College Apartment - eating on a budget

[tvguy]

I'm not a good source for this kind of advice. Our son about broke us the years he was in an apartment at college and cooking on his own, because he DID cook, using recipes from Food Network chefs like Alton Brown. When I got a call from him in the store asking me if I knew that vanilla beans were $12 for 3, and I pointed out vanilla extract was like $2.99, he replied "Alton Brown never uses vanilla extract"
He was spending more per month that we were for DW, me and DD!

 

[TwoMisfits]

Biggest suggestion I have is to teach her to cook eggs 10 different ways...they are running under $1/dozen...she could make scrambled eggs, fried eggs, hard-boiled eggs, poached eggs, omelettes, frittatas, egg salad sandwiches, deviled eggs, french toast, croque monsiurs and madames, breakfast burritos, etc, etc...Eggs cook quickly, require only one pan or pot, and can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks raw and a few days cooked (if hard-boiled)...they also serve as a great conduit to use up fresh veg or proteins insufficient to make another meal...

 

[dina444444]

most schools will still let you purchase the meal plan, even if you are in an appartment - might be something ot look into

I did this during my last semester of college when I was living off campus. I only went to school 2 days a week but I was on campus the entire day since I was taking a full load. It made it so I didn't have to worry about lunch or dinner on either of those days since I wouldn't leave school until after dinner time. The meal plan for the school I was at was just a dollar value, but I preloaded what I knew I would spend on 2 meals a day twice a week on campus for a semester on the card and my plan ran out on the 2nd to last week of the semester.

 

[olliesmom]

Rice and beans can be cooked up all kinds of different ways with a variety of spices/salsas/etc. It's also versatile, you can add chopped peppers, corn, tomatoes, or whatever veggies you have to make a rice bowl or buy tortillas and use as a base for burrito filling.

Buy a rotisserie chicken once a week and use the shredded chicken for quesadillas, chicken salad sandwiches, protein for salads, pasta, etc.

Big batches of hard boiled eggs make great grab and go snacks.

Stir fries with whatever meat and veggies are on sale, and it's really easy to make a homemade sauce (I use 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, tsp-ish of ginger, 2 cloves of garlic and tsp-ish of sesame oil). Mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, onions, carrots, green beans, onions - whatever is lowest cost that week!

Keep stables like chick peas and cans of tuna around. For a super quick lunch or dinner, dump a can of tuna in olive oil and a can of chick peas together, add a touch of balsamic vinegar and whatever leftover veggies you have in the fridge.

In the fall/winter, a big pot of chili (veggie, ground beef or chicken) is awesome and can be stretched even further over rice. This is my favourite chili recipe: http://iowagirleats.com/2014/09/24/signature-spicy-smoky-sweet-chili-crock-pot-friendly/

I think one of the most important things is a good spice set, good spices can really make even the most inexpensive food tasty if you know how to season it well!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

My son is in an offsite campus apartment with 3 friends. He shops when things go on sale. He asked for my easy and quick chili recipe, my stir fry beef recipe, several of my chicken recipes and the steak seasoning we use was. He likes to put that on burgers. I also told him to make use of things like box cornbread mixes or bag lipton noodles or rice mixes to add some variety. He also made spaghetti and mac n' cheese too. Oh and those bags of Tyson chicken nuggets and boneless buffalo wings - he likes those a lot.

So I would start with your families favorite recipes and go from there. I thought he would want do downsize the recipes but often the roommates took turns cooking or he would make something and eat it over a couple of days.

 

[jenniy122]

Seasonings are a must!!! They'll take the exact same ingredients (say rice and ground meat) and make so many variations so you don't get bored.

Teach her to read the unit price and how to shop/stack with sales and coupons.

 

[LovesTimone]

If she is living by herself, which is what I did and I spent so much less money on food, as when you are sharing, room-mate will help themselves, along with their friends not a good way to stay on budget.

She will need some decent storage container, foil, zip-locks, small crock pot but not one of those mini ones, a few basic multiple use kitchen tools, and 2 pots, and medium skillet. I would cook once a week like a roast and then I would divide it up for different meals, BBQ beef, Hash( roast, potatoes, carrots), chop up for sandwiches or taco, or beef and veggie soup. I also would make muffins for breakfast and snacks on the go, I would freeze some in small ziplocks, for grab and go breakfast. Make Cookies, or brownies for dessert. When buying bread put half in the freezer for later on, so it doesn't mold.

Chicken salad, Egg Salad, Tuna Salad, pasta salad

If she is not familiar in the kitchen it will be hard for her to understand what to do... You might want to get her in the store and kitchen now, and have her practice a couple of simple dishes, so when she is in her own place she will feel confident.