Food!

DirtyDirtyVagrant

I'm looking for cheap, healthy food that I can cook on short notice (in a microwave for now. Also potentially an electric skillet, or a crock pot)

Need to be able to store it in a dorm fridge (or non-refrigerated)

So far all I've got is oatmeal. Pretty much.

e: And yogurt with granola. But eh.

El Puncho McCrazy Fists

Ramen noodles?

but thats not healthy

Buttcleft

Do you have an ability/access to cook large meals, which you can portion out and freeze for defrosting/nuking later?

DirtyDirtyVagrant

Only if I can cook those large meals ahead of time either by microwave, crock pot, electric skillet, or some combination of the three.

Also pretty much cant freeze anything. And I dont really have any giant containers.

e: Or portion-sized containers, for that matter.

Quid

Get a rice cooker or boil some rice with the skillet. Mix that with shredded cheese, beans, chilies, and cheese. It's cheap and, while not the healthiest thing in the world, far from terrible for you either. There's also a number of things you can do with tuna.

Cokebotle

If you can boil pasta, you can get it boiling, then toss in a can of mixed veggies at the end to get it all heated up. Drain, toss in a can of tuna, and season to your liking (I usually toss with olive oil and italian seasonings).

EskimoDave

Sandwiches/wraps.
Salads.

randomman

Quid wrote: »

Get a rice cooker or boil some rice with the skillet. Mix that with shredded cheese, beans, chilies, and cheese. It's cheap and, while not the healthiest thing in the world, far from terrible for you either. There's also a number of things you can do with tuna.

I second that

EskimoDave

randomman wrote: »

Quid wrote: »

Get a rice cooker or boil some rice with the skillet. Mix that with shredded cheese, beans, chilies, and cheese. It's cheap and, while not the healthiest thing in the world, far from terrible for you either. There's also a number of things you can do with tuna.

I second that

you really gotta double up on the cheese though.

OremLK

A loaf of whole grain bread, package of lunch meat, and the extras of your choice (cheese, lettuce, etc) is always really good value and pretty healthy. Especially turkey or chicken. Doubly so if you can stick it in a toaster oven. You can also get some tuna, mix it up with some light Mayo and dill relish in a tupperware container, and have several healthy meals ready to slap on bread for the next few days.

Also check out the canned soup section. Plenty of good, fairly healthy stuff there on the cheap. Don't get that original Campbells stuff which is empty and not that delicious, get heartier fare. (Campbells actually offers some good stuff under their "Chunky" brand for about $1.50/can where I live.)

On the skillet, you can get some ground beef and a packet of taco mix, and some tortillas. Fry up the meat and mix in the taco packet with water, then put it all in tupperware in the fridge. Not very healthy, but filling, delicious, and not too expensive? You bet.

randomman

Oh one thing I would like to add though, from my experience it's best not to keep too much food or snacks in your dorm room. Basically what happens is you'll eat your meal plan food, come back and snack on your food in your room, that's how most people gain a lot of weight in the dorms.

DirtyDirtyVagrant

Yes, this is something I noticed myself doing. I just try to spend as little time home as possible. Which is made all the easier by the theft of my laptop...

Thanks, all of you. Is there anything else?

DeathPrawn

randomman wrote: »

Quid wrote: »

Get a rice cooker or boil some rice with the skillet. Mix that with shredded cheese, beans, chilies, and cheese. It's cheap and, while not the healthiest thing in the world, far from terrible for you either. There's also a number of things you can do with tuna.

I second that

Third'd.

Use brown rice for extra healthy.

SAW776

For microwave: Pick up some zip-loc steamer bags. They are awesome for any sort of vegetable. You can also cook chicken breasts up pretty nicely too.

The lack of freezer makes recommendations tough though, because it seems like that pretty severely limits your access to meat.

Edit: Also, mayonnaise makes a great replacement for butter in grilled cheese sandwiches.

Bread + Tuna or Turkey + mozarella cheese, put it in a toaster oven (or even just drop it in the skillet for a little to toast it and melt the cheese, and then have some thousand island on the side to dip it in. Very tasty.

Sparticus773

pick up some Ramen noodles but DO NOT OVER DO THEM. they are fried or something like that, and are not very good for you at all. use them if you really don't have time to eat.

a good snack is apples with mixed oatmeal and peanut butter.
Tunafish is a must, you can bring a can with you where ever you go, just bring some salt and eat it right out of the can. bring a lot of salt.
Bagels are Great because you can have many different flavors and they are very good for you.
stay away from ready made soups that you just microwave. Anything you make out of a box (ie frozen dinners etc) have almost no Nutritional value.

It is important, especially in this time of your life when you are "forced" to eat quickly, that you dont sucker punch your health. spending less and getting more is always a good idea these days, but please please please pick up some bananas/apples/pears. they are great on the go.

OremLK

Sparticus773 wrote: »

stay away from ready made soups that you just microwave. Anything you make out of a box (ie frozen dinners etc) have almost no Nutritional value.

This is definitely not true of all canned soup. As with any food, check the label, but some of it is quite decent. The biggest problem is that they frequently have a lot of sodium and fat, so watch out for that.

Granted it's never going to be as healthy as preparing a meal yourself with fresh fruits and vegetables and such, but that doesn't mean it's something you should stay away from as a rule.