Healthy living tips for students on the go: How to make the most of your food budget

By Heather Maile

February 15, 2008 -- Most college students are all about convenience when it comes to food, but really all it takes to save you some money is planning ahead.

Here are a few key things to remember:

First, never pass up coupons. Even though it may seem small, every dollar counts. I know that most local newspapers offer a discount to college students to subscribe to the paper. It is well worth the small amount of money, to benefit from all the savings you will get from those valuable coupons.

Next, try to plan out a menu for a week or two of meals that you will have. This way you can make a grocery list with everything you’ll need for all of the meals. This will save you from making many trips to the store within that time frame and you are a lot less likely to overspend. It’s important to remember to stick to the list though so that you are not impulse buying. Also, one last thing about shopping, try not to go to the store when you are hungry. This will also result in buying whatever looks good at the moment, which is usually a bunch of junk food.

Finally, try to make recipes that will last for more than one meal. This will save you money in the long run. I will include some fairly cheap and delicious recipes that will last you a few days. You can also make meals that you can eat that night for dinner and also freeze a couple servings in some freezable containers. Some meals that I know of that freeze very well are lasagna and enchiladas.

Here are two recipes that will stretch a ways and are delicious for this cold winter weather:

Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

1 pound Italian sausage
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic (1 tsp. minced)
6 cups water
2 cups chopped tomatoes (stewed are great too)
1 cup chopped carrots
5 beef bullion cubes
1 (8 oz. can) tomato sauce
One-half tsp. oregano
One-half tsp basil

Brown and sauté the sausage, onion, and garlic. Then add into a large pot with all of the above ingredients. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Add: 1 1ž2 cups chopped zucchini, 1ž4 cup green pepper, 8 ounces cheese tortellini, 1 tsp. dry parsley. Simmer for 30-45 minutes covered.

Serve with grated mozzarella cheese and French bread. All of the ingredients are pretty flexible, so add more or less depending on your taste.

Teriyaki Chicken

Ingredients:

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sugar
1 family size pack chicken thighs (usually about 10 pieces)

Preheat oven to 325. Place chicken in a 9x13 pan and pour sugar over both sides of chicken. Rub sugar into chicken and then pour soy sauce over chicken. Place chicken skin side down in the dish and cook for about 2 1ž2 hours uncovered. Then flip the chicken skin side up and cook for another half- hour.

Serve with rice, broccoli and rolls. It is also delicious to use the sauce that you bake the chicken in as a teriyaki sauce over your chicken and rice! Enjoy.

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