Food ideas for first time college student

Started by Chelemar, August 29, 2011, 07:44:13 PM

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undisclosedtoyou

Okay, this sounds weird, but canned coconut milk, and condensed milk.  If you can't afford to buy fresh milk, than this works in a pinch with coffee, and other things you may need it for.
"Not all who wander are aimless.  Especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image."
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Chelemar

Quote from: Oreo on August 30, 2011, 05:25:10 PM
I used the divided plates too >.< the plastic ones.

Oh, duh at me!  I don't know what I was thinking. :D Though, a friend of mine does wash the plastic ones and reuse them.  Her little boy loves them.   *hugs*  And, I love the idea.




figliaperduta

Look at Asian groceries, or even in the Asian aisle of the regular grocery store.  'A Taste of India/Thai/Whatever' has good things that you just add a few fresh ingredients to, and there are several other lines of the same thing.  Asian stores will have heat-and-serve noodles that are WAY better than ramen--look particularly for udon, which I've never seen done poorly.

Annie Chun's soup bowls, rice bowls, and sushi assembly kit (provide your own veggies) are really good, if a little pricy, but I believe organic or at least all-natural.  The sushi kit sounds silly, but it's really, really good.

All of these are quick things that can be done with a hotplate, one pan, a bamboo steamer, and a micro-fridge.

Please note if you're trying rice: short-grain rice does NOT tend to keep very well.

fig

HockeyGod

My one recommendation would be nothing that requires milk. Being a college student for 12 years the last thing I ever had in my place was milk. That unfortunately takes out macaroni and cheese - unless you get the kind with the squishy cheese packet, not the powder.

I lived on pizza in all it's shapes and forms - bagel bites, pizza rolls, hot pockets, etc...

Ashe

Before you give her regular yogurt, look into Greek yogurt.  If she doesn't like it, that's fine, but I'm always craaaaving protein.  My campus' places are always loaded with greasy carb-based dinners.  You become so protein-deficient around here (unless you're downing burgers, which isn't the best source for protein).  Last time I checked, a Chobani or an Oikos has anywhere between 10 and 20 grams of protein!  Regular Yoplait cups and such only have about 3-5.  Another upside is that Greek yogurt is thick and comes in larger amounts, so it basically qualifies as a whole lunch.  (For me, at least.)

Another thing I've started to enjoy is Uncle Ben's instant rice pouches.  Open, pour water, microwave for 3 minutes, and you have rice.  Really good rice too.  Chicken and cajun flavors are my favorite.  Serves two people, but a bag clip or container will keep it fresh for another day.

undisclosedtoyou

Mmm, all this talk of dairy products makes me think that maybe a little prepaid credit car(like greendot) with a little bit of money on it for milk would be handy.
"Not all who wander are aimless.  Especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image."
O/O's ~ A/A's ~ Avi's

InariShiftskin

It's always awesome to be a college student with a stove and counter space.

Being on a tight budget myself, I'd have to recommend doing things like buying cheap roasts ( No more than $14-$15) and  cutting them into small steaks and chops to freeze. Depending on the thickness, they don't take that long to cook, and I've found that even a small sized one is enough to give me and my housemate enough meat off one roast alone for 7-10 days.

Pair it with canned or frozen veg, dinner only takes 15 minutes to make and doesn't break the bank!

Oniya

Cheap roasts also make excellent slow-cooker fodder.  Toss in a diced potato or two, an onion cut into wedges, and a couple chunked carrots (all raw) and a can of beef broth.  Cook till it falls apart.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
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Adonis

#33
I know back in my dorm days, all I had was a really crappy microwave shared between myself and about 30 other guys, and we always got pissy if it was used for too long. Off the top of my head, I can remember stocking my mini-fridge & freezer with the following

Personal pizza's (The crappy 1$ brand ones. Cheap, quick, and effing delicious)
Hot pockets
Bagels & cream cheese
Pasta Salads (The boxed kind)
Sandwich stuff
Yogurt (Usually the Trix stuff with some raspberries thrown in, cause I'm a big kid like that)

For the dry stuff that wasn't stuffed into the fridge, I found the little rice makers to be a godsend along with some minute rice. Pretty much anything canned, vegetable and soup-wise can be tossed into some gladware containers and popped into the microwave as well.

Umm.. what else. I was totally known for doing the old clothes iron grilled cheese sandwiches as well, as they didn't allow us the nicety of a stove to cook the things on.

Slow cookers are a beast as well. A nice fat roast, with carrots, an onion, and some potato's like Oniya mentioned last for DAYS when paired with some white rice, and it's ridiculously filling. Whatever you dont eat, cut up and toss into those handy-dandy gladware containers to heat up later.

If her college allows it, a little George Foreman grill is TOTAL godmode. You can cook just about anything on there, even though it may skirt around the time constraints she seems to be under. Possibly something to be used as a dinner-cooking type thing?

Someone mentioned not keeping milk, and I think that's generally a good idea. However, some places sell the individual cartons still, like you would get in gradeschool, and those were always killer to snag on the way out to class. You'd imagine the envious stares from the females as you drink a thingy of dark chocolate milk on the shuttle over to campus.  O:)


*EDIT* Sweet holy monkey crap do not EVER toss cauliflower into a slow cooker to try and steam it. It absolutely REEKS, and the smell lingers for at LEAST a month. It might be delicious, but you may as well set off a stinkbomb on her floor.
You can't change who people are at their core. You can only love them for what they've given you.
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Oniya

Steaming is usually best done in a saucepan with one of those little spaceship/satellite dish jobbies.  Doing it slowly in the cooker lets the smell permeate things.


"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17