If you don’t happen to be one of the many people on campus meal plans and live off campus, cooking can be daunting and after a while can lose the allure of being fun after the 100th Mac & Cheese dinner night. When you’re budget is small there are ways of keeping meals interesting and easy without going overboard.
My very own first cookbook came to me in the form of a spiral bound compilation of recipes written up by my high school culinary arts teacher, and for all its simplicity it has been my cooking building block for everything from cookies and muffins to roasted root vegetables and roasted chicken. Don’t underestimate the power of basics! I love Julia Childs, but she’s not really for anyone beginning or working with a tight budget and that’s normally what college cooking is all about. So to start I would collect as many basic cookbooks as you can get your hands on, ask your family for your favorite recipes and don’t hesitate to give your mom a call and ask her how much garlic to put in the spaghetti sauce.
I have found online cooking and food magazines as well as regular magazines like SELF© to be an invaluable resource for all the recipes and health tips they provide. My favorites are the food section of REAL SIMPLE© for the recipes which are super easy and Epicurius.com because users rate all the recipes which weeds out the bad ones.
If you’re a visual learner, I would recommend searching for instructional videos on YouTube and if you have some extra cash to spare and are looking for something fun to do with friends or just by yourself, check out the cooking classes available at the Good Food Store for the month. The classes can range anywhere from $10 to $90 and vary by skills classes to specific cultural foods and beyond.
When it comes to spending, what friends have recommended to me is figuring out what your weekly budget will be based on exactly how much you will be spending on the components of each meal of the day, which keeps you from over-buying or buying something that you might not actually use or need. All the rest ends up coming down to the old saying: practice makes perfect. Good luck!