# Healthy Recipes for Poor College Kids



## shootout (Aug 30, 2008)

I did a search and nothing like this came up, and I'm desperate!
Post any cheap/easy healthy recipes you can come up with!
Preferably recipes that use a microwave!

Thanks!


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## Kayteuk (Aug 30, 2008)

Oh i know all about this!

I eat a lot of rice noodles! You can buy them in bulk from a japanese or chinese food store! I also love tinned soup and a HUGE  bag of rice! You can experiment so much with this!!


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## enjoybeingagirl (Aug 30, 2008)

You can make soup for very cheap and healthy if you add a lot of fresh, in season vegetables.  You can freeze it in individual containers and warm in the microwave.


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## ohnna-lee (Aug 30, 2008)

Cooks.com is my go to guide... although i have cook books galore you can always find quick ideas there and many different variations. 

My personal favorites are:

Cottage cheese with pineapple (canned kind is fine) or salsa... sometimes I throw a can of albacore tuna in the fridge to top it off for a really nutritional easy meal or snack.

Quesadillas are something you can always play with, doesn't need to be just cheese and tortilla, you can throw black beans and corn into it also.

They have those Steam Fresh (made for the microwave) bags at the grocery store too if you want veggies, they keep for a while which is a problem for me being a single eater. 

They have pre-cooked chicken slices you heat up in the microwave and put on a Ceasar  salad which are already washed and cut in your produce section.

I do everything on stove top (i don't believe in the microwave) so I will have to think more and get back to you.


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## M.A.C. head. (Aug 30, 2008)

Get a rice cooker if you can afford one, and, if you like rice of course LOL

It's healthy and it's quick and easy to make.

It's a good snack and a great side dish.


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## shootout (Aug 30, 2008)

Thanks for the ideas everyone!
They all sound great!

 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *ohnna-lee* 

 
_I do everything on stove top (i don't believe in the microwave) so I will have to think more and get back to you._

 
I don't like to microwave either, but unfortunately that's all I can do in my dorm! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Quote:

   Originally Posted by *M.A.C. head.* 

 
_Get a rice cooker if you can afford one, and, if you like rice of course LOL_

 
If I can find a small enough rice cooker, I will!


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## NicksWifey (Aug 30, 2008)

I'm the queen of microwaved foods, haha! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Unfortunately, most of my foods and the junky/processed kind. However, I recently found these packs of Uncle Ben's rice that you microwave and are ready in 90 seconds. They have quite a few different flavors and are really good.
You can experiment so much with rice.
Ramen noodles too of course, but those are full of sodium.


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## purrtykitty (Aug 30, 2008)

I'd stock up on those Healthy Choice Soups or the Campbell's Healthy Request Soups.  A whole can of those soups makes a very filling meal.


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## MACGIRL68 (Aug 30, 2008)

I have seen really small rice cookers at Walgreens, Walmart and I think Rite Aid.  Also what about a hot plate for your dorm to cook on?


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## ohnna-lee (Aug 31, 2008)

GT Xpress 101 Indoor Electric Grill: Quick, Easy, Express Meals Something like this, after finding it however I was searching around and found numerous claims of it not being a well made device. (due to the top bubbling up and the teflon coming off!)

All that kept coming to mind last night was eggs and Bisquick mix, no matter how hard i tried getting around the plastic rubber consistency of micro eggs... then I thought about the portable well cookers. You can make an easy omelet, healthy wrap or hot pocket kind of thing and the variety in your diet can be endless. The clean up is minimal and it is a healthy alternative to frying.

I am still looking for something, all I found in my search was Micromark and it is a European brand... it was sold in pounds... thinking the outlet might not be compatible.

Hopefully someone else has ideas of a good omelet maker.

You can do ham and cheese, pepperoni pizza with sauce the options are endless, if only I could locate a good one to share.


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## shootout (Aug 31, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *ohnna-lee* 

 
_GT Xpress 101 Indoor Electric Grill: Quick, Easy, Express Meals Something like this, after finding it however I was searching around and found numerous claims of it not being a well made device. (due to the top bubbling up and the teflon coming off!)_

 
That's a great idea! I never even thought of using that here. My mom actually has one at home and it works great! I'll definitely have to try to talk her into letting me bring it with me next time I'm home. Thanks!


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## NutMeg (Sep 2, 2008)

Here's some of my ideas. Last year I only had a hot pot (a kind of kettle that you can make soup etc in) and you can do a ton with it. Makes soups, beans, hard boiled eggs, pasta, etc. Because meat is expensive and difficult to cook with your set up you need to be thinking about alternate sources of protein, like eggs/beans/lentils... See where I'm going with this? 

I find salads easy and quick to put together and its so easy to toss in whatever food group you're short on that day. Short on protein? Toss in a hard boiled egg. Obviously veggies, but you can do a fruit salad too. Simple and cheap dressing is oil and vinegar. Chuck some seeds/nuts in for taste and nutritional value. You can easily make a meal out of a salad. 

If you can get your hands on a toaster oven, a whole new realm of possibilities opens up. Put some cheese, onions, tomatoes, oil and greek spice on a bun and toast it. Google toaster oven recipes.

This isn't an option for you because you don't have an oven, but I make my own bread so I always have something around. If anyone is curious google Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread. Easiest recipe in the world, very minimal work and makes the best bread I've ever had. Hope this sparks some ideas.


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## darkishstar (Sep 2, 2008)

Be sure to check your dorm regulations and rules. In my dorm we only can have a microwave. No rice cookers.. no toaster ovens.. no water boilers. I'd say check up your dorm's fire hazard rules and all that stuff to make sure you can bring those kinds of things before you go out and buy it.


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## Sanayhs (Sep 2, 2008)

SUPER easy and tasty salad dressing: canola oil, lemon juice, salt. Play with the proportions, but it's great. Either on lettuce and stuff, or, if you like tomatoes, it's great if you dice those up and put the dressing on. Best with a wee bit of onion and green pepper added.

When chicken breasts are on sale, buy a bunch, cook them in a frying pan with olive oil, freeze them individually and then you've got a bunch of precooked chicken that you can do infinite things with. Mind you, that works best when you aren't living in a dorm. Ha. I don't like dorms.


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## RoxyJ (Sep 2, 2008)

I have the cookbook, A Man, A Can, A microvave And it's pretty good. There few a few "homecooked" style recipes. All of the recipes are super easy and fast recipes.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




You can also buy microwave rice cookers smilar to  this, I've seen them at Walmart


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## shootout (Sep 2, 2008)

Quote:

   Originally Posted by *darkishstar* 

 
_Be sure to check your dorm regulations and rules. In my dorm we only can have a microwave. No rice cookers.. no toaster ovens.. no water boilers. I'd say check up your dorm's fire hazard rules and all that stuff to make sure you can bring those kinds of things before you go out and buy it._

 
Thanks for the advice!
Luckily, I checked out regulations, and they said I can have other things as long as they have an automatic shut off. I know the GT Xpress has one, so hopefully I can find rice cookers or something that has an auto shut off too.


Thanks for the help everyone!
I've got so many ideas now!


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## frocher (Sep 2, 2008)

....


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## hhunt2 (Sep 3, 2008)

Rice & beans are always the way to go!


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## NutMeg (Sep 4, 2008)

My mum wanted me to add a tip. When you combine a grain with a legume you get a complete protein (as in all the amino acids your body needs). She suggested heating up corn and peas together and adding some butter and salt. Beans and toast (whole grain)... the list goes on.


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## Krasevayadancer (Sep 4, 2008)

Here is what I got by in college:

Bagged frozen veggies. No need to pay for steam fresh, just buy the bags of frozen veggies (or even the cubed ones like spinach etc), pop it in a microwave bowl and microwave for 5-10 min. Double the quantity of steam fresh and 1/3 of the price.

Stock up on fat free hot dogs when they are on sale!

Lean Pockets

Oatmeal

To snack: 94% ff popcorn

And there are plenty of stovetop items that you can throw in the microwave too


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