One of the hardest moments in college for some may that moment when they let go of a meal plan. Cooking is a novel experience for many. There are two main benefits to eating home cooked meals: 1) it’s cost efficient, 2) it’s healthier! Restaurant and frozen meals are ofeten highly caloric, high in sugar, sodium, and fats.  Eating out can be tempting though, and everyone is guilty of it to some extent. Here are some usefuly recipes for people who want to improve their cooking skills:Â
1. “Lemon, Basil, Garlic, and Anything”
One of the easiest and tastiest marinades to make will take only a few minutes of time to compose. Take the squeeze of a lemon, three tablespoons of olive oil, a sprinkle of basil, and a clove of garlic and just mix together. You can use it as a marinade for meat, tofu, or even shrimp. If chicken is the protein of choice, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cook for about 20 minutes until there is no raw meat left when it is cut through the middle. The best results come from marinating your protein overnight. Try this with fresh vegetables like broccoli for an interesting and complete meal.  Also, for those who do not like to chop garlic, an easy alternative is Trader Joes’ own “Garlic Olive Oil”.
2. Make-Your-Own Marinara
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Ah, pasta sauces: every college girl’s weakness. It is really easy to make pasta sauce from scratch that is missing all of the bad stuff like preservatives and sugar. First, search your grocery store aisle for tomato puree, onions, bell peppers, and green beans. Begin cooking the sauce by sautéing the onions, green beans, and peppers in olive oil and adding sea salt and cracked black pepper. Make sure to chop the veggies up into small pieces! Next, add the puree, and some other spices (parsley and basil make a good garnish), heat, serve, and pour over the pasta. Quinoa pasta or brown rice pasta is highly recommended as it is way healthier for you.
To make a homemade Bolognese, just add ground beef and sautĂ© with the vegetables or even supplement this with ground turkey or small pieces of tofu for extra protein! This sauce is not just limited to pasta; you can put it on anything…even spaghetti squash!Â
3. Garbage Salad and a Simple Vinigrette
For those who simply don’t want to take the time to turn on the oven or stove, cooking just got a whole lot easier. “Garbage salad” is another word used to describe a salad with anything in it. The base for the salad can be arugula, romaine, mixed greens, kale, or any other type of lettuce. Options for vegetables may fall along the lines of tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, chickpeas, onions, olives, beets, apples, peppers, avocado, mushrooms, and anything else that can be bought in the produce or vegetable aisle. Adding a protein is always beneficial. To add easy proteins, try making chicken as recommended above, adding tofu, turkey slices, quinoa, any kind of cheese, or even egg whites.
And here’s an easy vinaigrette to make: try three tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, a squirt of Dijon mustard and a little bit of honey. Mix together and pour over any salad!
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4. Avocado Toast
Avocado toast – what a trend. At the same time, it’s delicious, easy to make, and has the benefits of good and necessary fats that avocados provide to humans. Simply purchase an avocado, a lemon, red pepper flakes and whole grain bread (try Trader Joe’s for excellent bread but make sure to freeze it because it is very fresh). Toast a piece of bread and simply cut open the avocado and spread it all over. Squeeze lemon juice on top and garnish with red pepper flakes. It will look like something out of a chic Soho eatery and it will taste like heaven.
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All of these recipes are easy to make and will sustain your health. Feel free to put your own spin on them, as these are just suggestions. Happy cooking Her Campus readers!
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Image courtesy of: Graphic Art News, Calorie Count, illustrativemathematics.org, skinnymom.com, Pinterest, BBC Good Food, and Huffington Post