Whether you’re living in an off-campus apartment or an on-campus dormitory, finding good food can be tricky in college. For those of us who are new to the college experience of living on your own, finding inexpensive and easy ways to make food can be a difficult skill to master. As college students, our food is an essential part of our ability to function under days of back-to-back classes and seemingly endless homework assignments. But with these busy schedules, cooking, with all the prep-work and clean-up, can feel like a time-consuming chore. Not to mention, our status as students has put many of us in a tight space financially. All in all, the task of balancing a budget while trying to make healthy and appetizing meals can feel overwhelming. But, there are many tips and tricks to help you get through the semester. And when living in a major city like Atlanta, the opportunities are endless. Here are some tips!
1. Grocery shopping
Georgia Tech has many wonderful advantages of being located in midtown Atlanta. One of these perks comes in its proximity to many useful shops and stores, grocery stores included. In fact, Georgia Tech has three nearby. The closest one is the Publix in Midtown (950 W Peachtree St NW). It’s within a comfortable walking distance to some of the main, off-campus apartments and the East campus dorms. For West-campus dwellers, this may be quite a walk, but there is the option of easing the trek by taking the Gold/Tech Trolley bus route for part of the way. On the weekends, the Georgia Tech buses run a Grocery Route that makes stops all across campus and takes students to the Publix at Atlantic Station (1380 Atlantic Dr NW Ste 14135).
2. Taking Advantage of Sales
One of the best ways to maximize your groceries while still keeping to your budget is to take advantage of the store sales. Typically, grocery stores change their sale items weekly. Knowing what is on sale at what time can really save you money on your grocery trips. Publix has an app that, in addition to allowing you to make a shopping list for each store location and order groceries to be delivered to you, displays all of the items that are on sale. Check out their weekly ad for BOGO offers and coupons to find your food for a low price.
3. Knowing What to Get
If you’re like me, then you really strive to make your food last. We’ve all felt the sad feeling of having to watch our hard-earned money fall into the trash as we had to throw away containers of expired food. One thing you can do to keep this from happening on a weekly basis is to set up a food plan for yourself. Make an idea about what you want to cook each week. Maybe have spaghetti and the left-overs half of the week, then finish with some soup and greens. Having a plan can help you decide what to buy and how much of it so you can enjoy your meals without the tragedy of tossing out unused food. Another thing to do is to pay attention to expiration dates. Not every gallon of milk or loaf of bread was packaged on the same day. Often times you can find expiration labels that read days beyond the dates of the product on the same shelf.
4. Some Quick Recipes
For a quick and easy breakfast, hot cereals can be a really simple and healthy option. Oatmeal and cream-of-wheat (no, not the instant packets) are two fibrous options that can be whipped up in about five minutes with a cup of milk, a pinch of salt and some sugar for flavor. Also, these products come in generously sized containers that can make breakfast for weeks. Lunch and dinner can be covered by three-ingredient recipes like spaghetti or by spicing up a frozen meal. Pasta is always a go-to for simple cooking, and the sauce can be purchased pre-made. If you’re a fan of beef, it can be frozen after purchasing and kept good in the freezer for over a month. Frozen meals, like chicken tenders, can be seasoned and placed on a toasted bun to become hot sandwiches, while a little finessing with the spaghetti sauce and little cheese can turn the tenders into dorm-style chicken parmigiana.