Bible for Grocery Shopping and Cooking in College

Eating in college? Cooking for one? Here’s a few life hacks just for you.

I had no idea how hard it would be to go from cooking for my family of four at home to cooking just for myself. And if learning how to cook for just me wasn’t enough, my budget was scaled back too. So here’s a few tricks I have found for saving time, money, eating healthier, and cooking just for one:

The freezer is your friend.
I buy frozen veggies and keep them stocked in my freezer for a quick and easy meal. The possibilities are endless with these guys. Caitlyn posted a great recipe for stir-fry. Asian is always an easy route for when you are pressed for time. I’m a list person (in case you couldn’t tell), so here’s a list of all the possibilities for frozen veggies:

• Stir-fry
• Oven roasted veggies
• Steamed veggies
• Veggie soup
• Fried veggies (Ok, so not very healthy, but oh so delicious especially if you fry okra.)

Several of these things would be dorm room friendly. Just use a handy dandy microwave or crockpot, and presto! You have yourself a dinner that will make your roomies jealous.

Another note on the freezer: if you really like to cook and don’t mind donating some extra time here and there, cook things in bulk and freeze them in individual serving sizes. It sounds like a hassle, but it pays off when you are spending less money per meal than you would buying frozen dinners. Also, you can ensure that your health is a priority- no funky mystery meat like you get in some of the atrocities in the freezer aisle (unless you are a mystery meat connoisseur in which case, I am seriously judging you. Gross, dude). Here are a few examples of things I have on hand in my freezer like that:

• Individual servings of homemade spaghetti sauce
• Crockpot meals assembled in zippy bags ready to be cooked
• Chili
• Stew
• Soups

Starch. Oh yes.  
Potatoes! Who doesn’t like those? I like to buy a small bag of potatoes and include them in meals every couple of days. Yellow potatoes aka Yukon gold potatoes are excellent for baking. Unorthodox, I know, but you will thank me and then proceed to tell all of your buddies about how excellent this blog is and about how we kept you from starving to death in college or only eating Big Macs for four years… Ok back on task. So, potatoes are a cheap and easy way to beef up your diet the vegetarian way (yes, the irony was intended). Let’s face it- meat is expensive and can send any steak/bacon/chicken/animal flesh lover reeling at the prices at the local Wal-Mart. Here’s a few easy ways to cook potatoes in dorm friendly ways:

• Oven baked potato
• Microwaved baked potato
• Oven potato wedges
• Potato chips in the microwave
• Mashed potatoes (believe it or not, they don’t always have to come out of a box)
• Toss them into a stir fry

Other form of starch that can easily supplement any college diet could include:

• Pastas
• Noodles
• Breads (breakfast cereal, loaf breads, tortillas, crackers, you get the idea)
• Rice
• Corn (You can microwave whole ears of corn. Who would have thought?)

These are cheap and very filling, but remember- starches convert to sugar so don’t overdo it. Only go heavy on starches and carbs if you are willing to put forth some extra effort to burn it. Or you could be like me and embrace laziness and cook accordingly. It’s up to you.

For all the meat lovers:
If your taste buds are causing visions of Thanksgiving turkeys to dance in your head, don’t let them get the best of you and cause you to go hog wild (pun intended) in the meat section of your local Kroger. If you are running on a tight budget like me, you might find yourself forced into vegetarianism, but fear not. There are ways around protein deficiency and starving:

Keep your eyes peeled for meat that is on sale. Most grocery stores will run specials or sales on meat that is about to expire. Believe it or not, almost expired meat won’t kill you. If you use this method of shopping, be warned: you MUST freeze or cook the meat quickly. I usually freeze it. It works best with things like hamburger and chicken breasts. Just portion out the meat into individual serving sizes in zippy bags and toss in your freezer. Next time you want baked chicken but don’t want enough to feed an army, just take out one of your zippy bags and you’re in business.

Buy meat in bulk. It’s usually cheaper if you buy one of those packages large enough to feed the Dugger’s versus one that is more normal sized. The same freezer principle applies as stated previously.

Sometimes meat from the freezer section of the grocery store is cheaper than buying in the meat section. Just keep an eye on the prices and sales. It pays to be a smart shopper. Another note: pay attention to quality. Yes the bag of 80 nuggets sounds like a great deal, but you are really sacrificing quality there. Those things aren’t always as great as the picture lets on. Yes, sometimes food labels lie. This is the world we live in, children. I have had great luck with frozen raw chicken.

Another tip: stay away from meats that have been pre-marinated or rubbed with spices by the butcher. These are usually ploys to get the consumer to purchase meat that is close to spoiling at a higher price than the meat that is far away from spoiling. Also, if the meat has gone bad, you as the consumer will have a hard time detecting the smell because the spices disguise it.

Ok, I think I have imparted all of my knowledge on this subject. If you have more tips for cooking for one or being a clever grocery shopper, please share by commenting below!

Many wishes for peace, love, and good eats.

-R