Eating and cooking on a budget—but make it healthy
As a junior college student, I know how hard it is to find healthy recipes to make. College students are usually on a tight budget and don’t have a huge array of cooking utensils to choose from. In the last three years, I’ve learned how to accommodate a tight budget for groceries and a limited amount of cooking supplies. I have some favorite go-to meals that I love and a lot of my friends love to make with me. Ranging from burrito bowls to salmon, soup and salad, here are three options to make for lunch or dinner.
1. burrito bowls
Spice up this classic by adding a side of chips or taco shells to stuff them!
What you’ll need:
- Rice (I recommend the Trader Joe’s microwavable rice because it only takes three minutes)
- One can of black beans
- One can of corn
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Salsa
- Lettuce
- Taco seasoning
- Tomatoes
- Optional: sour cream or guacamole
What to do:
- Drain the cans of black beans and corn.
- In a pan on the stove, mix black beans, corn and taco seasoning on medium for about five minutes.
- Cook the rice.
- Cut up tomatoes.
- Put everything in a bowl.
- Top with sour cream and or guac, if you prefer that!
And that’s it! It takes no more than 10 minutes, and it’s filling, easy and super yummy.
2. Salmon & broccoli
This meal is high in protein and will fill you up.
What you’ll need:
- Frozen or fresh salmon (I get mine from Trader Joe’s)
- Broccoli
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Optional: seasonings
What to do:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
- Slather salmon in olive oil, salt, pepper and seasonings of your choice.
- Cook for 25-30 minutes.
- Cut up broccoli.
- Lay out broccoli on a tray.
- Drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper over your vegetables.
- Cook for 20 minutes at 400 degrees (take out earlier if you want it to not be as crispy!)
This is a yummy and healthy meal that has become one of my weekly go-tos.
3. Roasted chickpeas & broccoli w/ rice & delish tahini sauce
This meal is healthy and delicious!
What you’ll need:
- One can of chickpeas
- Broccoli
- Rice (I recommend the Trader Joe’s microwavable rice)
- Tahini
- Greek yogurt
- Garlic
- Salt
- Pepper
What to do:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Rinse the can of chickpeas.
- Cut up broccoli.
- Cook rice.
- On one tray, drizzle olive oil on chickpeas. On another tray, drizzle olive oil on broccoli.
- Cook both of these trays for 15 minutes.
- Take out of the oven, flip broccoli over with a spatula and move chickpeas around on the tray. Put back in the oven for 10 more minutes.
- For the sauce, put one spoon of tahini sauce in a bowl. Mix with three spoonfuls of Greek yogurt and one tablespoon of garlic. Add salt and pepper.
- Put everything in a bowl and top it with the sauce.
This is one of my favorite meals that my mom made for us growing up, and it has always been a staple in my diet!
These are some of my favorite healthy and vegetarian meals. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!