Just because you’re in college doesn’t mean you’re required to eat ramen noodles for four years. There are a lot of foods you can prepare on a budget that don’t taste like they’ve been freeze dried on a shelf for two decades.
Potatoes
Potatoes are dirt cheap and are available virtually everywhere. A sack of them will probably last you the entire semester. Best of all, you can prepare them in a thousand different ways so you’ll never be bored of them. They’re very filling and easy to pair with some steamed veggies for a hearty meal. Here are 10 ways you can prepare potatoes, just to name a few!
Pizza
Who doesn’t love pizza? It might just be the most versatile food on the planet. When you make it at home, you can control exactly what goes on it and get creative with toppings. All you need is a ball of dough, which you may be able to buy from your favorite local pizzeria or the nearest grocery store, a can of pizza sauce and then whatever else you want (really, whatever you want) to put on it. All you need is an oven and ta-da, it’s a pizza. Food Network has compiled a list of 50 easy pizzas for you to try. Plus when you make one, it can probably last you a few days (cold pizza for breakfast, yum).
Tuna
If you’re always making on-the-go sandwiches and you’re bored of PB&J, tuna is a great alternative. It’s relatively cheap and requires no oven or stovetop, plus there are tons of ways to prepare it that you’ve probably never even heard of, like “Bill Clinton’s Tuna Salad Recipe.”
Oatmeal
Buying oats instead of “packaged” oatmeal will save you loads of money and allow you to get creative with your breakfast every morning. Adding oats to water will give you your oatmeal base (rocket science) then you can go to town with adding whatever it is you want to add. Here are some really interesting ways to spice up this sometimes bland breakfast food, including a recipe for bacon and cheese oatmeal.
Rice & Beans
Rice and beans are both extremely cost effective (black beans are usually less than a dollar a can!) and will last you a long time (I’ve had the same small bag of rice for months now), not to mention they’re filling! With this simple base and a few more ingredients of your choice (meats, veggies, etc.), you can make burritos, tacos, taco salads or just eat them plain.
