If you are a college student like me, you know how difficult it is to try and eat healthy on a budget. By the time I get out class, go to the grocery store, and cook a full meal, hours have passed by and frankly, I don’t have time in my busy schedule to jump through all of these hoops for a healthy meal. While there are many new ways to avoid the dreaded trip to the grocery store such as Instacart, Amazon food delivery and meal prep delivery companies, these can often be pricey and not realistic for a college student on a budget. Over time, I have found many recipes that allow me to go to the grocery store on Monday and purchase ingredients that will stay fresh all week. Here is a full day of non-time-consuming meals that I love to make.

Breakfast: Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

Ingredients:

-Oats

-1 tablespoon peanut butter

-1 sliced banana

-Optional drizzle of honey

Instructions:

Cover the oats with water and microwave them until they are fully cooked (approx. 1 minute). Next, take the oats out of the microwave, stir in the peanut butter, and top it with a sliced banana and a drizzle of honey for a sweet add on!

This is a very cost effective meal! Oats are a great way to save money on breakfast because you can buy them in bulk and save them for weeks! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and should never be skipped. This is a very healthy option, easy to make, and will fill you up until its time for your next meal or snack! *Pro tip: you can always save leftover banana slices for a mid morning snack and pair it with honey or peanut butter!

Lunch: Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:

-Romaine lettuce

-Parmesan cheese

-Croutons

-Cesar salad dressing

-Optional pre cooked chicken

Instructions:

Wash and cut the Romaine lettuce into equal size pieces. Next, place it into a mixing bowl and add parmesan cheese shavings, croutons, and caesar salad dressing and toss it all together. If you want to add some extra protein to the salad, add chicken on top after combining the other ingredients!

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This is a very healthy meal that is easy to take on the go to school, work, and friends houses. You can leave left over salad for the next few days and the ingredients are on budget. An extra benefit is that croutons and parmesan cheese last for weeks so its one item less on the list! If you like to add protein to your salad, chicken is a great solution and can be bought pre made to save time at all grocery stores.  *If you prefer to cook your own chicken, marinate the chicken in salt and pepper, place onto a stove top pan at medium heat, and add olive oil for extra flavor!

Dinner: One Pot Basil Pasta

Ingredients:

-1/4 onion, thinly chopped

-2 cloves garlic

-1/2 cup baby plum tomato, halved or regular tomato chopped into small bits

-1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped plus a few springs to decorate!

-1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

-5 oz linguine or spaghetti

-salt to taste

-pepper to taste

-1 pinch crushed chilies

-2 tablespoon olive oil

-2 1/2 cup of cold water

-parmesan cheese to garnish

Instructions:

Place all of the ingredients except for the parmesan into a large pot. Cook on high heat for 2 minutes submerging the pasta into the water once it’s soft enough. Next, lower the heat and toss and turn the pasta until the liquid turns into a thick sauce. Finally, add parmesan cheese and top the pasta with a fresh basil leaf!

While this recipe has a lot of ingredients, most of them are ingredients we have sitting around at home! Even more, if you make a caesar salad, you can use the left over parmesan cheese! The ingredients in this recipe all last for a long time, are budget friendly and have a great shelf life. You can save the left overs and eat them for lunch or dinner for several days! It is a very filling pasta, and perhaps my personal favorite.

Enjoy!!