Frugal Foods for a College Dorm Resident

[backtothefuture]

What are some good foods out there that really give you BANG for your BUCK. Right now I'm stuck with the regular cup of ramen noodles and some snacks here and there.

What have you guys discovered and found to be especially useful?

THanks

[backtothefuture]

Oh, and all I have is a microwave.

[chellerystick]

If you don't already, you should get a couple of microwave-safe dishes. Here are some things I did in the dorm with a microwave and small fridge. I may be forgetting some--it was years ago. My main limitation is that the foods that were available to buy on our meal plans were pretty random at times.

Rice--in a container with a lid. I ate this a lot! Mix in some butter, peas, tuna, whatever looks good that you have.

Jell-o: Buy a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup (serves as mixing bowl, soup dish, or measuring cup) and heat up water. Add bits of fruit, carrot (orange jello salad), or cottage cheese (green jello salad). The jell-o doesn't add much except flavor and makes it a summery treat.

Eggs--yes, you can scramble them in the microwave. Not sure if you can hard boil them. Eggs are usually cheap protein.

I also ate a lot of things straight from the can--green beans (but try things like adding a little OJ, mustard, and brown sugar) and, when I had my monthly salt cravings, black olives.

I also had an 80's microwavable muffin dish. Worth picking up if you see one at Goodwill. The muffins won't brown, but they will bake and taste pretty decent compared to what you can buy pre-made. Also I would buy English muffins and warm them, melt a little cheese on them if I had it.

Now that I'm older, I bet there are ways you could fix things like lentil-barley stew with a little experimentation as well. Apples--for a treat, cut up and heat for a couple of minutes with some cinnamon and brown sugar, or for a snack eat with peanut butter.

[jodi]

Back in high school I used to make cheese quesadillas in the microwave. Just fold a flour tortilla over and fill with just about any kind of cheese (combinations are good) - nuke till melted. Good with salsa.

[fam5d07]

we still make the quesadillas here and I like eggs scrambled in the micro you can top them with a bunch of things and its an omelet

[cptacek]

hot dogs or sausages can be microwaved. I used to eat oatmeal, the kind in packages you just pour in a bowl and put hot water in. Soup in a can, so you don't have to take up refrigerator space (don't know if you have a refrigerator anyway)...of course pour into a bowl before heating it up. Peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Get individual mayonaise packets so you can make tuna salad sandwiches.

[marjorie]

I made a gift basket (actually a laundry basket) for my nephew before he started college and he found it very useful. I included a plate,bowl, 2 sets of utensils, and a 2 qt. pitcher. For food, some snack sized goodies, those tuna creations things, deviled ham, mac n cheese cups, ramen, instant soups, beverage mixes, some dried fruit, and more that I can't remember. Nephew was all over his parents for not doing something like that for him themselves... they both teach at university level. HTH
I also got him some tupperware type containers that he found handy.

[mom-from-missouri]

Jello, eggs, generic mac and cheese, potatoes, rice, beans.
In the dorm, we "group cooked" items in the crockpot such as soup or stews. Each of us (usually 4 of us) put in $2 and bought the ingredents. It fed us each several meals. I sometimes ate my part one day, and froze what was left for another time. For stew meat we bought meat "scraps" at a local butcher store or asked if they had any at the meat dept. Sometimes the bucther would go to the back and package some up for us at a low price-like 59 cents a pound, for stew (of course I am talking the 1970's and 80's prices).College is also when I started using powered milk for cooking, baking and making hot cocoa. Much cheaper in the long run.

[Scanner]

Fondue is cheap.

You buy some cheddar cheese, some milk, a little flour, a little mustard and heat them and then dip bread into it.. I would buy a loaf of french bread for $1.00

E-Z- CHEEZIE Fondue it was called. I had hte recipe back in college from a book - cheap college food recipes.

If you are a guy, you eat it right out of the pot and don't have to do dishes.

[leggzz66]

ramen noodles! best save right there.

[hacik.istanbul@yahoo.ca]

Traditional macaroni and cheese always hits the spot!!
Hacik Istanbul

[mackybethsmommy]

Many items on grocery store shelves can be microwaved. Just read the labels and shop the sales. I work in a grocery store and all we have is a microwave. When I forget my lunch I check the aisles because I don't like frozen tv dinners. We've made Stove Top, Lipton Rice, and a lot of things in the microwave.

[JBinKC]

Lentils, eggs and oats are cheap and actually quite healthy and require less energy to cook. Planning a meal around them would be a cheap way to go. I would also buy a single burner hot plate.

Too bad they don't have the free cheese lines anymore. In my college days in the 80s I survived off of grilled cheese sandwiches. Free cheese and butter and 10 loaves to the dollar at the Wonder bread thrift store. Can't beat that.

[Sporkman]

One way to save a lot of money is to make your own pizzas - it's a lot cheaper than ordering them.

Pasta is always a cheap go-to food, though not very healthy.

[am_vanquish]

I currently eat a lot of tuna sandwiches in my dorm. The generic brand is 50 cents a can, and it's got a TON of protein, which fills you up.

Whatever you choose as your favorite cheap food, it'll get old eventually. The trick is to find creative ways to spice it up again. Since I rely on sandwiches, it's amazing what a different new sauce or cool jalapeno cheese will do for something I eat 4-6 times a week.

Also, gotta love those double cheeseburgers for $1 on weekends!!!!

[leggzz66]

not to mention the rest of the dollar menus at fast food,which isnt all bad, chili, ceaser salad and side salad. chilis a great option this time of year, i know for me, when i ate it the other day, cleared out my sinus'. I love wendys dollar menu, but to be honest, id rather have arbys or chinese.lol.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

This is your mother speaking. Well, this is somebody's mother speaking and you know we we all have an agreement amongst us to say this:

Please eat some vegetables, too.

Go to the store once in a while for some vegetables. You can warm canned things in a bowl in your microwave, or you can mix them into other dishes. You can also cook fresh vegs in the micro. Some vegs can be eaten without cooking. Tomatoes and carrots, for example. Even in the produce department there are sales.

If you were my kid I'd send you a care package full of broccoli, spinach, kale, and kohlrabi.

[DebbieL]

This is another mother speaking. Eat veggies/fruit EVERY day. It is so important to your health (plus your brain works better when you feed it properly). Fresh fruit isn't too expensive when you buy what's in season. Canned/frozen/fresh veggies - buy whatever you can afford. They are all good (but watch the sodium in canned veggies). If you must do the mac n cheese thing just toss in a can of peas and carrots or something.

[am_vanquish]

Apple Sauce is cheap ... and it keeps the moms happy

[sounderella]

I don't know if you have a freezer part in your microfridge but I just came across tyson's popcorn chicken. They're frozen but already cooked and it says on the bag that they can cook in the microwave. It was a 3 lb bag and they're small pieces....so for one person they can go a long way. They taste good too