Q: Dear 100 Hour Board,
How do I food here at BYU? Are meal plans worth it if I'm in Heritage and don't have to have one? Haven't purchased one yet, but looking to reduce costs for 2nd semester.
-Recovering Food Addict
A:
Dear Doctor,
If you're looking to reduce costs, then do not get a meal plan, especially if you're in Heritage. If you're in Heritage, that means you can cook, which means you will save money.
So, here's Tally M.'s Guide to Eating Cheaply in College:
First, forget to eat food on a regular basis.
...
Okay, but in all seriousness.
Tally M.'s Guide to Cheap College Eating
There aren't really any great resources for eating cheaply in college. Most online guides for cooking for one assume that you have a full-time job to be able to afford many of the ingredients. Most of the guides for college students assume that you live in a dorm and only have a microwave. This is okay for awhile, but is really frustrating when you want more food than just the microwaved stuff. And so, this guide attempts to combine the two.
The first thing you need to do is to determine a budget. Plan how much money you will spend on food about every two weeks or so. This money will include groceries as well as eating out, so keep that in mind. If you don't have a good idea of how much money you can spend on food and can afford to be a bit flexible, don't worry about a budget for the first few shopping trips, and then see about what you're spending. Try to spend as little as possible, though in order to reduce meal costs, you'll need to get some staples that will raise your initial costs.
The next thing you need to do is to create a meal plan. Creating a meal plan is the most effective way to make sure you only buy what you're going to eat. Plan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners—or what ever meals you normally eat throughout the day. I'll have more on different meals to plan, but this is still important to do. Be willing to be flexible with your meals, which often means building in "flex" days where you either make something simple with things you already have or get a free meal from someone or even going out.
Going shopping is the next step. If you want to get into couponing, do so. It helps to notice when things are on sale, especially fruits and vegetables. Apples are best to buy in the fall, whereas strawberries are best in June. Additionally, try to buy generic as often as possible. Nine times out of ten, it's pretty much the same, or not enough of a difference to matter. (The exception to this is Cheez-its. I made the mistake of trying to save money with generic, despite my firm belief that you can't do that with Cheez-its, and I was, of course, very disappointed.) Buy only what you're going to eat, and be willing to go to the store a bit more often to pick up fresh foods.
Some other generic tips:
Baking bread is much more cost-effective. If you have the time and are willing to learn, do it. E-mail me (or ask another question) if you want a great wheat bread recipe.
If you don't go through bread (pita bread, hot dog buns, bagels, all the bread things) before it gets moldy, put it in the freezer! It keeps much longer.
Buying in bulk is generally better, but more often than not, you just can't afford the initial price. That's okay. Don't feel bad about not saving as much money as you could.
It's okay to buy things if it means you're more likely to eat. While it's cheaper to do homemade, it's not always easier, which may lead to not eating—or eating out all of the time. Sometimes you have to buy precut fruit or bagged salads and that's just fine.
FOOD STORAGE! Every time you go shopping, buy an extra can of something. You'll be grateful for it down the road. Just be sure to rotate the cans (don't shove it in the back of your cupboard and proceed to forget about it for two years because you don't move and everyone just gives you their extra food when they move out).
Now for the fun part: actual meal suggestions. These aren't vegetarian, nor gluten free, nor vegan, nor lactose-lacking. I'm sorry. However, this guide may give you some ideas to use to create your own modified food plan. Additionally, this is heavily based on my own food preferences. I've tried to draw in other things, but I just don't have a wide range of foods that I make. Obviously this guide isn't definitive, but is more for a starting point for your own lifestyle.
Staples
What you should buy to help supplement meals. Some of these are mentioned below as part of meals, but I wanted to give you a general list. You might not be able to afford all of this at once (or you might if you can convince your parents to take you shopping at the beginning of the semester), but it's good to gradually be building up your pantry. Also, some of these things you'll have to buy relatively regularly—like the cheese and onions. Don't let those go bad!
Spices. These are great for making food taste ten times better.
Rosemary, italian seasoning (or basil and oregano), garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, curry powder, salt, pepper, red pepper, hot sauce, minced garlic (in a jar)
Baking products
Sugar, butter, flour, vegetable oil, cocoa, syrup, chocolate chips (what can I say? You never know when you'll want to make cookies)
Peanut butter
Rice
Potatoes
Noodles
Tortillas
Cheese
Beans
Onions
Salad dressing
Ranch, italian, and raspberry vinaigrette are pretty easily used in a wide variety of recipes.
If you're inclined to prefer East Asian food, soy sauce
A lot of people suggest having lentils to make things with. I don't, but that doesn't mean you can't!
Canned/frozen vegetables/fruits
Based on Wal-mart prices, it'll probably be close to $50 to stock up on a majority of these items. Spices can be expensive, but there are some bagged spices at Wal-mart that are cheaper than the stuff in jars. I've also heard rumors that there are decent quality spices at dollar stores, so that might be worth looking into.
Breakfasts
Rather than most traditional breakfast foods, you want to put an emphasis on proteins, rather than grains. To be fair, this can be more expensive, but you'll feel better off for it.
Microwave scrambled eggs
Spray a mug with cooking spray, mix an egg in it, put it in the microwave at about power level 6 for a minute. Adjust to your microwave. The power level is important so your egg doesn't explode. Just so you know.
Bacon
You probably won't eat the whole package of bacon all at once, so when you get home from the store, put a couple of pieces per plastic baggie and stick them in the freezer. It requires a little bit of forethought to pull them out before you eat them, but that's okay.
Breakfast sandwiches
Put one of those canned pineapple rings on each side of a bagel or English muffin, then put a slice of deli ham on top, then a couple of slices of cheese. Pop that in a toaster oven or a regular oven until the cheese is nice and melted. It's delicious.
Premade sandwiches. I tried making these, but the eggs just didn't turn out quite right. It worked with the ham and cheese though! And you might have better luck with the eggs than I did.
Breakfast burritos
Basically, scrambled eggs + salsa if you're lazy. And it's wrapped in a tortilla, so you can eat it as you head out to school/work/what have you
Bagels. These are nice and simple and my go-to when I really don't have time, and I'll have to eat on the run.
Poptarts and scrambled eggs. You can get a box of cinnamon sugar or strawberry for like a dollar (if you get the generic kind). This was a family favorite growing up, so I'm slightly biased.
Pancakes made from pancake mix. This takes a little longer, and you definitely can't put syrup and peanut butter on them and eat it while walking to school. Trust me, I've tried.
I don't recommend cereal. But a lot of people have cereal, or oatmeal, or just a piece of fruit. And if that's all you can manage, then go for it. It's better to eat anything for breakfast than nothing at all. You can also have non-breakfast foods for breakfast. Like pizza. I definitely had that for breakfast this week, and it was delicious. I also keep a box of protein bars on hand when I can, just in case I have no energy in the morning to make anything at all.
Lunches
Lunch is hard, especially because most of the time you're not able to be home to make something, you have limited time to make things in the morning, and you don't always have a break to eat during the day. This usually leads to a limited selection of foods. I get that. If you have a sandwich every day, mix up what kind of sandwich you make, or even what other sides you bring. Also, invest in a lunchbox/bag. It's definitely worth it.
Sandwiches. Pretty obvious suggestion.
Salads are actually pretty good to bring—just don't forget to bring a fork. You might also want to consider investing in some Tupperware that comes with a salad size container as well as a couple of smaller containers for toppings like dressing and croutons (because soggy croutons are the worst).
Premade lunches
One of my favorites is what I call sandwich bread. You make normal bread dough, then roll it out like pizza, fill it with toppings (mustard, shredded ham, shredded cheese; pesto, mozzerella, chicken; etc.), then roll it up. Bake in the oven like normally, then cut into slices. Stick a couple of slices in each plastic baggie and throw them in the freezer. By the time you get to lunch time, they're defrosted and ready to eat.
Tacos in sleeping bags are also really easy. After you've baked them, put two per bag, and put them in the freezer. Thirty seconds in the microwave is usually enough to make them delicious again.
Leftovers! Once again, don't forget a fork/proper utensils. I usually do and it's not fun.
The way I pack my lunches is: main dish (sandwich, salad, etc.), side dish (pretzels, tortilla chips, trail mix, etc.), and a fruit or vegetable. If I remember, I throw in a small dessert like a fun size candy bar or a small chocolate. This way you feel like you had a well-rounded lunch.
Dinners
I realized while typing this up that I forget to eat dinner a lot more than I'm comfortable admitting. I do not recommend following my example. My problem is that I'm lazy and don't want to think about something to make. Therefore, meal plans are very effective. These suggestions are in no particular order except that I thought of them in this order.
Black beans and rice
Mix in some sour cream and salsa and eat with tortilla chips. Bonus, if you have more beans than rice at the end, you can use the beans to make NACHOS.
Hot dogs
When you get home from the grocery store, put each hot dog in its own plastic baggie and put in the freezer (I really love freezing food, if you can't tell). Then put a bag of buns in the freezer as well. When you want one, wrap the hot dog in a paper towel and defrost it. Microwave and then toast your bun. Voila. Takes two minutes, tops.
Pasta
Yes, making your own pasta sauce is cheaper and healthier, but sometimes there just isn't time. Don't feel bad for buying premade sauce. Just do it. Noodles are pretty easy to cook, and then you can just heat up some sauce and pour it on top.
Quesadillas
Fajitas
I love fajitas. Super simple--just a matter of cooking some chicken, a pepper, tomato, and possibly an onion with a packet of fajita mix. Plus you usually get leftovers.
Chicken. There are literally so many ways to eat chicken, it's kind of ridiculous. There are two different approaches that are both good.
Rotisserie
Wal-mart sells rotisserie chickens for five dollars. The same price as a Little Caesar's pizza. Just buy one, come home and cut the meat off the bones. You can use this for SO many things. Make a salad with chicken. Stick it in quesadillas. Put it on pizza (more on that later). Put it in a tortilla with some other stuff and make it into a wrap. Eat it plain.
Frozen breasts
Once again, put these in individual bags when you get home from the grocery store. Then, take one out the morning (or night before) you're going to eat it to let it defrost. It's really simple to put it in a tinfoil-lined pan with some Italian dressing and some other seasoning/vegetables and let it bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so. You could also put pesto/basil, mozzarella, and tomatoes on it. Or cook it on the stove and turn it into a wrap. Or put on bagels with some cheese. Put some seasonings or a sauce on it and put it on rice. Be creative! Chicken's pretty forgiving.
Mini pita pizzas
Pita bread makes a great crust for a mini pizza. Some ideas of simple pizzas:
Classic pizza: tomato sauce (even spaghetti sauce can sometimes work), mozzarella, any toppings you want
BBQ Chicken: barbecue sauce, shredded chicken (rotisserie works great here), and cheddar cheese
Rosemary Chicken: olive oil, shredded chicken, mozzarella, and rosemary (this one is my favorite)
Basically anything you can think of
Tacos. You know how to make tacos. It's meat plus a taco seasoning packet and veggies/cheese. Super easy. Or you can make burritos with beans instead. Americanized Mexican is seriously the best.
BBQ chicken mac and cheese. See yayfulness' answer on Board Question #71137 in which I've already provided the recipe. There are also some other good food ideas in answers to that question.
Soup. You can either just do the canned stuff or make your own.
Five can soup is delicious. It's just a can each of corn, refried beans, black beans, and chicken or vegetable broth, plus a half jar of salsa. Then you stir and heat it up. Add fried tortilla strips and shredded chicken if you want.
Refried beans. Just refried beans. Sometimes with cheese, sour cream, and/or salsa. Eat with tortilla chips. Or in a tortilla.
I've heard stir fry is good. I don't like it though. But really, it's just vegetables with soy sauce in a pan. You can even often buy frozen mixed veggies designed for stir fry.
Potatoes are great! Mash them, boil them, stick 'em in a stew! Just be careful that you don't leave them too long or they'll start to grow/rot. And then your roommates will be mad at you.
Black bean burgers are a bit more time consuming, but these are a cheaper solution to buying actual hamburger, and they're still pretty good. It's also slightly more time consuming. But they're delicious.
Example
I wanted to give you an example of a meal plan, but there are a couple caveats I need to make you aware of. First, this assumes that I have things already in my pantry. When you're making a meal plan, you should do the same thing. Use what you have, buy what you need. Second, this is based on my own personal tastes and my own personal schedule. This is only meant to be a guide, not definitive.
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Breakfast
XX
XX
Breakfast sandwich w/ pineapple
Bacon and egg
Breakfast sandwich w/ pineapple
Bacon and egg
Breakfast sandwich w/ pineapple
Pancakes
Lunch
Make bread
5 Can Soup
Sandwich bread
Sandwich bread
Sandwich bread
Salad w/ Chicken
Sandwich bread
Hot dog
Dinner
Fajitas
Family meal
Leftovers
Chicken w/ basil, tomato & mozzarella
BBQ chicken pita pizza
Chicken noodle soup
Board party!
Taco Salad
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Breakfast
XX
Breakfast burrito
Breakfast sandwich w/ pineapple
Breakfast burrito
Breakfast sandwich w/ pineapple
Bacon and egg
Breakfast sandwich w/ pineapple
Lunch
Roommate lunch
Sandwich bread
Sandwich bread
Sandwich bread
Leftover pasta
Sandwich bread
Hot dog
Dinner
Taco salad
Hot dog
Chicken w/ Italian dressing
Pasta w/ meat
Black beans and rice
Black beans and rice
XX
So, anywhere there's "XX" is where I'm not planning the meal (i.e., I don't eat breakfast on Sunday mornings). Now, I can use this to help me plan what I need to shop for. My budget is about $60, so I'll keep that in mind.
This shopping list assumes that I already have some of the food items.
Bacon
$3.66
Bagels
$1.78
Black beans x2
$2.16
Cheese
$4.93
Chicken broth x2
$1.56
Chicken noodle soup
$1.00
Corn x2
$1.36
Croutons
$1.00
Eggs
$2.48
Ground beef
$3.66
Ham
$2.48
Hot dog buns
$0.68
Hot dogs
$2.98
Salsa
$2.48
Lettuce
$1.98
Onion
$0.68
Pasta
$0.88
Pasta sauce
$1.50
Green pepper
$0.78
Pineapple rings
$1.16
Refried beans x2
$1.70
Rice
$1.38
Sour cream
$1.68
Tomato x3
$2.94
Tortillas
$1.68
Tortilla chips
$2.68
Pop Weaver Popcorn
$5.00
Total:
$52.59
Not all of everything will be used in the two week period, so I can carry them over into the next week. I also usually buy a bag of fruit, such as apples or oranges (depending on the season). When you plan your meals, make sure to use things that will go bad in the beginning of the meal plan. If you need to, go to the store halfway through shopping trips to pick up other fresh food.
In Conclusion
The trick is to be creative. There is a lot of food that is relatively cheap, particularly canned food. Be willing to try and mix and match things you think could possibly go together. There are so many flavor combinations that even if you got the same set of groceries, that can keep you satisfied for a decent amount of time. I've been eating basically the same things for the last four years, and every four months or so I get bored, which means I add a new meal idea, sometimes getting rid of an old idea I'm completely sick of. Pinterest can also be a good resource for brainstorming food ideas. Most of the things on there are too elaborate, but it is possible to find ideas that are legitimately cheap and easy.
Food is really hard in college. You have to balance things being cheap with being easy to make, as well as suitable for one person. And then you can't forget to be healthy as well. Talk to your roommates to get suggestions about things they eat. Learning how to budget and plan meals is a great skill to learn for your future, so be grateful you can learn it early.
-Tally M.
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