Think the only way you can eat a cheap meal is off the McDonald's Dollar Menu? Think again. Even broke college students can eat decent meals on a budget. The next time you are rushing or out of cash and head to the closest fast food place, consider this: According to a CNN study, one in five college students is overweight.
Cooking a meal at home offers a lot more control over calories and fat grams than ordering fast food says Dennis Martell, Olin Health Center health education coordinator and State News columnist.
Fast food and vending machines are a common source of grub for busy college students. Most days it seems as if there just aren't enough hours in the day to cook dinner or make a healthy lunch, but budgeting your money and time can cut out a lot of Taco Bell runs. Go shopping on the weekend or when you finish class and buy enough food to last a week or more.
Olin nutritionist Ronda Bokram suggests checking the Sunday ads to see what is on sale and plan out a menu for the week.
• Keep track of what you are throwing in the cart, too, or you might wind up spending a lot more than you intended.
• Take a lesson from your mom and clip coupons. You would be surprised how quickly the savings will add up.
• Look for sales and sign up for bonus cards (it's usually free), which allow you to save a considerable amount on most items in the store.
• Go shopping with a friend and split the cost. Bokram says generic products usually aren't much different from brand name items, so make sure to compare prices. Living off campus is expensive, so saving money on groceries can help.
If you are trying to stay healthy, there are numerous low-fat, low-calorie products available at the store. Frozen vegetables and fruits can't go bad, and if you buy fresh veggies, Bokram suggests storing carrots in water and wrapping other vegetables in paper towel so they will last longer.
Students don't need to shop at health food stores, she said. Health food stores are more expensive and the same products are usually found at grocery stores.
Don't worry about buying all healthy foods, though. Martell said you shouldn't restrict your diet. Don't feel guilty about what you are eating.
"It's about what you like, and it's about balance," he said. "Eat what you like, and listen to your body."
Cooking can be fun. Be inventive, or get a cookbook and impress your roommate. Making a good dinner and eating with a group of friends can be as much fun as going out, aside from the dishes of course.
There are even cookbooks available targeted specifically at college students that take college budgets and cooking skills into consideration.
For those who lack culinary talents, there are lots of no-brainer meals. Spaghetti is almost impossible to mess up and stores carry a wide variety of premade meals that just need to be heated up, such as stir fry dinners. These meals usually include meat and veggies and just need to be heated in a pan.
It might seem like groceries are expensive, but all things considered they probably cost about the same or less than on-campus meal plans. Even the smallest cafeteria meal plan offered is a 10 meals per week package for $1,488 per semester. If you consider a semester is about 16 weeks, students spend about $93 per week on cafeteria food. You can certainly keep your weekly grocery bill under $93 if you get creative.
So don't be scared to move out of the dorms; you won't be living off Ramen noodles and macaroni as long as you shop carefully and make sure not to go to the grocery store with an empty stomach.
