<p>i have to disagree with the fact that veggie burgers taste "great", let alone good</p>
<p>well then you don't have to eat them, no? :)</p>
<p>I've got Lance (tm) in my pants!!!</p>
<p>There must be different variations of humus because the Israeli/Arab humus is made out of chick peas</p>
<p>garbanzo beans and chick peas are the same thing</p>
<p>Chef Boyardie's (not sure if I spelled this right) ravioli fills me right up; I'm gonna take a whole case of that stuff to UCSC if I can ;)</p>
<p>Edamame!!!!!!!!!!!</p>
<p>There are tons of healthy and cheap eats besides ramen if you learn how to cook well! The only limitation is your access to tools, but if you access to a stove/oven almost anything is possible. To keep it cheap try to serve whatever you make with some sort of carbohydrate source like rice, bread, or noodles. I mainly cook Italian, Indian, and Thai dishes these days--things like curries, pasta dishes, noodle dishes, bean/lentil dishes, stir-fries, and vegetable dishes. I use lots of fresh vegetables and each serving ends up costing 75 cents at most. As someone mentioned earlier, Tofu is a great source of cheap protein. Cook more than you will eat and save the rest for later so you won't have to cook again. </p>
<p>Hummus is certainly made out of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, but no one has mentioned one of the most important ingredients--tahini (ground sesame seeds). Olive oil, salt, garlic, lemon juice, and pepper are also essential. A small jar which will make tons of hummus shouldn't cost more than 3 or 4 dollars.</p>
<p>it's not that fat in peanut butter that unhealthy for you, it's the hydrogenated oils in the skippy crap (or other ****ty pb) thats bad. get some good natural peanut butter, low sugar jam, and whole GRAIN (not wheat) bread and you're good to go.</p>
<p>A good sandwich I've been making lately that is obviously "cheap" is: </p>
<p>Whole grain bread
Peanut Butter
Banana slices and
Honey (if you can get some local from the farmer's market or something it'll also add to your immune system and help with allergies)</p>
<p>It's awesome! You've gotta try it with a glass of milk. Best thing? Don't really need any tools besides a knife to spread the peanut butter. </p>
<p>My two cents on the peanut butter "non-healthy" thing - go with natural peanut butter! It's not bad for you in moderation. My personal favorite is the brand "Smart Balance" because it doesn't do that annoying separating oil thing. It tastes really good and has added Omega 3 oil which is great for you. It's the only peanut butter I'll eat anymore.</p>
<p>I am planning on getting a mini fridge/microwave for my dorm. could you list the types of food that you have in your dorm room...i'd like to know how much stuff i can actually fit in there!</p>
<p>mochi, asian instant noodles (korean ftw!), japanese-branded snack foods with cute characters on the box usually with cute little cartoon kids or bunnies or anthromorphisized bears... um, lots of fruit and otter pops.</p>
<p>I like the idea of growing your own food. Even if you live in a city, you could have letuce and tomatoes and and apple tree. Thats what all colleges should do instead of having lots of fancy bushes and trees. If there isnt anywhere to plant stuff outside you could get pots and grow vegitables inside. That way it wouldnt matter if it is cold outside you would always have food and it would be free. You can talk to your RA and get a group together to plant stuff around your dorm. The only thing is you would want to hide them so other hungry college dudes dont steal them if you plant them outside.</p>
<p>I don’t know how you guys can eat breakfast in your room. My peanut butter and bread are all kept in the fridge and i can never eat bread without toasting them. That takes a few minutes. And then I have to go out and boil hot water for coffee which is another 5 minutes. That takes my time in the mornings.</p>
<p>Ravioli is a really good, cheap meal. All you have to do is boil water and then throw the ravioli in and it is delicious and pretty healthy.</p>
<p>If you’re not a picky eater, just eat whatever is on sale and has available coupons (couponmom.com). </p>
<p>Pick coupons, print them, and hopefully you have a grocery store nearby that doubles coupons. </p>
<p>I spend about $30/wk on food total, because soup/cereal and a few other items are literally free if you buy on sale with doubled coupons.</p>
<ul>
<li>Low Fat Yogurt (usually super cheap depending on the brand and store… it’s pretty easy to use coupons/sales to only pay like 0.40 a container) The only thing to watch is the sugar content of some brands. </li>
<li>Luna Bars (not cheap, but if you wait until they go on sale and buy a 6-pack box, you can get it down to like >$1.00 a bar)</li>
<li>Homemade Salsa (really easy to do, just buy the ingredients when they go on sale and you can make a huge tupperware container that will last you forever)</li>
<li>Homemade Tortillas (Alton Brown did an episode on this… apparently it works out to something like 0.14 cents per tortilla to make your own)</li>
<li>Loose leaf tea (way cheap when you order online and will save you SO MUCH money in comparison to buying bagged tea, coffee, or soda)</li>
</ul>
<p>Other tip:
- This isn’t really healthy, but it’s pretty convenient and cheap. If you live near a Qudoba, sign up for their special members only card and wait for them to email you coupons (normally it’s like a “rainy day”) type of thing. If you order a burrito with chicken (or another protein) and rice, they only charge you $3.40 for it. The trick is to tell them at the checkout that you only got a tortilla, chicken, and rice and that they should charge you separately. If you combine that with a BOGO coupon or a 1/2 off, it works out to $1.70 per burrito, which is pretty darn cheap. Then I just freeze them and eat them whenever I’m pulling an all-nighter or something. It’s also super easy to then just add whatever toppings you want (cheese, beans, sour cream, salsa, whatever).</p>
<p>Qdoba is too expensive, regardless.</p>
<p>Go to grocery store, buy rotisserie chicken, cans of tuna (always on sale!), bread, rice, couscous, vegetables
of course you’d need to cook the last 3 though, but it’s not that hard</p>
<p>Just wanted to chime in something about Ramen.</p>
<p>Some guy at the local college a few years back got scurvy from trying to eat cheap. Scurvy! Literally all he ate for several months was bread and ramen.</p>
<p>I just think that it’s really cool, and kind of sucky, how he got scurvy from eating ramen.</p>
<p>I am a student (ie, low budget, have to pay rent, take a full course load and work 3 part time jobs), but I can cook. I eat extremely healthily. And I guarantee I do not spend any more on food than any of my friends who also live on their own and eat pre-prepared, processed, cheap crap and fast food.</p>
<p>Buy frozen veggies and fruits. That way, you don’t have to worry about anything spoiling, and it 's much more cost-effective.
Buy a bag of potatoes, a bag of brown rice, and a bag of whole-grain (or brown rice) pasta.
Buy olive oil.
Buy cheap proteins: tofu/other soy products, beans, tuna, chicken legs/thighs and don’t forget the cheapest and easiest to cook protein of all… eggs! (buy Omega 3 or farm/free-range if you can)
Buy salt and pepper, garlic, chili and onions.</p>
<p>You could make a million different types of HEALTHY and CHEAP food with the above ingredients. All you need is a bit of planning-ahead and a willingness to sacrifice 15-30 minutes a day (which is really nothing!) to preparing your meals.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>