Cooking Inexpensively on a Student Budget

Toss aside your preconceived notions of what an impoverished student eats to survive! There's no need to subject yourself to ramen and water when you're shopping on a shoestring. It's a fact: You can eat like a king (or queen) on a tight budget no matter where you are in life. You just have to be creative and willing to go the extra mile. There are three key factors to keep in mind when shopping and cooking on a tight budget. They are where you shop, what you buy and what you cook.

(1) There are plenty of places to shop for food when you're on a budget once you toss aside the idea of shopping at a supermarket. Supermarkets are, on the whole, drastically overpriced when compared to less-obvious choices and should only be visited when you're buying meats. For instance, the next time you're tooling around Target, Walmart or Kmart, visit the food section. You will find that the food there is of the same quality (sometimes you can even find the name brand) but much, much cheaper than at your supermarket. That box of macaroni and cheese (a staple of the budgeter's diet) that might cost over a dollar at the supermarket can cost as little as 40 cents when you buy the Target brand, and it's just as tasty. You can find all your dietary staples there except for fresh produce (unless you visit a Walmart Supercenter) and you'll be amazed at how much you can save. Aldi is a good bet as well, if you're lucky enough to live near one, but be careful of the meats there. Be picky. When it comes to produce, search your area for a Produce Junction or other farmer's market type establishment, where you can find fruits and vegetables for obscenely low prices, plus you can find deals such as three dozen eggs for $1.25. If you can't find any of these places around, stick to frozen veggies. Pretty soon you'll wonder why you ever shopped at the more expensive chain supermarkets.

The most important part of all this: Keep your junk foods and soda consumption to a minimum. Not only are these empty calories, for the most part they are empty dollars.

(2) Now there's the question of what to buy. Try to stick to the cheaper carbs (pasta, rice, ramen noodles, generic cereals and breads) whenever possible, and build your meals around them. Remember, bread freezes, so if you can find a two for one sale, by all means jump on that! Make the cheap carbs the base of your entire diet. If you are the type who really needs meat in your life, instead of buying big steaks try to stick to the thin-cut steaks which are used for stir fry or steak sandwiches. Invest in a Crock Pot so you can buy cheaper, tougher cuts of meat like roasts and stew beef which with slow cooking turn out really tender and delicious, and for the love of Pete don't waste those leftovers! Look for sales on packs of chicken drumsticks, too. The meat is tasty and much cheaper than, say, boneless skinless breasts. And sausage is usually very low-priced as well.

And soup! Stock up on soup whenever you see it on sale.

(3) So you've picked Target and Produce Junction clean and now you have a fridge full of food. What to make? Why not cut up and steam some of those fresh or frozen veggies and mix in some ramen noodles (without the seasoning packet, as that has too much sodium)? Or how about cooking up some mac and cheese and mixing it with canned tuna? I love cooking up a whole plate of egg whites and topping it with sauted tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms. Grilled cheese and tomato soup. Pasta salad with chicken or tuna and mayo. Thin-cut steak cooked up with a ton of onions and peppers. Baked potatoes. Rice mixed with cream of mushroom soup, peas and mushrooms. Those tasty and tempting egg and cheese sandwiches from the lunch cart on the corner? MAKE several for the price of one! Throw a bunch of vegetables and some drumsticks in a pot of water and simmer for several hours and voila! Chicken soup for days.

If you reeeeeally need dessert, stock up on packets of jello gelatin and instant pudding. Delicious and cheap!

There are so many possibilities. Check out recipe websites for more ideas. You'll find that there are more than you could ever have imagined.