College mostly consists of late study sessions, eating whatever is the cheapest, and no sleep. Adding all these things together can make you very unhealthy and can be the cause of weight gain. When I moved off to college I had the attitude of "WHOO MY MOM ISN'T HERE I CAN EAT WHATEVER I WANT." This involved midnight snacks, tons of ice cream, and too many bags of chips. I found out quickly this was not the way to go. So I came up with a plan to eat healthy, but the one thing I did not have was an unlimited budget. Healthy food is rather expensive. So I came up with three weeks of meals that you can freeze and reheat, and all under around $80.
{CUT OUT ALL SODAS, JUST BUY ONE JUICE AND DRINK WATER THE REST OF THE TIME}
BREAKFAST: On Sunday, you can prepare breakfast for a whole week, which will make your week super easy. Plus, it is the most important meal of the day.
A few breakfast options I use are
~GoGo Squeeze Apple Sauce:
This is super easy for when you are DRIVING LIKE A MANIAC TO GET TO YOUR 8 A.M. CLASS on your way to school. The squeezes come in a multitude of flavors and are a great source of fruit.
~Granola
This is super fast and easy. Buy Bear Naked Granola at any store for $3.99 and portion it into little bags on Sunday for the whole week. This is also a great study snack.
{YOU ONLY SPENT AROUND $7 ON BREAKFAST FOR A WHOLE WEEK}
LUNCH: All of theses recipes can be pre-made on Sunday, to make your week hassle free. You can pair all of these with fruit or granola.
~Turkey Salad: In a bowl mix fresh cut lettuce, cut up turkey, tomatoes, and cilantro. SUPER EASY. Just add your favorite low-fat dressing.
~Turkey Wrap: Take a tortilla add some lettuce, turkey, and tomato. Wrap it up and refrigerate for those lunches you are stuck on campus.
~Cucumber Salad: This can be made on Sunday and can last in your fridge for over a month. SUPER EASY and LASTS FOR A WHILE. Here is the Cucumber Salad Recipe.
Snacks: These are great for on the go or when you are craving greasy potato chips.
~Granola
~Fruit: Fruit is one of the best snacks and has very few calories. The best fruits to get are grapes, watermelon, and grapefruit. Watermelon are 92 percent water, so this will also help you shed a few of those midnight snack calories. Grapefruits are a metabolism builder, so these can be very helpful.
DINNER: I have five quick and easy healthy dinners that you can make over the course of two weeks (because you will have leftovers).
~Spaghetti Squash: This is a super healthy way to eat spaghetti and it is so easy to make a caveman could do it. The only ingredients you will need are 1 spaghetti squash and 1 can of your favorite pasta sauce.
Use this to learn how to cook spaghetti squash
~Taco Soup: This is a super easy recipe that will leave you with about three bags of soup for your freezer. This canned vegetable mash-up will actually create four meals for you.
~Chicken pesto pasta: This recipe has three ingredients and will take you probably 30 minutes. Follow the instructions on the back of your favorite pasta box to boil the pasta. Drain it, then in a large mixing bowl add cooked chicken and two teaspoons of pesto. Mix, and your dinner is served.
~Pecan Sweet Potatoes: This is a great alternative to a baked potato. After you cook your sweet potato, top with pecans and brown sugar. Enjoy!
Read this to learn how to cook sweet potatoes.
~College California tacos: This is a great way for you to incorporate seafood into your diet for cheap. Instead of buying regular expensive shrimp, buy salad shrimp. With salad shrimp, you get a whole bag for about $3.
Follow this for the california shrimp tacos
DESSERT: This is optional but we all need a good dessert at least once a week. If you are like me, who has to have a dessert to keep on living, then this is a great piece of candy for you.
~Frozen grapes:
Take a vine of grapes, wash them, and put them in the freezer. They should be ready in a few hours.
HERE IS A GROCERY LIST OF EVERYTHING YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THESE MEALS!
With these recipes, you will absolutely have leftovers, so try not to make all of these meals in one week. Space it out and learn to love leftovers. I hope this meal plan helps y'all as much as it has helped me
Until Next Time. XOXO
