Fall Budget Friendly Meal Prep Ideas

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Wellness by Kay

Overnight Oats

As college students, it can be difficult to find time to eat, let alone prepare food. It has been found that 40% of college students regularly eat fast food, with costs of eating out being about 6-8 dollars more per meal than making food at home.

From these statistics, it is clear that students would be both healthier and more financially stable if they would cook at home. But alas, students are busy, and with these hectic schedules, it is no wonder that students go out to eat frequently.

To combat this problem, meal prepping has been on the rise, with some influencers making weekly vlogs of their meal prepping ideas. Whether it is a vegan, animal based, paleo or keto based influencer, meal prepping is very popular.

So, how can this be done for the average college student, when money is such a concern? The meal prep ideas below hope to solve the problem of both cost and efficiency, by being simple to make with cheap ingredients. Happy eating!

Breakfast Ideas

Overnight Oats

• Ingredients:
  • ½ cup Oats
  • ½ cup Milk
  • Toppings of choice (I prefer berries with pure maple syrup and pecans)

Preparation

1. Take oats and milk and mix in a medium sized bowl. Add any toppings desired.
2. Cover with lid or plastic wrap.
3. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
4. Take out of the fridge, enjoy!

Egg bites

• Ingredients: (makes 12 egg muffins
  • 10 eggs
  • ½ cup cottage cheese
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 5 cups chopped add-ins
    • Can be any meat, cheese or vegetables

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Finely chop any add-ins and add 2 tbsp of the add-ins to each well of a 12 well muffin tin.
2. Add eggs, cottage cheese and spices to a blender and blend until smooth.
3. Pour eggs into wells of muffin tins, almost to the top of each.
4. Bake about 18 minutes, or until centers do not look wet and they are barely golden.
5. Remove, let cool, and enjoy!

Lunch Idea

  Asian Lettuce Wraps

○  Ingredients (for fillings)

• 1 pound ground chicken,
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 bell pepper, finely chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, grated
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
  • Ingredients (for serving)
• Butter or iceberg lettuce leaves (for wrapping)
• Chopped peanuts or cashews (optional)
• Fresh cilantro (for garnish)

Preparation

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger, and sauté for about 30 seconds until fragrant.
2. Add the ground chicken and cook until browned.
3. Stir in the bell pepper, mushrooms, and carrot. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
4. Add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir well to combine. Cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until heated through. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
5. While the filling is cooking, rinse the lettuce leaves and gently pat them dry. Choose larger leaves for easy wrapping.
6. Spoon a generous amount of the filling into a lettuce leaf. Top with chopped peanuts or cashews, fresh cilantro or whatever other toppings you desire!
7. Serve and enjoy!

Dinner Idea:

Vegetarian Grain Bowl

• Ingredients
  • 1 pound chicken (if desire meat)
  • 2 cups rice
  • 1 sweet potato, cubed
  • 4 carrots, chopped
  • 1 container hummus
  • 1 avocado
  • 4 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 6 tsp olive oil
  • 1 cup any other leafy vegetable (kale, cabbage, etc)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Place sweet potatoes and carrots on a baking sheet tossed with 2 tsp olive oil and seasonings, and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Add other vegetables, broccoli, or kale, and cook for another 20 minutes.
4. Cook rice.
5. In a few bowls, add ½ cup portions of rice. Add a dollop of hummus, some chickpeas,
6. Spoon a few tablespoons of the vegetable mixture into each bowl
7. If adding meat, add ¼ pound of meat per bowl.
8. Top with avocado and sesame seeds
9. Enjoy!

I hope these recipes may inspire you to start cooking on a budget with efficiency and fun!