one is great because you can mix whatever veggies you want with whatever rice you decide to use. You can also garnish it with sesame seeds. A great variation that you can make homemade is a honey-garlic sauce, but I am lazy, and I just use stuff from the jar if you feel adventurous that day, you can make it homemade. I will give you a tip though, marinate your beef at least six hours before you are going to cook it. You can do it longer, but we are all under stress with school so you may not know you are cooking that until much later. If you cannot do six hours, do thirty minutes and trust me, there will be a difference between marinated beef and non-marinated.
4. Homemade Burgers
Okay, hear me out, just because you are trying to eat healthy and on a budget does not mean you have to give up burgers. Homemade burgers are good because they are cheap and the leftover non-cooked burgers can be put in the freezer for another day. Meal prep is so important when you are in university because you never know what could be going on that day. You can just pull these burgers out and throw them on your pan or cook them in the oven. This is also good because you can throw in whatever you want into your ground beef. I usually do spices and some finely chopped onion, but you can use whatever you want and have on hand because cooking does not need to be expensive. Now, what you decide to put on your burger is completely up to you, but for me, I refuse to buy lettuce right now because it is nearly $10 and that is too much for someone who lives paycheck to paycheck, so I will throw on tomato, onion and whatever I have left in the fridge. If you love to eat healthy, sauces may not be your thing, but I throw on whatever BBQ sauce I have or a ketchup and mustard mix. Make a side salad and you are all done! Or maybe it is a Friday, so treat yourself and throw some frozen fries in the oven.
5. Butter Pasta and Bruschetta
Finally, we have come to our last recipe, and this one has multiple different variations, depending on your mood and what you have. Now I will admit, this is probably my go-to recipe when I realize I forgot to eat dinner because it is so easy! All you need is butter, pasta, spices and cheese! Now, where we get fancy and adventurous is the bruschetta (pronunciation: brew-shhh-ket-aaa, you will thank me later). For that, all you need to do is grab the same buns you used for the Philly cheese steak sandwiches (yes I know traditionally you use baguettes but use what you have and these work honestly just as well), toast the bread and spread hot oil and garlic on it. Then mix chopped tomatoes, onion, basil and balsamic vinegar in a bowl spread that onto the bread and you are good to go. Variations to add to your cooked buttered pasta would be chicken breast or even shrimp if you have that. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Just because you are in university does not mean you need to grab food from McDonalds when you are in a pinch. You can create easy and healthy recipes at home which are budget-friendly because believe me, we are all in the same boat: broke! Now, good luck with school, enjoy these meals, have fun and do not be afraid to add things that you like and that you have because after all who needs a recipe? My favourite chef from a cooking show I watched when I was a kid once said “My secret recipe is cooking without a recipe.”